author
Mencius
-385–-289
Often called the "Second Sage" after Confucius, this influential thinker helped shape the moral and political side of Confucian philosophy. The work associated with him explores human goodness, self-cultivation, and the duty of rulers to govern with care.
3 Audiobooks
Chinese literature : Comprising the Analects of Confucius, the Sayings of Mencius, the Shi-King, the Travels of Fâ-Hien, and the Sorrows of Han
by Confucius, Faxian, Mencius
孟子
by Mencius
Les quatre livres de philosophie morale et politique de la Chine
by Confucius, Mencius
About the author
Born as Meng Ke and known in Chinese as Mengzi, he lived during China’s Warring States period and is traditionally dated to around the 4th century BCE. Ancient sources differ on the exact years, which is why modern references sometimes give slightly different dates, but they agree on his importance as one of the central figures in early Confucian thought.
He is remembered for developing Confucius’s ideas in a more forceful and humane direction. His teachings argue that people have the beginnings of moral goodness within them and that rulers should win loyalty through benevolent government rather than fear. Those ideas made him one of the most admired interpreters of the Confucian tradition.
The book Mencius preserves conversations, debates, and teachings connected with him, and it became one of the key texts of the Confucian canon. For many later readers, he stands not just as a philosopher of ethics, but as a vivid voice on how character, compassion, and political responsibility belong together.