Mencius (Volume 1 and 2) (Illustrated Edition)

Author: Zhao Ji (Eastern Han Dynasty)
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 1998-06-01
Features: Mengzi, whose name was Ke, was from Zou during the Warring States period (now Zoucheng City, Shandong Province). He was born around 385 BC and died around 300 BC. Mengzi was a prominent thinker and educator during the Warring States period. He inherited and developed Confucius's thought, becoming the most authoritative representative of the Confucian school in the mid-Warring States period. In feudal society, Mengzi was revered as the second sage after Confucius, known as the "Sub-Sage." The book Mengzi is the most direct and reliable material for studying Mengzi's thought. Since the Han Dynasty, there have been many scholars who studied Mengzi and wrote commentaries on it. Especially after the book was honored as a classic during Emperor Xining's reign in the Northern Song Dynasty, the number of commentators increased significantly. Among the thousands of works on Mengzi, three are particularly praised by scholars: Zhao Ji's Commentary on Mengzi's Chapters from the Eastern Han Dynasty, Zhu Xi's Collected Annotations on Mengzi from the Southern Song Dynasty, and Jiao Xun's Corrective Commentary on Mengzi from the Qing Dynasty. Additionally, Sun Shuang's Commentary and Annotation on Mengzi from the Song Dynasty and Song Xiangfeng's Supplementary Corrections to Zhao Ji's Annotations on Mengzi from the Qing Dynasty are also influential commentaries. Below is a brief introduction:
After Mengzi was compiled, it was initially circulated as a book of the Hundred Schools of Thought. During the time of Emperor Qin Shi Huang's burning of books and burying scholars, the Confucian scholars of the Mengzi school also suffered greatly, but Mengzi itself remained largely unharmed, miraculously preserved. Zhao Ji said, "After Mengzi's death, the great way declined. By the time of the fallen Qin, they burned and destroyed the classics,, and the Mengzi school was completely destroyed. Their book was classified as a work of the Hundred Schools of Thought, so its texts were not extinguished." (Preface to Mengzi)
During the Western Han Dynasty, the status of Mengzi slightly improved. Emperor Wen of Han once established Mengzi as an official text, appointing scholars as Confucian masters. Biographies were considered subordinate to the classics, ranking between the classics and the works of the Hundred Schools of Thought in ancient texts. This shows that Mengzi held a higher status in the early Western Han than in the Qin Dynasty. After Emperor Wu of Han ascended the throne, he implemented the policy of "abandoning the Hundred Schools of Thought and promoting the Six Classics," establishing only the Five Classics scholars while abolishing the biography scholars. Mengzi thus reverted to its status as a work of the Hundred Schools of Thought and remained unchanged throughout the Western Han Dynasty.
Since Mengzi was largely circulated as a work of the Hundred Schools of Thought during the Han Dynasty, fewer people studied it compared to the classics. The recorded works on Mengzi from the Han Dynasty include Yang Xiong's Annotations on Mengzi, Cheng Zeng's Commentary on Mengzi's Chapters, Zheng Xuan's Annotations on Mengzi, Gao You's Commentary on Mengzi's Chapters, Liu Xi's Annotations on Mengzi, and Zhao Ji's Commentary on Mengzi's Chapters, totaling six works. To this day, except for Zhao Ji's Commentary, the rest have been lost, and only fragments can be found in (collected lost texts) from the Qing Dynasty. Zhao Ji's Commentary on Mengzi's Chapters is the only surviving fruit of Han Dynasty scholarship on Mengzi and the earliest complete commentary on Mengzi to survive to this day. Therefore, it is the only reliable source for studying Han Dynasty Mengzi studies and holds great historical value.
Zhao Ji (1082–101), styled Fenqing, was a native of Changling in Jingzhao Commandery during the late Eastern Han Dynasty. His original name was Jia, and he was also known as Taiqing. Later, he changed his name due to fleeing from danger. Zhao Ji had a conflict with Tang Yan, the brother of the eunuch Tang Heng. In the first year of the Yanhui era, Tang Yan became the governor of Jingzhao Commandery, and Zhao Ji, being a subject under his rule, fled to avoid trouble. Tang Yan indeed arrested Zhao Ji's family and relatives, condemned them to severe punishment, and executed them all. After fleeing, Zhao Ji lived incognito and wandered far and wide. While selling pancakes in Beihai Commandery, he met a man named Sun Bingshi and became friends. Sun Bingshi brought Zhao Ji home and hid him in a secret compartment. After Tang Yan's death, Zhao Ji returned to the capital to serve as an official. Legend has it that his Commentary on Mengzi's Chapters was completed during his time of exile.
Ruan Yuan of the Qing Dynasty commented on the Commentary on Mengzi's Chapters in the preface to his Annotations and Collations of the Thirteen Classics: "Zhao Ji's learning, compared to that of Ma Rong, Zheng Xuan, Xu Shen, and Fu Qian, is somewhat simplistic. However, in separating words and phrases, he explains matters and emotions, and there is no discrepancy in his annotations. The subtle meanings and profound principles of the seven chapters can be understood through this work." The General Outline of the Siku Catalogue also commented: "Although his explanations are not as precise as those of later scholars, he opened up barren ground, allowing later scholars to follow his path and delve deeper. His contributions are undeniable." Overall, these two reviews are largely realistic and fair.
The greatest advantage of Zhao Ji's annotations lies in preserving many ancient meanings in terms of names and annotations, and his annotations are generally quite accurate. This may be because Zhao Ji lived closer to the Warring States period and was more familiar with ancient idioms and expressions. Later commentators, due to the passage of time, were often unfamiliar with some ancient common phrases, making it easy for them to misunderstand by interpreting words literally. For example, in Liang Hui Wang, Part 1: "To stretch a branch for an elder, and when asked if you can do it, say, 'I cannot.' This is not because you cannot, but because you will not." The term "stretching a branch" in ancient times referred to actions like massage or scratching to relieve physical fatigue. Therefore, Zhao Ji explained: "Stretching a branch means massage, to stretch the joints and relieve fatigue. 'Relieve fatigue' refers to tired limbs." Zhao Ji's annotation accurately explained the meaning of "stretching a branch." However, Lu Shanjing of the Tang Dynasty did not understand the ancient meaning of "stretching a branch" and interpreted it as "breaking branches of plants." On the surface, Lu's explanation seems very common, but it is actually a misunderstanding based on literal interpretation. Zhu Xi also did not understand the meaning of "stretching a branch" and followed Lu Shanjing's error.
The Qing Dynasty's Zhao You, in Record of Understanding the Four Books, said: "The Comprehensive Examination of Documents records Lu Yun explaining it as 'breaking the waist with a branch,' which is like bowing or saluting today." Interpreting "stretching a branch" as bowing or saluting is also a misunderstanding due to not understanding the ancient meaning. This shows that Zhao Ji's annotations made significant contributions to preserving ancient meanings.