Mencius[a] (MEN-shee-əs; c. 371 – c. 289 BC) was a Chinese Confucian philosopher, often described as the Second Sage (亞聖) to reflect his traditional esteem relative to Confucius himself.

Conversations with these rulers form the basis of the Mencius, which would later be canonised as a Confucian classic.

Like Confucius, according to legend, he travelled throughout China for forty years to offer advice to rulers for reform.

He expressed his filial piety when he took three years leave of absence from his official duties for Qi to mourn his mother's death.

A stele carried by a giant stone tortoise and crowned with dragons stands in front of his grave.

One of the most famous traditional chengyu is 孟母三遷 (mèngmǔ sānqiān; 'Mencius's mother moves three times')); this saying refers to the legend that Mencius's mother moved houses three times before finding a location that she felt was suitable for the child's upbringing.

At first they lived by a cemetery, where the mother found her son imitating the paid mourners in funeral processions.

His mother responded to his apparent disregard for his education by taking up a pair of scissors and cutting the cloth she had been weaving in front of him.

This was intended to illustrate that one cannot stop a task midway, and her example inspired Mencius to be diligent in his studies.

[9]Human nature has an innate tendency towards goodness, but moral rightness cannot be instructed down to the last detail.

[citation needed] Mencius also believed in the power of Destiny in shaping the roles of human beings in society.

Mencius denied that Heaven would protect a person regardless of his actions, saying, "One who understands Destiny will not stand beneath a tottering wall".

Although Confucius admired kings of great accomplishment, Mencius is clarifying the proper hierarchy of human society.

Scarcity is an issue in any market; however, Mencius emphasizes the reframing of the idea of a scarce resource.

[15] Mencius's interpretation of Confucianism has generally been considered the orthodox version by subsequent Chinese philosophers, especially by the Neo-Confucians of the Song dynasty.

Mencius's disciples included a large number of feudal lords, and he is said to have been more influential than Confucius had been.

[16] The Mencius is one of the Four Books that Zhu Xi (1130–1200) grouped as the core of orthodox Neo-Confucian thought.

In contrast to the sayings of Confucius, which are short and self-contained, the Mencius consists of long dialogues, including arguments, with extensive prose.

Matteo Ricci also particularly disliked what they had believed to be condemnation of celibacy as unfilial, which is rather a mistranslation of a similar word referring more to aspects of personality.

[citation needed] François Noël, who felt that Zhu's ideas represented a natural and native development of Confucius's thought, was the first to publish a full edition of the Mencius at Prague in 1711[17] as the Chinese Rites controversy had been recently decided against the Jesuits; however, his edition attained little influence outside central and eastern Europe.

The first Mencius Institute (a research and educational academic institute in theoretical Confucianism) was established in Xuzhou, China in 2008 under a collaboration between Jiangsu Normal University, China Zoucheng Heritage Tourism Bureau, and Xuzhou Mengshi Clan Friendship Network.

[18] First Mencius Institute outside of China is located at Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman (UTAR) Kampar Campus, Malaysia in 2016.