Who is it? | Philosopher |
Birth Place | Zoucheng, China, Chinese |
Died On | 289 BC |
Era | Ancient philosophy |
Region | Chinese philosophy |
School | Confucianism |
Main interests | Ethics, Social philosophy, Political philosophy |
Notable ideas | Confucianism |
Chinese | 孟子 |
Literal meaning | "Master Meng" |
TranscriptionsStandard MandarinHanyu PinyinGwoyeu RomatzyhWade–GilesIPAYue: CantoneseYale RomanizationIPAJyutpingSouthern MinTâi-lôMiddle ChineseMiddle ChineseOld ChineseBaxter–Sagart (2014) | Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Mèngzǐ Gwoyeu Romatzyh Menqtzyy Wade–Giles Mêng-tzŭ IPA [mə̂ŋ.tsɨ̀] Yue: Cantonese Yale Romanization Maahng-jí IPA [màːŋ.tsǐː] Jyutping Maang-zi Southern Min Tâi-lô Bīng-tzú Middle Chinese Middle Chinese Mæ̀ng-tzí Old Chinese Baxter–Sagart (2014) *mˤrang-s tsəʔ MèngzǐMenqtzyyMêng-tzŭ[mə̂ŋ.tsɨ̀]Maahng-jí[màːŋ.tsǐː]Maang-ziBīng-tzúMæ̀ng-tzí*mˤrang-s tsəʔ |
Hanyu Pinyin | Mèngzǐ |
Gwoyeu Romatzyh | Menqtzyy |
Wade–Giles | Mêng-tzŭ |
IPA | [màːŋ.tsǐː] |
Yale Romanization | Maahng-jí |
Jyutping | Maang-zi |
Tâi-lô | Bīng-tzú |
Middle Chinese | Mæ̀ng-tzí |
Baxter–Sagart (2014) | *mˤrang-s tsəʔ |
Mencius, a renowned philosopher in Chinese history, is projected to have a net worth ranging from $100,000 to $1 million by the year 2024. Despite living over two millennia ago, his intellectual contributions have left an enduring impact on Chinese philosophy. Known for his teachings and moral philosophy, Mencius advocated for the inherent goodness of human nature and the importance of cultivating virtues for personal and societal harmony. While his financial worth may be estimated today, his intellectual wealth continues to shape the understanding of morality and ethics in present-day society.
The Mencius (also spelled Mengzi or Meng-tzu), a book of his conversations with kings of the time, is one of the Four Books that Zhu Xi grouped as the core of orthodox Neo-Confucian thought. In contrast to the sayings of Confucius, which are short and self-contained, the Mencius consists of long dialogues, including arguments, with extensive prose. It was generally neglected by the Jesuit missionaries who first translated the Confucian canon into Latin and other European languages, as they felt that the Neo-Confucian school largely consisted of Buddhist and Taoist contamination of Confucianism. Matteo Ricci also particularly disliked Mencius's strong condemnation of celibacy as unfilial. François Noël, who felt that Zhu's ideas represented a natural and native development of Confucius's thought, was the first to publish a full edition of the Mencius at Prague in 1711; as the Chinese rites controversy had been recently decided against the Jesuits, however, his edition attained little influence outside central and eastern Europe.
One of Mencius's direct descendants was Dr. Meng Chih (Anglicised as Dr. Paul Chih Meng) former Director of China House, and Director of the China Institute in 1944. Time magazine reported Dr. Meng's age that year as 44. Dr. Meng died in Arizona in 1990 at the age of 90. North Carolina's Davidson College and Columbia University were his alma mater. He was attending a speech along with Confucius descendant H. H. Kung.
In 1978 book purporting to estimate the hundred most influential persons in history to that point, Mencius is ranked at 92.
While Confucius himself did not explicitly focus on the subject of human nature, Mencius asserted the innate goodness of the individual, believing that it was society's influence – its lack of a positive cultivating influence – that caused bad moral character. "He who exerts his mind to the utmost knows his nature" and "the way of learning is none other than finding the lost mind."