Mencius Selected Annotations

Author: Li Bingying, selected and annotated
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2003-05-01
Features: Mencius, named Ke, was a native of Zou (modern-day Zoucheng, Shandong). He was born around 372 BC and died around 289 BC. He was a descendant of the noble Mengsun family of Lu, who had declined to the status of "shi" (scholar). He studied under Zisi, a disciple of Confucius's grandson, and became a successor to the Xianzi and Zisi schools of Confucianism, further developing the school. After completing his studies, he traveled to various states—Zou, Ren, Qi, Lu, Song, Teng, and Liang (Wei)—to persuade the rulers to adopt his ideas. He served as a "qing" (a high-ranking official) in Qi for several years and was highly respected in Liang. However, the great rulers of Qi and Liang, such as King Xuan of Qi and King Hui of Liang, considered his proposals out of touch with the times, despite their generous treatment of him, and did not adopt his suggestions. In this situation, he did not cling to fame or position, resigned from his post, and devoted himself to writing, teaching his disciples, anding his ideals in the future. After stopping his political activities, he and his disciples, such as Wan Zhang and Gongsun Chou, compiled his teachings—his political doctrines, philosophical theories, and educational principles—into a book, which was passed down to later generations. This is the Mencius that has been, consisting of seven chapters. The annotations in this book are primarily based on Jiao Xun's Zhengyi, but they do not blindly follow old interpretations. Instead, they carefully select and incorporate views from relevant sources, with the aim of making the text clear and expressive of the original meaning. For example, the phrase "The ruler of a state should promote the worthy as a matter of necessity" is annotated using Huang Zongxi's Mengzi Shishuo, and "All the things used are taken from within his own palace" is annotated using Zhang Taiyan's Xin Fangyan. To assist readers who are interested in classical literature but have limited exposure to classical Chinese, the annotations use colloquial language, striving for simplicity. However, due to the significant changes in language between ancient and modern times, it is difficult to find exact equivalents for all words and phrases. To preserve the "original meaning" or "extended meaning" of the terms while maintaining the original tone, this book employs the following methods in its annotations: (1) For a word, if necessary, use two or more words with similar meanings to explain it, allowing readers to combine them and grasp the intended sense; (2) Provide context-based explanations; (3) Explain the part of speech and grammar when necessary; (4) Use pinyin to note the pronunciation of rare or ambiguous characters; (5) In some chapters, provide personal insights into the overall meaning or writing techniques, hoping to assist readers. The main text is based on the Song Dynasty's large-character edition, with reference to Ruan's annotated edition and common collected commentaries. However, in the annotations, differences in textual variants are generally not pointed out to avoid distracting readers.