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Confucius teacher of tradition Mencius — Mencius saw himself as Confucius' true heir. He defended and extended Confucian ethics against critics.
Ideas
Words
“If you let people follow their feelings, they will be able to do good. That is what I mean by saying human nature is good.”
“To study without thinking is vain. To think without studying is dangerous.”
“What you do not wish done to yourself, do not do to others.”
Key Moments
c. 372 BCE
Born in Zou
c. 340 BCE
Advising the Warring States
c. 320 BCE
The Child at the Well
c. 315 BCE
The Mandate of Heaven
551 BCE
Born in Qufu
497 BCE
Fourteen Years Wandering
484 BCE
Return to Lu
479 BCE
Death in Qufu
Works
Mencius
The Analects