The Works of Mencius

Mencius c. 300 BCE

Conversations between Mencius and the kings, ministers and students he met traveling among the warring states of ancient China, urging rulers to govern with benevolence. He argues that people are born good, as surely as water flows downhill.

206 pages 4h reading time

Why it lasts

  • One of the Four Books, and the source of the Confucian belief that human nature is good.
  • Holds that the people matter most in a state and the ruler least.
  • Argues that a ruler who preys on his people loses the right to rule, an early case for justified rebellion.
  • Teaches through vivid stories, like the farmer who tugged on his sprouts to help them grow.

Behind the book

  • The Second Sage

    Tradition ranks Mencius just below Confucius.

  • Three moves

    His mother is said to have moved house three times to find the right place to raise him.

  • Cut by an emperor

    The first Ming emperor, angered by its lines on rulers, had dozens of passages removed from the official text.

Translated by James Legge 1861