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Mencius: Confucius Jesus
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Mencius was a Chinese philosopher of the fourth century B.C., whose influence on his intellectual tradition is roughly equivalent to the joint influence of St. Paul and Aristotle on Western thought. Better known to English speakers by the Latinization of his name, "Mencius," Mengzi thought of himself as merely defending the teachings of Confucius against rival philosophical doctrines, especially the "egoism" of Yang Zhu and the universalistic consequentialism of Mozi. However, Mengzi was actually a very original thinker, whose doctrine of the goodness of human nature went far beyond anything Confucius had said. Long after his death, Mengzi's interpretation of Confucianism became orthodoxy, meaning that generations of Chinese intellectuals literally memorized his work.
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Mencius (372-289 BC) was the most outstanding expounder of Confucius' doctrines, after the master himself. In particular, he further developed the idea of benevolence - a key theme of Confucianism. He championed justice for the people and deplored the chronic internecine warfare between the states, into which China was divided in his day. His theory that man is naturally good holds a significant position in the history of Chinese philosophy.
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In his one-page biography of Meng Ke (Mencius), Sima Qian wrote that he was from the state of Zuou, studied under a disciple of Zisi (grandson of Confucius), and having mastered the way went to Qi to serve King Xuan. Mencius ... went to Liang, where King Hui found the views of Mencius impractical and remote from reality before he fully listened to them. This was when Qin had enhanced its wealth and military strength by putting Lord Shang in power. Chu and Wei had also won wars by putting Wu Qi in charge of their governments. King Wei and King Xuan made Qi dominant by employing Sun-zi, Tian Ji and others. This was the middle of the Warring States period when military alliances were continually being formed and changed in relation to the powerful western state of Qin.
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Like Confucius, Mencius regarded the transformative power of a cultivated person as the ideal basis for government. In addition, he spelled out more explicitly the idea that order in society depends on proper attitudes within the family, which in turn depends on cultivating oneself. Also, he made explicit the point that gaining the heart/mind of the people is the basis for legitimate government, as it is the response of the people that reveals who has the authority from tian to take up the position of king. Only the ruler who practices ren government can draw the allegiance of the people, and such a ruler will become invincible, not in the sense of superior military strength, but in the sense of being without opposition. A ren ruler enjoys the allegiance of the people and is unlikely to confront any hostilities; even if a few seek to oppose him, the opposition can easily be defeated with the support of the people. This idea provides one example of how Mencius would try to convince a ruler that his initial desire (viz., being invincible in the sense of superior military strength) can be accomplished in a higher form (viz., being invincible in the sense of being without opposition) through the practice of ren government.
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In the end, Mencius is committed to a type of benevolent dictatorship, which puts moral value before pragmatic value and in this way seeks to benefit both ruler and subjects. The sage-kings of antiquity are a model, but one cannot simply adopt their customs and institutions and expect to govern effectively (4A1). Instead, one must emulate the sage-kings both in terms of outer structures (good laws, wise policies, correct rituals) and in terms of inner motivations (placing ren and yi first). Like Confucius, Mencius places an enormous amount of confidence in the capacity of the ordinary person to respond to an extraordinary ruler, so as to put the world in order. The question is, how does Mencius account for this optimism in light of human nature?
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A partial acquaintance with the teachings of Mencius was obtained by European scholars through the writings of the Jesuit missionaries to China in the eighteenth century. The "Book of Mencius" was translated into Latin by Stanislaus Julien in the early part of the last century. English readers have ready access to the sayings of Mencius in the admirable edition and version of the "Chinese Classics", by J. Legge.
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