Zhou Dynasty East Zhou Dynasty • The Warring States Period (475-221 BC)

Also a Period Important for the Making of Chinese Traditional Culture

19 Mencius

The Most Important Successor of Confucius School

Mencius (372-289 BC) was the fourth generation of exponent of Confucius School (Ru School). He took the second top chair sitting in Confucius Temple, above Confucius’ 72 most elite students.

Mencius lived in the Warring States Period. After 300 years of mutual conquering in the Spring & Autumn Period, there left seven most powerful states in the country, that meant the coming of the Warring Stats Period. In the period, wars of mutual conquering were more constant and furious, while Mencius still lifted high the flag of “benevolence”, “righteousness” to push forward Confucius (Ru) School philosophy. He created concepts something more liberal than that of Confucius: Firstly, he stressed “people be superior, and emperors be inferior”, a unique viewpoint in Chinese history. Usually, emperors led their life of pleasure and luxury, Mencius wanted them to “enjoy happiness with common people”

Mencius held that human’s natural character was kindhearted (opposite to the view of Law School that human’s natural character was evil-hearted), so he advocated to built a society of respecting the senior and caring the young, saying: “Respect your own parents, and then respect others’ parents; love your own children, and then love others’ children.” Mencius also taught intellectuals to achieve great deeds through toughening themselves by enduring various kinds of hardships and upsets. This teaching had imposed great impact for intellectuals generation by generation.

Mencius was also a great debater loving to argue with different ideas of different schools. All of his teachings and philosophical theories were collected into a book Mencius that boasted to have a special writing style of penetrating viewpoints, convincing logics and eloquent manner. The book was one of the prime classics of Confucius (Ru) School and a basic textbook for young students for thousands of years.