Mencius

About Mencius

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 Net Worth

Mencius was born in Zoucheng, China, Chinese, is Philosopher. Mencius was a famous Chinese philosopher, born in the state of Zou. He was controversially considered the most popular Confucian, after Confucius himself. The philosophy of Mencius is distinguished by idealism and the declaration that the nature of man is basically good. Although many Confucian philosophers emerged out, but amongst them Mencius was the most intelligent and popular. He even expanded and improved several ideas of Confucius. Also, his understandings and analysis of these ideas became equally influential and powerful as that of the master Confucius.
Mencius is a member of Philosophers

💰 Net worth: Under Review

Some Mencius images

Biography/Timeline

1711

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.

1944

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.

1978

In 1978 book purporting to estimate the hundred most influential persons in history to that point, Mencius is ranked at 92.

2013

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."