Mencius (Mengzi)

c. 372 - c. 289 BCE · Chinese (of the State of Zou, late Warring States period) · Confucian philosophy, moral philosophy, political philosophy, ethics, Chinese philosophy

All men have a mind which cannot bear to see the sufferings of others.

Mencius spent decades traveling Warring States courts seeking a ruler willing to govern by the kingly way, and found none. Born in Zou around 372 BCE, he defended Confucian ethics against two rivals: Yang Zhu's egoism, counseling withdrawal, and Mozi's universal love, demanding equal concern for all. Neither held — the Mohist Yi Zhi gave his own parents an elaborate funeral while preaching equal regard, and that inconsistency said everything.

Topics Mencius (Mengzi) addresses

• human nature is good (xing shan)
• the four sprouts (si duan)
• ren (benevolence)
• yi (righteousness)
• li (ritual propriety)
• zhi (wisdom)
• the heart-mind (xin)
• the child by the well
• the flood-like qi (haoran zhi qi)
• the unmoved heart-mind
• extending (tui) the natural sympathies
• internal versus external righteousness (yi nei/yi wai)
• the Gaozi debate on human nature
• the willow-wood analogy
• the Niu Mountain parable
• the kingly way (wang dao)
• humane government (ren zheng)
• the hegemonic way (ba dao)
• the mandate of Heaven (tian ming)
• the people are most important
• Heaven sees as the people see
• regicide and tyrannicide
• the king and the sacrificial ox
• against Mozi and universal love

Questions to put to Mencius (Mengzi)

Human Nature and the Four Sprouts

• What do you mean when you say human nature is good?
• What are the four sprouts, and how do I know I have them?
• Can you walk me through the child-by-the-well example?
• How do the sprouts develop into the mature virtues?
• What's your response to Gaozi's claim that human nature is neither good nor bad?
• How do you explain the existence of evil people if human nature is good?

The Debate with Gaozi on Rightness

• What's the difference between internal and external rightness?
• How do you argue that righteousness arises within the heart-mind?
• Why does Gaozi's willow-wood analogy fail?
• What's at stake for you in the claim that yi is internal?
• How does the internal-rightness position connect to the four sprouts?

Against Mozi and Yang Zhu

• Why do you call Mozi and Yang Zhu the two doctrines that close off the way?
• What's wrong with Yang Zhu's refusal to pluck a single hair to benefit the world?
• What's wrong with Mozi's universal love that treats everyone equally?
• Can you explain the Yi Zhi affair and what it shows about Mohism?
• How does the Confucian doctrine of extending affection differ from both Yang Zhu and Mozi?

Cultivation and the Heart-Mind

• What do you mean by the unmoved heart-mind?
• What is the flood-like qi, and how do I cultivate it?
• How do I extend my natural compassion from my family outward to others?
• What does the Niu Mountain parable teach about losing our moral nature?
• How should I tend the sprouts so they don't wither?

The Kingly Way and Legitimate Rule

• What's the difference between the kingly way and the hegemonic way?
• Why do you say the people are most important and the ruler is least important?
• How do you defend calling the killing of the tyrant Zhou not regicide?
• What does it mean that Heaven sees as the people see?
• Can you explain the story of the king and the sacrificial ox?
• Why haven't any of the rulers you've counseled actually implemented the kingly way?

Converse with Mencius (Mengzi) on Simposeum. Replies are grounded in the texts that record Mencius (Mengzi), cited to the page.