Mencius and the Innate Goodness of Human Nature

Mencius (Mengzi, "Master Meng," personal name Meng Ke, traditionally dated c. 372-289 BCE) was born about a century after Confucius's death in the state of Zou, near Lu, and is said to have studied under a disciple of Confucius's grandson, Zisi, placing him within the direct line of transmission of the early Confucian school. Like Confucius, Mencius spent much of his career traveling among the courts of Warring States rulers — including Qi, Liang (Wei), and Song — offering political counsel that few were willing to adopt in full. The Mengzi, the text bearing his name, is considerably more systematic and argumentative in style than the Analects, presenting extended dialogues in which Mencius debates rival thinkers and rulers, and it was compiled, most scholars agree, with substantial input from Mencius himself or his immediate disciples rather than assembled anonymously generations later.