Mencius was born about 100 years before the death of Confucius (479 BC) and lived from 372 BC to 289 BC. He is a descendant of the nobility of Lu. After the decline of history, one family moved from Shandong to Zou, which is the ancestor of Mencius.
Mencius did not have as many disciples as Confucius, but he was a famous educator in the Warring States period. His theory does not meet the needs of the countries he traveled. So he returned to his hometown, sorted out classics and classics with Zhang Wan and others, expounded Kong Qiu's thoughts and theories, and wrote a book, Mencius, with seven articles. After him, scholars Zou Zi and others appeared.
Extended data
Mencius, one of the most important representatives of Confucianism, was called "Yasheng" by later generations. But Mencius' position before the Song Dynasty was not very high. There is a limerick satirizing Mencius: "Have beggars ever had two wives? Why are there many chickens next door? There is an emperor Zhou in fashion, what about it? "
Since Han Yu wrote The Original Road in the mid-Tang Dynasty and listed Mencius as the only figure in pre-Qin Confucianism who inherited Confucian orthodoxy, there has been an "upgrading movement" of Mencius, and the status of Mencius and his works has gradually risen. Song Shenzong Xining four years (107 1), Mencius was included in the imperial examination for the first time.
In the sixth year of Yuanfeng (1083), Mencius was officially named "Zou Guogong" for the first time, and he was allowed to enjoy the Confucius Temple the following year. Later, Mencius was promoted to a Confucian classic. In the Southern Song Dynasty, Zhu combined Mencius with The Analects of Confucius, Daxue and The Doctrine of the Mean into four books, and their actual status was even higher than that of the Five Classics.
Baidu encyclopedia-Mencius