Mencius(372 B. C.~289 B. C.), a great thinker of the mid-Warring States Period, was born at Zou (present Zoucheng, Shandong Province).His given name was Ke and courtesy name Ziyu.
孟子(约公元前372年~公元前289年)，名柯，字子舆，邹(今山东省邹城市)人，战国中期的思想家。
He was a successor of Confucius and has been called the “Second Sage" after Confucius.
曾受业于子思的门人，继承了孔子的学说，被后世尊称为“亚圣”。
He spent his life bouncing from one feudal court to another, lobbying the rulers, debating among the politicians and trying to find some rulers who would follow his teachings. His philosophical thoughts were established in the process of his political activities and were compiled in a book bearing his name.
孟子周游列国，游说于朝堂之上，论辩于政客之间，在激烈的辩论与尖锐的矛盾冲突中发展了自己的思想，《孟子》一书是其思想的结晶。

Mencius developed Confucius' concept of ren from merely a moral term to a level of governance by pointing out that a state should be governed by a sage-king.
他把孔子“仁”的思想改造发展为通过实行“仁政”而实现“王道”社会的政治思想，把“仁”从伦理道德层次提升到治国思想的高度。
His concept of benevolent governante calls upon the resumption of the “square-field system" and the reduction of corporal punishments. He was also against the abuse of taxation and any unjust wars.
“仁政”思想主张恢复井田制，省刑薄赋，使民以时，取民有制，反对横征暴敛，反对不义战争。
He claimed that "the people are the most important; the state is secondary while the monarch is the least" and believed that civil security and public opinions are pivotal to the stability of a state.
他提出“民为贵，社稷次之，君为轻”的主张，认为人民的安危与民心的向背是国家安危的关键所在。
The theory of benevolent governance is based on Mencius' belief that human beings are good by nature. He held that this goodness is innate and can be acquired without learning or thinking; one's natural goodness is presented by the exercise of benevolence, righteousness, proprieties and prudence.
“仁政”思想的哲学基础是“性善”论: 孟子认为人的本性是“善”的，良心本心人所固有，不学而能，不虑而知，表现出来即为仁义礼智之性。
Evil comes into being when one rejects their natural goodness.
恶之所以产生，只是因为舍弃了自己的良心本心。
Unlike Confucius, Mencius did not deny the quest for li (profits, or gains), but he attached more importance to yi (righteousness) and considered yi as his top priority.
在义利观土上，孟子不否认利，但更加重视义，把义作为最高的价值选择。
When li and yi are in conflict, one should sacrifice one's opportunities of making profits for a righteous cause, or even lay down one's life.
当二者发生矛盾时，要舍利取义，甚至舍生取义。
To achieve this state, there is no better way than reducing one's desires.
人要想达到这一境界，就需要通过养心而实现寡欲。
Thus, the ideal moral personality of Mencius is that one should never be “corrupted by neither riches nor honors, shaken by neither poverty nor adversity, faltered by neither threats nor force".
所以，孟子理想的道德人格是“富贵不能淫，贫贱不能移，威武不能屈”，具有大义凛然的道义感。
On the other hand, Mencius' declaration of “if poor, one attends to his own virtue in solitude; if advanced to dignity, he makes the whole world virtuous as well" has become a standard of social conduct of Chinese scholars for thousands of years.
另外，孟子“穷则独善其身，达则兼济天下”的主张成了后世中国文人立身处世的法则。