Mencius Selected Notes: Senior High School Part (Revised Edition)

Author: Li Bingying
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Publication Date: Not available
Features: Mencius, named Ke, was a native of Zou (present-day Zoucheng, Shandong). He was born around 372 BC and died in 289 BC. He was a descendant of the noble Meng 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 school of Confucianism, further developing the school. After completing his studies, he traveled to persuade the feudal lords of various states, including Zou, Ren, Qi, Lu, Song, Teng, and Liang (Wei). He served as a "qing" (a high-ranking official) in Qi for several years and was highly respected in Liang. However, the great feudal lords of Qi and Liang, such as King Xuan of Qi and King Hui of Liang, considered his ideas outdated. Despite their generous treatment, they did not adopt his suggestions. In this situation, he did not covet 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 views, philosophical theories, and educational principles—into a book, which was passed down to later generations. This is the "Mencius" of seven chapters that has been preserved to this day. The annotations in this book are primarily based on Jiao Xun's "Zhengyi," but they do not blindly adhere to old interpretations. They also carefully select and incorporate views from relevant sources. In short, the annotations aim for clarity and strive to convey the true meaning of the original text. For example, "The ruler of a state should promote the worthy if there is no other choice" 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 to make them as accessible as possible. However, due to the significant changes in language over time, 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, the annotations in this book adopt the following methods: (1) For a word, if necessary, use two or more words with similar meanings to provide annotations, allowing readers to combine them and grasp the intended meaning; (2) Explain the context; (3) Explain the part of speech and grammar when necessary; (4) Use pinyin to note the pronunciation of rare characters or characters with different readings in modern Chinese; (5) In some chapters, the annotations offer personal insights into the overall meaning or writing techniques of the chapter, hoping to assist readers. The main text is based on the Song Dynasty's large-character edition, with references to Ruan's annotated edition and common collected annotations. However, in the annotations, differences in textual variants are generally not pointed out to avoid distracting readers.