Mencius (Selected and Translated, with Illustrations, and Pinyin Reading)

Author: Xu Zhigang
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-06-01
Features: Mencius, a great thinker, statesman, and educator in ancient China, lived during the mid-Warring States period. He was a successor and promoter of Confucius's thoughts and political doctrines, as well as a master and representative of the Confucian school after Confucius. Later, in 1083, Emperor Shenzong of Song enfeoffed him as "Duke of Zou," and in 1331, Emperor Wenzong of Yuan further enfeoffed him as "Sub-Sage of Zou." To this day, he is revered as the "Sub-Sage." In China, the stories of "Mencius's mother's three relocations" and "Mencius's mother cutting the weaving" are widely known. This far-sighted mother truly did not waste her efforts, as her son Mencius eventually gained enduring fame in Chinese history and was known alongside Confucius, the founder of Confucianism, as "Confucius and Mencius." Mencius himself was also revered as the "Sub-Sage." In this work, the author constructs a complete and vast system of Mencian thought. For thousands of years, countless scholars have meticulously analyzed this extensive philosophical system, either through annotations, chapter summaries, or under names like "cross-references" and "personal insights," highlighting the values in Mencian thought. The book Mencius is the most direct and most reliable material for studying Mencius's ideas. Since the Han Dynasty, scholars have continuously studied Mencius and written annotations on it, especially after the book was revered as a classic during Emperor Xining of Song. The number of annotators has only grown since then. Among the thousands of works on Mencius, three are particularly praised by scholars: Zhao Ji of the Eastern Han Dynasty's Annotations on Mencius, Zhu Xi of the Southern Song Dynasty's Collected Annotations on Mencius, and Jiao Xun of the Qing Dynasty's Corrective Annotations on Mencius. Additionally, Sun Shuang's Annotations and Explanations on Mencius and Song Xiangfeng's Supplementary Corrections to Zhao Ji's Annotations on Mencius are also influential annotated editions. Below, they are briefly introduced:
After its completion, Mencius was initially circulated as a work on the Hundred Schools of Thought. During the Qin Dynasty's suppression of scholars and burning of books, Mencius's followers suffered greatly, but Mencius itself remained miraculously preserved. Zhao Ji said, "After Mencius's death, the great way declined. By the time of the fallen Qin, they burned and destroyed classics,, and Mencius's followers were destroyed. His book was classified as a work on the Hundred Schools of Thought, so its texts were not completely obliterated." (Preface to Mencius)
During the Western Han Dynasty, the status of Mencius slightly improved. Emperor Wen of Han once established it as a subject in schools, appointing scholars as "Biographies Scholars." Biographies were considered subordinate to classics, ranking between classics and works on the Hundred Schools of Thought in ancient texts. This shows that Mencius held a higher status in the early Western Han than in the Qin Dynasty. After Emperor Wu of Han ascended the throne, due to his policy of "abandoning the Hundred Schools of Thought and promoting the Six Classics," only the Five Classics Scholars were retained, while the Biographies Scholars were abolished. Mencius thus reverted to its status as a work on the Hundred Schools of Thought and remained unchanged throughout the Western Han Dynasty.
Since Mencius was largely circulated as a work on the Hundred Schools of Thought during the Han Dynasty, fewer people studied it compared to classics. The annotated works on Mencius recorded in historical records from the Western Han include Yang Xiong's Annotations on Mencius, Cheng Zeng's Annotations and Explanations on Mencius, Zheng Xuan's Annotations on Mencius, Gao You's Annotations and Explanations on Mencius, Liu Xi's Annotations on Mencius, and Zhao Ji's Annotations and Explanations on Mencius, totaling six works. To this day, except for Zhao Ji's Annotations and Explanations, the rest have been lost, and only fragments can be found in (collected lost texts) compilations from the Qing Dynasty.