Mencius
 | |
| Mencius | |
|---|---|
| Ancestral name (姓): | Ji (Chinese: 姬 ; Pinyin: Jī) |
| Clan name (氏): | Meng¹ (Ch: 孟 ; Py: Mèng) |
| Given name (名): | Ke (Ch: 軻 ; Py: Kē) |
| Courtesy name (字): | Unknown² |
| Posthumous name (謚): | Master Meng the Second Sage³ |
| (Ch: 亞聖孟子 ; Py: Yàshèng Mèngzǐ) | |
| Styled: | Master Meng 4 |
| (Ch: 孟子; Py: Mèngzǐ) | |
| 1 The original clan name was Mengsun (孟孫), but was shortened into Meng (孟), before or after Mencius's life, it is not possible to say. | |
| 2 Traditionally, his courtesy name was assumed to be Ziche (子車), sometimes incorrectly written as Ziyu (子輿) or Ziju (子居), but recent scholarly works show that these courtesy names appeared in the 3rd century CE and apply to another historical figure named Meng Ke who also lived in Chinese antiquity and was mistaken for Mencius. | |
| 3 That is, the second sage after Confucius. Name given in 1530 by Emperor Jiajing. In the two centuries before 1530, the posthumous name was "The Second Sage Duke of Zou" (鄒國亞聖公) which is still the name that can be seen carved in the Mencius ancestral temple in Zoucheng. | |
| 4Romanized as Mencius. | |
Mencius (Chinese 孟子, transliterated Meng Zi, most accepted dates: 372–289 B.C.E.; other possible dates: 385–303/302 B.C.E.) was a Chinese philosopher and follower of Confucianism who argued that humans are naturally moral beings but are corrupted by society.
Biography
Mencius, also known by his birth name Meng Ke or Ko, was born in the State of Zou (鄒國),[1] only thirty kilometres (eighteen miles) south of Qufu, Confucius' birthplace. He was an itinerant Chinese philosopher and sage, and one of the principal interpreters of Confucianism. Though he never studied directly with Confucius, he "studied under the pupils of Confucius's grandson [Zisi]" (Chan, 49). His subsequent philosophical career was marked by numerous debates with other schools of philosophy, particularly the Moists and followers of Yang Zhu. Additionally, he (like Confucius) travelled China for forty years, visiting various royal courts and offering the rulers advice on how to reform their kingdoms. He served as an official during the Warring States Period (403–221 B.C.E.) in the State of Qi (齊 qì), from 319 to 312 B.C.E. In another parallel with popular accounts of the life of Confucius, Mencius is known for expressing his filial devotion by taking an absence of three years (from his official duties for Qi) to mourn his mother's death. Finally, disappointed at his failure to effect changes in his contemporary world, he retired from public life. Over and above these scanty details, Mencius remains a highly enigmatic figure, in that "we know practically nothing about Mencius' family or his private life" (Chang, ibid).
The teachings of Mencius have been preserved in an eponymous text, the Mencius (also spelled Mengzi or Meng-tzu). This book, likely compiled in the years following his death, contains transcriptions (or more likely recollections) of his teaching sessions, philosophical debates and conversations with kings. In contrast with the Analects of Confucius (lun yu), which are short, self-contained and rather epigrammatic, much of the Mencius consists of long dialogues, written in prose and using many analogies and stories to illuminate his points.
Philosophy
Background
As mentioned above, the only surviving records of the teachings of Mencius are found in the book bearing his name. Even this source, though it contains longer sections of prose commentary and illustrative examples, does not contain a holistic, unified philosophical system. Not only is the text almost entirely silent on metaphysical and cosmological issues, but when such concepts are used, they are presented in a unreflective manner. For example, Heaven (Tian), in the Mencius, is seen as
does have a place for the ideas of and material force (qi),
<neo-conf> both of which receive extensive metaphysical elaboration
note - not a criticism, this was just the style... (parallels with the analects and the ddj)
<no explicit metaphysical system> <everything we know comes from the Mencius text (even for his public debates, b/c his critics/opponents works haven't survived)>
Ethics and Personal Cultivation
Mencius argued for the infinite goodness of the individual, believing that it was society's influence – its lack of a positive cultivating influence – which caused bad character.
Mencius argued that human beings are born with an innate moral sense which society has corrupted, and that the goal of moral cultivation is to return to one's innate morality.
<sprouts>
Mencius was entirely convinced that any evil inherited by a person was due to environmental factors, most likely the immorality of the current political leaders. He goes so far as to say that an immoral leader who prosecutes his subjects for their immorality is guilty of entrapment, as their moral lapses are actually his fault:
The way according to which the people conduct their lives is this: If they have a secure livelihood, they will have a secure mind. And if they have no secure livelihood, they will not have a secure mind. And if they have no secure mind, there is nothing they will not do in the way of self-abandonment, moral deflection, depravity, and wild license. When they fall into crime, to pursue and punish them is to entrap them. How can such a thing as entrapping the people be allowed under the rule of a man of humanity [ren]? (Mencius 3A1, translated in Chan, 67).
Likewise, he argues that:
An enlightened ruler, in regulating the people's livelihood, must ensure that it is sufficient, on the one hand, to serve one's father and mother, and on the other hand, to nurture wife and children. In good years, one is always full. In years of famine, one escapes death. Only when the people have a regulated livelihood do they rush toward the good, and thus people follow the ruler easily (Mencius, 1A7).
Such convictions were instrumental in the development of Mencius's practical philosophy.
Practical Philosophy
The Mencian concern with moral cultivation and his confidence in the inherent goodness of people provided a strong impetus towards engaged scholarship. His convictions led to his belief that it was imperative for a scholar-official, like himself, to use his learning for the benefit of all people (from the ruling classes to the peasantry). As such, much of his thought and teaching centered upon fairly practical matters, including the need for proper governance, education and even land reforms. As seen above, he spent the bulk of his life attempting to convince various political leaders to enact these forward-thinking proposals.
Proper Governance
Due to the malleability of human nature, Mencius viewed proper governance as necessary for the moral advancement of the nation. Specifically, he thought that a ruler who acknowledged the humankindness (ren) of his subjects would inherently draw the support of the people and would allow them to behave properly (following the rules of ritual propriety).
[King] Xuan said, "What must one's Virtue [de] be like so that one can become a king?"
Mengzi said, "One cares for the people and becomes a king. This is something that no one can stop."
...
So Your Majesty's not being a king is not in the category of picking up Mount Tai and leaping over the North Sea. Your Majesty's not being a king is in the category of [not] massaging the stiff joints of an elderly person.
...
Simply return to the fundamentals. Suppose Your Majesty were to bestow benevolence [ren] in governing. This would cause all under Heaven who serve others to all want to take their place in Your Majesty's court, those who plough to all want to plough in Your Majesty's uncultivated fields, merchants to all want to place their goods in Your Majesty's markets, those who travel to all wish to use Your Majesty's roads. All under Heaven who wish to complain of their rulers would all desire to report to Your Majesty. If it were like this, who could stop it?" (Mencius, 1A7).
In the above example, Mencius reproaches King Xuan for his failure to exercise benevolence in his leadership, a failure that was entirely within the King's ability to remedy. Further, he concludes the passage quoted above with viable suggestions (including offering public classes in animal husbandry and giving the people access to silk-producing moths) that would have appreciably improved the lives of the commoners, demonstrating his belief that this benevolent leadership was both practical and practicable.
As seen above, Mencius thought that non-benevolent leadership produced an environment where personal moral cultivation was impossible. He was so commited to this proposition that he argued that it was acceptable for the populace to depose a tyrant who ignored the people's needs.
King Xuan of Qi asked, "Is it the case that Tang banished Jie, and that Wu struck down Zhou?"
Mengzi responded, saying, "There are such accounts in the historical records."
The King said, "Is it acceptable for subjects to kill their rulers?"
Mengzi said, "One who violates benevolence [ren] should be called a 'thief.' One who violates righteousness [yi] is called a 'mutilator.' A mutilator and thief is called a mere 'fellow.' I have heard of the execution of a mere fellow called 'Zhou,' but I have not heard of the killing of one's ruler" (Mencius 1B8).
Given his general commitment to the Confucian Five Relationships, such a teaching becomes additionally revolutionary, as it argues that a ruler who does not behave appropriately actually ceases to be a ruler. This idea paves the way for later debates about the reciprocal nature of the Confucian relationships.
Education
<Four-Character Idiom> The traditional Chinese four-character idiom 孟母三遷 (Py: mèng mǔ sān qiān; Zhuyin/Bopomofo: ㄇㄥㄇㄨㄙㄢㄑ一ㄢ; Kana: もうぼさんせん; Romaji: mou bo san sen; literal translation: Mencius' mother, three moves) refers to the legend that Mencius' mother moved their house three times—from beside a cemetery to beside a marketplace, to finally beside a school—before finding a location that she felt was suitable for his up-bringing. As an expression, the idiom refers to the importance of a proper environment for the proper up-bringing of children.
Land Reforms
Mencius spoke frequently and highly of the well-field system.
Significance
Though Mencius considered himself to be a failure due to his inability to find an official patron to fully enact his political reforms, he has become one of the most influential figures in Chinese history. His impact on Chinese life and society has been second only to that of Confucius, as he was responsible for expanding and systematizing the teachings of his sagely idol. Indeed, the Mencian interpretation of Confucianism has generally been considered orthodoxy by subsequent Chinese philosophers, especially the Neo-Confucians of the Song dynasty. Specifically, Han Yu singled him out as the only classical era philosopher to correctly transmit the Confucian Dao, a view that was universally accepted among the Neo-Confucians. This public approbation reached its apex when Zhu Xi officially canonized his work as one of the Four Books, making it part of the official curriculum for Confucian education. Subsequently, Mencian ideas were central to the Neo-Confucian formulations of Wang Yang-ming, Muro Kyuso and Ogyu Sorai.
Many modern Confucians (including Kang Youwei, Xiong Shili and Xu Fuguan) see the Mencius as a means of addressing the Western challenges of democracy and human rights from within the classical Chinese corpus. Indeed, the Mencian doctrines of innate human goodness, of the malleability of human nature, and of the people's right to revolution continue to be intriguing and challenging, and are compatible with many of the beliefs of modern Western humanities and social sciences.
Notes
- ^ It is believed that the birthplace of Mencius corresponds with the modern county-level city of Zoucheng (邹城市) in Shandong province.
ReferencesISBN links support NWE through referral fees
- Berthrong, John H. Transformations of the Confucian Way. Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 1998. ISBN: 0813328047.
- Chan, Wing-tsit. "Idealistic Confucianism: Mencius" in A Source Book in Chinese Philosophy. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1963. 49-83.
- Graham, A.C. Disputers of the TAO: Philosophical Argument in Ancient China. Open Court, 1993. ISBN 0812690877
- Mencius. With Introduction and Translation by Bryan W. van Norden. Included in Readings in Classical Chinese Philosophy. New York: Seven Bridges Press, 2001. ISBN: 1889119091. 111-155.
- Schwartz, Benjamin. The World of Thought in Ancient China. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1985. ISBN: 0674961900.
See also
External links
- English translation of the Mencius by Charles Muller
- English Translation of the Mencius with comments by James Legge
- Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy entry
- Works by Mencius. Project Gutenberg
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