Mencius

Posts in The Copybook credited to ‘Mencius’

Mencius (?371-?289 BC) lived under the Zhou dynasty (1046-256 BC), which towards its later years fell into decay. When Mencius was still young his father died, leaving the family poor. The boy’s mother took care to give him an education, and he became a consultant on sound government in the traditions of Confucius. For a time he held office in the state of Qi, but he resigned after his advice too often went unheeded. He continued to advise various states, but retired from public life feeling he had not achieved his aims. Mencius is pronounced MEN-shee-us, and is a Latinized form of Mengzi or Master Meng. His full name was Meng Ke.

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The Dignities of God and Man by Mencius

The honours that come from God and those that come from men need to be put in the right order.

Mencius (?371-?289) or ‘Master Meng’ spent his career advising Chinese regional governments on public policy during a low-point in the Zhou Dynasty. Regional barons squabbled, taxed cruelly and chopped off heads, and all was flattery, corruption and ambition. Mencius saw no hope for the State in institutional reforms: each man must undertake his own personal reformation.

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