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Mincius

MENCIUS

371 - 289 BC

The Chinese philosopher Mencius was the most important successor to Confucius, and his teachings contained in a book called Basa are considered sacred and respected in China for many centuries.

Mencius was born in approximately 371 BC in the small state of Cao, and the era in which he was born was known to be the era of wars and chaos between states, because China had not been unified at that time. Although Mencius was acknowledging Confucius as one of his followers, he soon became a respected scholar and philosopher with his independent personality.

Mencius spent most of his youth touring China and offering advice to various rulers. Many of them listened respectfully to him and for a time he became a senior official in the province of Qi, but he did not occupy any permanent position of importance in directing state policy. And in the year 312 BC, when he became about fifty-nine, he returned to his home in the province of (Cao), where he remained until his death, and the year of his death is not known for certain, but it is believed that it is in the year 289 BC. M .

Mencius had several disciples throughout China, but his fame and importance rests on his book called (The Book of Mencius), in which he put his main teachings. His disciples made some omissions in it, but it represents and with Mencius's main ideas.

The character of this book is idealistic and optimistic, reflecting the firm belief of Mencius. The basic nature of the world is good, and in many respects his political ideas are similar to the ideas of Confucius. He believes that the king is more moral than forceful, and notes that Mencius was a more popular man than Confucius. In one of his famous statements, he says: “The sky sees as people see, and the sky hears as well. People hear.”

He affirms that the people are the important element in any state and has more importance than the importance of the ruler, and that it is the duty of the ruler to promote and encourage the general interest of his people.

He advised free trade, light taxes, and maintaining resources. Natural wealth and the division of wealth more than is prevailing, and state assistance for the elderly and people with disabilities. It was believed that the power of the king derived. Heaven, but a king who ignores the interest of his people will lose a mandate and the right to remove him. You notice that Mencius was asserting and deciding the fact (much before the appearance of John Locke) that the people have the right to revolt against the king if he is not just, and this idea has become generally accepted in China.

In general, we see that Mencius advised a kind of policy that tends to favor the interests of the governed people more than it tends to the interests of the ruler. Therefore, we are not surprised if we see that the rulers did not implement his suggestions in his days, but with the passage of time his ideas became familiar to Confucian scholars and the Chinese people, and his status, which was high, rose. From before to a higher and higher status after the emergence of Neo-Confucianism in the eleventh and twelfth centuries.

The writer admires Mencius because he suggested taking care of the old and infirm and reducing taxes.