Mencius’ Concept of Rulership

Emperor K’ang-hsi was one of the greatest Chinese emperors of all time. Ruling from 1662 to 1722 he was also one of the longest ruling emperors in Chinese history and for that matter the world. K’ang-hsi brought China to long-term stability and relative wealth after years of war and chaos. Jonathan Spence writes from the eyes of K’ang-hsi getting his information from K’ang-hsi’s own writings. Though a little biased towards himself this book still provides important insight into his mind. Emperor of China is divided into six parts; In Motion, Ruling, Thinking, Growing Old, Sons, and Valedictory.

The first characteristic of a great leader is being loved by their people. By way of example Jane Simmons wrote “ an aggressive military leader, he was feared but also admired by people in other land.” Sulieman scared the people that he needed to scare but he was admired by the people he helped. Also in Amit carters queen Elizabeth I summary it says “she was thought of as a good and wise ruler who was truly thought of as a good ruler

Essentially, the heavens bestow the mandate upon the ruler, but the people are a factor in whether the mandate stays with the ruler or not. Hence, Mencius emphasizes the importance of just rule in order to please the people and keep the Mandate of Heaven.

The welfare of the people of China was the main measuring rod for judging the government. Mencius believed that all people were morally equal and that the ruler needed the consent of his people. He hoped that a strong unifying leader could stop the wars between regional areas and states from the Zhou period. Thus, if a ruler lost the "Mandate of Heaven," the people had every right to rebel and even overthrow that particular unjust leader.

during the Zhou Dynasty, China was experiencing a great deal of political turmoil. A major part of this era was called the Period of the Warring States. It was a time when there were numerous wars that occurred due to the conflict that existed between seven states. (Watkins, 2013) These warring states were the Han, Wu, Zhao, Chu, Qi, Yan and Jin. According to Jerry H. Bentley and Herbert F. Ziegler of the book Traditions and Encounters, “This period forced some people to reflect on the nature of society, and the roles of humans beings within society.” The authors continued saying that it forced others to “identify principles that would restore political and social order.” (Bentley & Ziegler, 2011) The principles of Confucianism were established and followed in order to help the citizens of China to live and govern their communities more efficiently. Through Confucianism, Confucius helped legitimize China’s rule and bring about order in the mist of turmoil. The effects of Confucius’ principles are still seen and felt today in many aspects of modern day Chinese society. Veritably, there were points throughout Chinese history where Confucianism affected almost every aspect of life in China. Confucius has impacted the development of Chinese thought and culture in various ways from education to politics, to familial relationships.

Mencius states that you need to have some kind of force to change someone. (2016, 6A.2) This force can be environment, friend, families and also the government. For ages governments manage communities and shape them as they want. Rulers and governments made people to kill each other, those were the masterminds behind all of this. Furthermore, Mencius thought that these actions happen because of the force not because of communities themselves. (2016, 6A.2) People can be made to act badly but this merely shows that this is human nature’s itself. Secondly, for Hsun Tzu, this was all about having a worthy teacher. (1963, 2) Hsun Tzu thought that everyone need guidance of a good teacher because there is no such a way that is better than learning ritual principles from a worthy teacher. (1963, 2) He assumes that because human nature is evil, people need to wait for their teacher’s orders. They also need their teacher’s guidance to understand ritual principles. (1963, 2) He asserts that without a wise teacher people will become wicked and brutal. (1963, 2) For example, rules don’t mean anything when we first learn them but when our teachers and families explain those we have this urge to obey them. Besides child’s first teachers are their parents, they observe their actions and follow their steps. Later on, they find more wise teachers and this way they alter their evil nature into

Generally when we think of kings, we think of the noble king who helps save the kingdom or princess. There are many times in the course of history where there have been examples of good kings, but there have been examples of bad kings as well. So what characteristics make a good king? Bravery, courage, wisdom and strength are some of the many qualities that make for an excellent king.

They want to emphasize individual virtuous behavior, both by the ruler and the ruled as well as highly recommending obedience and respect, “people should know their place, even under bad rulers.” Even the Han emperors decided to implement Confucius ideas after looking at their doctrine called The Analects. The book shows Confucian political value and social order which states that the aristocrats and the educated are of the highest degree, and then comes farmers, and finally, the merchants. Although both Confucianism and Legalism call for governmental hierarchy, Confucianism possessed an optimistic view of human potential while Legalists believe that a powerful government is necessary along with a carefully devised law rewarding for good deeds and punishing for bad

The Qianlong Emperor is one of the most notable emperors in Chinese history due to the complexity of his reign. Qianlong was the fourth emperor of the Qing Dynasty from 1735 to 1796. This is one of the longest in Chinese History. The first 40 years were some of his greatest achievements, however the last 20 years were met with fraud, corruption, and a declining popularity. In this essay, I will argue that despite having a major blemish to his reign, the Qianlong Emperor was a successful emperor. I am defining and measuring successfulness based on 1) the ability to grow the empire 2) whether or not they have good intentions for empire and 3) control and security over the empire. The Qianlong Emperor’s greatest successes shine through his militaristic campaigns, foreign relations, and his protection and his advocating for art. However, it is also stained by corruption and bad management.

The Roman Empire and Han Dynasty in China are two kingdoms that, despite the geographical difference between them, managed to achieve great success and failure in equal measure. Both were characterized by imperial dynasties that were headed by the emperors and they held large territories. Both of these kingdoms faced various challenges after their formation that became a major stabling block, but due to good leadership, they both managed to overcome and achieve success. Nevertheless, due to different reasons, both the Roman Empire and the Han Dynasty declined and fell. This paper

As for the basis for ruling a country, I would personally choose Mencius’s assertion of human nature is good. For example, if the leader of America thought about Iraq in Xunzi’s perspective, that human nature is bad, they would be on guard and suspicious of the motives of the Iraqi people. This leads to the feeling of unease and both sides are tensed. The inability to trust will result to both countries expecting the worst, and therefore making the situation more aggravated and war will be more likely to break out.

Complied during the Warring States Period, the Daodejing is widely known as one of China’s famous philosophy literature. This text reflects the general lament of a civilization that has been worn down from war and seeks to find peace by teaching people how to live by “the Way”. From a war-torn perspective, the Daodejing deems war and government corruption as evil and traces them back to greedy and power-hungry motives. As a successor to Confucius, it still carries some of his ethics. Because of its mystical overtones, it has acquired a large variety of interpretations. Its main teaching is if a person does nothing, then peace will be restored; it is the concept of non-action or 无为。When a person does not try to interfere and allows things to

Secondly, Confucius viewed rules and laws as harmful. He argued that people led by laws and punishments will try to avoid punishment but lose the sense of shame. If they are led by virtue and guided by propriety, they will preserve their sense of shame and become good citizens5. He saw a country as an extended family and a ruler should take care of his citizens like a father would take care of his children. The ruler as the “father” would need to set a proper example for the right ethics to flow down5.

The definition of a good king may vary depending, on one's morals, and values. If a leader has some sort of mental health issue he/she might think in a very corrupt manner, even then usually there are some people that receive benefits from the position a king holds; in that context the people receiving benefits may not think the king is as corrupt as he/she is. In shakespeare's play “Macbeth”, and as well as the epic poem “Beowulf” there are examples of how a “good” or “bad” king should behave. One’s opinion of a king differs, however there is strong evidence that sets near perfect guidelines of how a king should behave. Kings/ leaders should: behave and make decisions in a way that benefits the majority of the people, not just themselves, but most of all they must have good ethics, loyalty, courage, and integrity.

Mencius states that “...if one is without the heart of compassion, one is not a human” (Mencius, 2A.6), which is a quote that captivates the essence of Mencius’s conventional life rather well. The conventional life is a lifestyle that focuses on the idea of all humans being born with these natural tendencies to be good, as well as to do good things. However we choose to care for these seeds planted within us will ultimately decide how we as humans treat others in this world. This conventional life contains the most convincing philosophy in my opinion, for it focuses primarily on the concept of humans being born as “good”, and choosing from that point on if they will use their natural born tools to remain “good”, or stray away from that path entirely.