Reading notes of Mencius’ educational thought

The extract from A History of Chinese Educational Thought

1. Life and educational activities of Mencius

As a descendant（后裔）of an aristocrat（贵族）in the State of Lu, Mencius, born in the middle of the Warring States Period, is a native of Zou State.

In Mencius’ childhood, his thoughtful and lovely mother moved their house three times for the sake of his education. Besides, there is another well-known and much-told（广泛传说）story which is known as “persuading her son to study hard by cutting off the cloth on the loom”.

The way that Mencius’ mother taught her son is conforming（顺从）the traditional confucianist educational thought（传统儒学思想）, especially the idea of “striving（奋斗）for good result in one’s studies in order to be officials in future”(学而优则仕). It illustrates the important role played by the environment and family in education.

When Mencius grew a little order, he became a student of a disciple（弟子、门徒）of Zi Si, a grandson of Confucius. His thoughts and theory together with those of Zi Si were referred to as the Zi Si – Mencius School（思孟学说）. What’s more his thoughts and that of Confucius was jointly referred to as the “Doctrine（学说）of Confucius and Mencius”.

Mencius is a strong admirer of Confucius. He said “Since man came into being, there has never been anyone comparable to Confucius.”（Mencius, “Gongsun Chou,Ⅰ” ）He even regretted having been born too late to “miss the chance of being a pupil of Confucius .”

Mencius engaged（从事于、忙于）in private teaching（私学）after he grew up. At his middle age, he began visiting various states round the country（游学）. In his old age, he returned to his hometown where he took up（从事）teaching and writing.

Respected as the “Lesser Sage”（亚圣）by feudal rulers, Mencius engaged in teaching almost the rest of his life. He once said that he（the gentleman）has most talented pupils under his instruction. That is the third please. (得天下英才而教育之，三乐也。)(Mencius “To fully Develop the Kindness of the Heart, Ⅰ”）It was the first

time in the history of education of ancient China that “teaching” and “fostering(培养) people ” had been linked together and regarded as a great pleasure in one’s life.

2. Theory regarding the role of education

（1）role of education in society

He came up with the idea of human government (仁政) againsting the social background of the feudal society. This is the continuation and development(继承和发展) of the Confucius idea of “benevolence(仁)” and “government by virtue”.(德政)However Mencius made further additions, turning the “benevolence” into a kind of comprehensive(综合的、广泛的) and systematic program.

a. Establishing a system to safeguard (保护) the property of the people.

Mencius had an opinion that people of a state should be given a fixed, amount of land assets(资产). This kind of method was positive and significant to promote the feudalist economy(封建经济), as it helped to stabilize(安定) the small-peasant economy(小农经济) and met the small peasants’ demand for peasant.

b. Lightening punishments lessening taxes (赋税、税收)

As the inheritance and development of Confucius’ idea “to love the people”, it was a measure to protect the small-peasant economy, promote agricultural production and ease the contradictions(矛盾) between the social classes.

c. Advocating (支持、拥护) the Kingly Way (仁政) and Opposing the Way of Might (力量)

The might way is that attempted to control the people by force. The kingly way is that tried to persuade the people by means of benevolence and virtue. He had an idea that China should be united without wars by a person who hates slaughtering(杀戮) people.

d. Giving Priority (优先权) to the People over the Rulers.

He held an idea that you win the people’s heart and you win the world. “Of the first importance are the people, next comes the good of the land and grains (谷粒), and of the least importance is the ruler.” (民为贵，社稷次之，君为轻) This is an idea

that contains the element of democracy(民主), an essential component(重要组成部分) of the thought of Mencius.

e. Enhancing (提高) School Education; Cultivating (培养) a Sense of Filial Piety and Fraternal Duty (孝悌) in Students

In Mencius’ eyes, proceeding from his idea of “human government”, to carry out the policy of benevolence, it was necessary to foster “virtuous persons” and to make the Confucian concept of morality(品行、道德) deeply rooted in the minds of the people. Thus, he insisted on enhancing school education. He maintained that education was more effective than human government in winning the hearts of the people. Mencius held that education could foster virtuous rulers of great virtue. Besides, education could also help raise the general level of moral intellect(才智高群的人), intelligence and ability among the people.

Meanwhile, Mencius had realized that material life or economic development was the basis of culture and education. Having observed the effect of social surroundings upon education, Mencius concluded that there was a definite relationship between them. He also held that one’s occupation had a considerable impact on one’s moral outlook. He thought that a better effect of education could be achieved by improving the surroundings of those being educated.

(2) Role of Education in Cultivating and Remolding Personality

Mencius put forward his view that human nature was kind. (性本善)

a. Mencius held that human nature was unique to human beings. The main difference between man and animals lay in the fact that man had a conscience and could develop moral principle through education.

b. Mencius believed that human nature was innate (天生的) beings, saying “benevolence, righteousness, decorum, and wisdom (仁义礼智) are not something instilled (灌输) into us from without; they are inherent in our nature.”

c. Human nature was considered by Mencius to be something subjective and inherent (固有的) in man. In his opinion, human nature itself meant humanity and morality. In fact, by “the goodness in human nature”, Mencius did mean that there

were the “beginning” for goodness. To be a perfect person, one must be able to enrich and enlarge them.

For the villains (坏人) who were affected by social surroundings, the aim of education to help them maintain their benevolence or recover the “beginning” of goodness.

Mencius held that, as far as human beings were concerned, everyone had innate morality. This was what he called “common quality of a species”; arriving at the conclusion that everyone was equally equipped for life. This statement of his reflected a tendency of naturalism in his educational thought.

Mencius’ statement is similar with Socrates’(苏格拉底) words. They both held that the function of education was to awaken man’s consciousness of his inherent goodness.

(3) Aim and contents of education

Mencius’ aim for education was to cultivate “gentlemen”(君子), “sages”(圣人), and “true men”(大丈夫). For the true men, Mencius once said that “Not to be corrupted (崩溃的) by riches or honor; not to depart from principle despite poverty (贫困) or humble (谦逊的) origin; and not to submit (屈服) to force or threat”. (富贵不能淫，贫贱不能屈，威武不能移)

Mencius clearly pointed out the purpose of running school was to educate the students in ethics (道德规范). His so-called ethics of consanguinity (血缘) was made manifest (显示、表明) by “xiang”, “xu”, “xue” and “xiao”. “xiang” means rearing (养育、抚育); “xu” means archery (箭术); “xiao” means teaching. And, “xue” means understanding the human relationship. (此处指的三纲五常)

(4) Moral education 德育

The principles of moral education and self-cultivation advocated by Mencius are The teaching materials used by Mencius included the “five classics”. as followed:

a. Setting a lofty goal (崇高的目标) in life and cultivating Qi

Mencius accepted and developed the Confucian idea of “setting a goal to be pursued in one’s entire life,” believing that the most important thing in life was to have a lofty ambition.

Like Confucius, Mencius also required his students to set and pursued a lofty goal and to have their own ideals about social development for which they must do their bit. Mencius called it “giving up life for righteousness.”

Holding that too much interest in material pleasure would hinder the improvement of one’s state of mind, Mencius also implied that one’s ideals were more important than the month and stomach. In the other words, personal happiness should not be the sole pursuit in one’s life.

Different from Confucius, Mencius believed that there was a definite relationship between the cultivation of qi and setting of a lofty goal.

What is qi? According to the Taoist theory, qi was capable of maintaining a person’s life. Influenced by this school, Mencius had also practiced the method of cultivating qi. However different from the school, he held that it should be aimed at cultivating one’s noble spirit. But it began to sound a little vulgar when he mentioned “morning qi” and “night qi”. In fact, he mixed up spiritual phenomenon with material phenomenon. According to Mencius, if an ordinary person persisted in cultivating qi, finally he might accumulate the “noble spirit” of a sage.

b. Practice self-inspection (自我反省) Mencius believed that one’s fortune or misfortune was determined by one’s own deeds. He often quoted a saying of A Book of History, “When you ask for trouble, there is no hope of escape.”

Mencius repeatedly underlined the importance of self-inspection. In practicing self-inspection, Mencius stressed the importance of holding in check one’s desire for material pleasure. “If a man of few desires does not keep all the goodness in his nature, what is lost cannot be much. If a man of many desires has not lost all the goodness in his nature, what still remains cannot be much.” This view reflects Mencius’ idealist belief in goodness of human nature.

c. Redressing one’s errors (纠错) and learning form other people’s good deeds (行为)

Mencius held that when a person redressed his error, he should be forgiven. Besides he underlined the sense of shame.

Mencius also maintained that one should actively learn from others, or in their words.

d. Tempering one’s will Unlike Confucius, Mencius paid particular attention to the tempering one’s will, hoping that a strong will might enable people to maintain, cultivate, develop and expand their goodness.

Mencius held that a person’s virtue, wisdom and ability were all obtained through tempering amidst difficulties and hardship. It reflects a principle of moral education and self-cultivation: It’s necessary condition of making a capable person by continually tempering himself or herself with a view to toughening his or her will. However, it is necessary to point out that Mencius’ concept of “morality, wisdom, ability and knowledge” was based on his belief in their “innate seeds”.

(5) Intellectual education 智育

To Mencius, one would be able to understand Heaven just by giving full play to one’s innate good nature. He also held that the task of the “heart” was to think. However, he overlooked knowledge gained through observation.

a. Self introspection 内省

Mencius held that knowledge does not lie in the external word (外界) but in the inner world. Moreover, Mencius attached great importance to seeking knowledge through self cultivation or introspection. Mencius held that, in the course of (在期间) self-cultivation and knowledge-accumulation (知识积累), attention should be paid to the process of going from the extensive to the concise(从繁到简). As Confucius said “making an extensive study for learning and summarizing it with principles of decorum (礼貌)” It is an important method of learning as well as an important way of thinking. As a teacher, it is necessary to explain a point clearly to students.

b. Giving inspiration to students Mencius was apt at (易于的、有倾向的) giving inspiration to students, using the question-and-answer technique (问答法) to achieve his aim of teaching. He even asked his students to have doubted about anything before they were fully convinced. Doubt leads to thinking, it is the starting point of thinking. For this, Mencius said that a good teacher would do his teaching by elicitation 启发, correct guidance and stimulating鼓励 his students into greater efforts.

c. Making progress step by step Inheriting Confucius’ idea of “giving students patient guidance in a methodical way”, Mencius maintained that the process of learning was one of natural progress; it required a continuous and persistent effort. Citing the story of a foolish farmer who tried to speed up the growth of his crops by pulling their roots a little out of the soil, he demanded the process of teaching and learning must follow the objective law and progress must be made on a solid and step-by-step basic.

d. Being persistent坚持 in one’s pursuit追求 of learning Mencius stressed the importance of perseverance in one’s pursuit of learning. He proved that the result of one’s study depended not only on one’s intelligence but also on one’s concentration. He believed that the course of learning should not break off. In short, Mencius held that mental concentration or devotion played a definite role in cultivating and strengthening intelligence.

e. Teaching student in accordance with their aptitude 教亦多术 Mencius believed that teaching methods varied, but the general principle was to teach different students in accordance with their different aptitude and to pay particular attention to the method of elicitation.

In fact, this method may be used as a kind of stimulation激励 and encouragement to certain students.

Mencius disliked the attitude of “being too ready to teach others.” One requirement he set for a teacher was “enlightening himself before enlightening others”.