Karolis mencius biography

First published Sat Oct 16, 2004

Mencius (fourth century B.C.) sought to defend the teachings of Confucius (sixth to fifth century B.C.) against other influential movements of thought, especially those associated with Mozi (fifth century B.C.) and Yang Zhu (fifth to fourth century B.C.).

He is probably best known for the view that “human nature is good”, a view of human nature on the basis of which he defended the Confucian ideal and developed an account of the self-cultivation process. His view was subsequently challenged by Xunzi (third century B.C.), another major Confucian thinker, who defended the alternative view that “human nature is evil”.

Confucian thinkers of the Han (206 B.C – 220 A.D.) were influenced by the teachings of both, but by the late Tang (618–907), influential intellectuals such as Han Yu (768–824) came to regard Mencius as the true transmitter of Confucius' teachings.

This view was shared by Confucian th