Mencius: The Defender of Confucianism
“MENCIUS BELIEVED THAT IF A RULER WERE A MAN OF VIRTUE THEN THE PEOPLE WOULD ASPIRE TO THAT SAME KIND OF VIRTUOUS LIFE AND, FURTHER, WOULD ENJOY THEIR DAYS MORE FULLY IN BEING GOVERNED JUSTLY.”
After Confucius’ death, the conditions of China worsened as the states’ conflict and the moral dilemma continued. Mencius, ‘Meng Zi’ was born around 372 BCE. Mencius studied the Five Classics to become a Confucian scholar. He was a Confucian philosopher during the Warring States Period of the Zhou Dynasty. Mencius interpreted and circulated the ideas of the late Confucius. Like Confucius, Mencius travelled around hostile states and provided a counsel for rulers. Mencius supposedly taught that: “the good ruler would war, not against other countries, but against the common enemy – poverty, for it is out of poverty and ignorance that crime and disorder come.”
The result of his efforts in this became vain as the rulers were too engrossed in personal pleasures and military glory. He returned home after 40 years where he taught and wrote until his death. Built upon the teachings of Confucius, Mencius developed further interpretations. Mencius addressed human nature in detail.
Mencius reasoned: “The feeling of compassion [toward the child] is the beginning of humaneness (ren). The feeling of shame is the beginning of dutifulness (yi). The feeling of modesty and yielding is the beginning of ritual (li). The sense of right and wrong is the beginning of wisdom.”
|
His theory was that the natural goodness (xingshan) of human nature is based on the idea of other virtues such as benevolence (ren), righteousness (yi), respect for rites (li) and wisdom (zhi). Mencius believes that these virtues are natural and should be refined by every individual. After his death in about 289 BC, like Confucius, his disciples assembled his teachings into the Book of Mencius which became on of the classic texts of Confucianism.