Mencius (?371-?289 BC) lived under the Zhou dynasty (1046-256 BC), which towards its later years fell into decay. When Mencius was still young his father died, leaving the family poor. The boy’s mother took care to give him an education, and he became a consultant on sound government in the traditions of Confucius. For a time he held office in the state of Qi, but he resigned after his advice too often went unheeded. He continued to advise various states, but retired from public life feeling he had not achieved his aims. Mencius is pronounced
MEN-shee-us, and is a Latinized form of Mengzi or Master Meng. His full name was Meng Ke.
