by Mencius
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Product Description
Mencius was the philosopher whose influence upon ancient Chinese thought was second only to that of Confucius, whose teachings Mencius defended and expanded. The Mencius, in which he recounts his dialogues with kings, dukes, and military men, as well as other philosophers, is one of the four books that make up the essential Confucian corpus. It takes up Confucius’s theories of jen, or goodness, and yi, righteousness, explaining that the individual can achieve harmony with mankind and the universe by perfecting his innate moral nature and acting with benevolence and justice. Mencius’s remarkably modern views on the duties of subjects and their rulers and on the evils of war created a Confucian orthodoxy that has remained intact since the third century BCE.
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Average Customer Review:
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:
 A Good Translation, 2008-12-17
The Chinese philosopher Mencius was one of the great thinkers in Confucian thought and develops many of the teachings of Confucius into a more mature form. If you're interested in Confucian thought, then you definitely need to read this volume.
In addition to the main text of Mencius, this volume contains five valuable essays in the appendix. The first one covers the dating of events in Mencius. This is valuable for those who are interested in the historical aspects of Mencius. The second essay covers traditions and legends related to Mencius. The third essay covers the validity of the text of Mencius. The fourth essay covers Mencius' view of the history prior to his time. The final essay covers the practice of using analogy as a form of argument in the time of Mencius. These essays all add to a deeper understanding of the text. I recommend this particular volume of Mencius.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
 Easy to read translation, 2006-12-17
Regardless of my rating, if you wish to understand Chinese thought in that era you must read this book. Mencius is considered only second to Confucius himself.
In this book, translated by David Hinton, is a compilation of teachings of Chinese sage Mencius, who the book claims trained with the grandson of Confucius in the fourth century B.C.E. Here we have fourteen chapters that highlight Mencius's central belief in inherent goodness of human nature.
Mencius is easier to read then most other Chinese sages because of his use analogies and his optimistic point of view. And the translator's introduction provides us with historical background to place the writings into the correct perspective.
0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
another book of the library of chinese classics, 2006-07-09
The "Library of Chinese classics" is excellent. You may have Chinese text and English translation on facing pages. This is the best thing.
Unfortunately, there aren't any notes.
I advice this book they who can read Chinese and want to profit from the facilities of this edition. The general reader should integrate this edition with the excellent translations already published, such as Mencius' Da Liu, anyway.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
Interesting and inscrutable, 2005-09-05
I have read a great deal of Chinese history. I have also read many of the philosophy classics; Confucius Analects, the Tao Te Ching, the I Ching, and the Chuang Tsu. Chinese philosophy does not set forth ideas as directly as Western philosophy. You can read three sentences and search for the meaning for fifteen minutes. The writing conveys ideas in what is to me an abstruse fashion. I briefly studied the Chinese language and it conveys a lot of ideas in a short space.
After the thinking I do get an idea. It is amazing what is conveyed in a few words. There is no attempt to set forth an ordered set of ideas. What I understand are thoughts that form a point of view. That is what I mean by inscrutable.
Mencius is not nearly as minimalist as the Analects. He tells short tales with a moral. To that extent he is easier to understand. The same ideas appear with different emphasis in tales. The writing does not present a clear direct system of ideas, such as Aristotle. My interpretation may be much different than yours.
I enjoyed Mencius. I felt it was worth while and gave me insight into Chinese thought. It must be remembered that he is second only to Confucius in Confucian thought.
What worked for me was to read slowly and take notes. I had to invest a great deal of time in reading what is a short book. I still feel I need to read some type of treatise to get a better understanding of the philosophy of Mencius. Reading Mencius first gives the basis to build a greater understanding of Chinese philosophy and the Chinese point of view.
2 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
Mr. Mecius is super-fabulicius!!!, 2005-03-14
What can I say? This book is probably the closest Chinese book involving the art of parallel-argumentation that a person will ever get out of a Chinese book.
I love this book. Plus, Lau really adds desert by his five highly detailed appendixes. Way to go Lau!
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