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Mengzi: With Selections from Traditional Commentaries

Mengzi (translated by Bryan W. Van Norden)

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  • Chung Ju-yungSon-reported study and special liking
    Chung Mong-joon’s 2014 speech recalls his father studying and liking this classic; the 2025 speech also names it among his childhood texts. This is the son’s account, not Chung Ju-yung’s own recommendation. His edition is unknown.
    Source

Summary

The Mengzi, also called Mencius, presents conversations and arguments about moral life and government associated with the early Confucian thinker. Its debates examine the grounds of ethical conduct and what people in power owe to those affected by their choices.

Bryan Van Norden’s translation includes selections from Zhu Xi’s commentary and an introduction to the intellectual setting. The edition invites comparison between the early text and a later influential reading of it.

  • SourceMengzi: With Selections from Traditional Commentaries — checked content · Publisher description, title/translator, Zhu Xi commentary, historical introduction; selected paperback ISBN 9780872209138.

Why read it Our view

Read the arguments to see how an ethical claim is tested through a case or objection. Compare a ruler’s stated aims with the treatment of ordinary people. Keep the ancient political setting visible and distinguish the text from a modern reader’s interpretation.