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Mencius
Mèngzǐ (Meng Ke)
The 'Second Sage' of Confucianism who held that human nature is good.
Overview
The most important Confucian after Confucius himself, revered as the 'Second Sage'. Mencius developed Confucian ethics with his famous doctrine that human nature is innately good: everyone possesses 'sprouts' of virtue — compassion, shame, courtesy, and a sense of right and wrong — that education and cultivation can grow. In politics he taught benevolent government (ren zheng) for the people's welfare, and boldly asserted that a ruler who fails the people forfeits the 'Mandate of Heaven' and may rightfully be deposed.
What they supported — and why
Human nature is good
SupportedAll humans are born with innate 'sprouts' of virtue — feelings of compassion, shame, courtesy, and right and wrong.
WhyThe spontaneous alarm anyone feels on seeing a child about to fall into a well shows moral feeling is native to us, needing cultivation, not implantation.
Cultivate the sprouts
SupportedMoral development is the growing and extending of our innate good tendencies.
WhyVirtue is nurtured from within, like tending plants, so education draws out what is already there rather than imposing it.
Benevolent government and the Mandate of Heaven
SupportedRulers must govern for the people's welfare; a tyrant who fails them loses Heaven's mandate and may be overthrown.
WhyHeaven sees as the people see; legitimacy rests on caring for the people, so misrule dissolves the right to rule.
Causes championed
- The innate goodness of humanity
- Moral self-cultivation
- Government for the people's welfare
Issues wrestled with
- Is human nature good, bad, or neutral?
- How does virtue develop?
- When is a ruler legitimate?
Hurdles faced
- An era of ruthless warring states indifferent to benevolence
- Debating rivals (Mohists, egoists) on human nature
Works & books
1 catalogued. Status shows how much survives to today.
The Mencius (Mengzi)
SurvivesHis dialogues and arguments — one of the Confucian 'Four Books'.
Read the texts free
1 of Mencius’s works are free to read in full — public-domain English editions on Project Gutenberg, matched from Gutenberg’s own catalogue.
Every edition online — Open Library catalogues 146 works & editions, 11 of them free to read in full.
The influence network
See Mencius in the map →Influenced by
Influenced
In their words
“The feeling of compassion is the beginning of humaneness.”
— Mencius
“The people are the most important element in a state; the ruler is the least.”
— Mencius
Legacy
His doctrine of innate goodness and people-centered politics became orthodox Confucianism and shaped East Asian moral and political thought for two millennia.
Further reading
Cross-checked against these authoritative references.