New games! PlayTrivia andBirthle.

PHILOSOPHER

Mencius

372 BC - 289 BC

Photo of Mencius

Icon of person Mencius

Mencius ( MEN-shee-əs); born Meng Ke (Chinese: 孟軻); or Mengzi (Chinese: 孟子; 372–289 BC) was a Chinese Confucian philosopher who has often been described as the "second Sage" (亞聖), that is, second to Confucius himself. He is part of Confucius' fourth generation of disciples. Mencius inherited Confucius' ideology and developed it further. Read more on Wikipedia

Since 2007, the English Wikipedia page of Mencius has received more than 1,186,181 page views. His biography is available in 71 different languages on Wikipedia (up from 70 in 2019). Mencius is the 96th most popular philosopher (down from 84th in 2019), the 31st most popular biography from China (down from 23rd in 2019) and the 4th most popular Chinese Philosopher.

Mencius is most famous for his philosophy of human nature. He believed that humans are inherently good and that the mind is a blank slate.

Memorability Metrics

  • 1.2M

    Page Views (PV)

  • 74.23

    Historical Popularity Index (HPI)

  • 71

    Languages Editions (L)

  • 8.15

    Effective Languages (L*)

  • 3.63

    Coefficient of Variation (CV)

Page views of Menciuses by language


Among PHILOSOPHERS

Among philosophers, Mencius ranks 96 out of 1,081. Before him are John of Damascus, Zeno of Citium, Tertullian, Johann Gottfried Herder, Anaximenes of Miletus, and Walter Benjamin. After him are Zhuang Zhou, Pierre-Joseph Proudhon, Roland Barthes, Ibn Taymiyyah, Theophrastus, and Wilhelm von Humboldt.

Most Popular Philosophers in Wikipedia

Go to all Rankings
Load previousLoad previous

Contemporaries

Among people born in 372 BC, Mencius ranks 1. After him is Alexis. Among people deceased in 289 BC, Mencius ranks 1. After him is Agathocles of Syracuse.

Others Born in 372 BC

Go to all Rankings
Load previous
  • Photo of Mencius

    Mencius

    372 BC - 289 BC

    HPI: 74.23

    Rank: 1

  • Photo of Alexis

    Alexis

    372 BC - 270 BC

    HPI: 45.93

    Rank: 2

Load previous

Others Deceased in 289 BC

Go to all Rankings
Load previousLoad previous

In China

Among people born in China, Mencius ranks 31 out of 1,392. Before him are Lü Bu (161), Guan Yu (162), Kangxi Emperor (1654), Liu Bei (161), Yongle Emperor (1360), and Li Ching-Yuen (1677). After him are Zhuang Zhou (-369), Zhuge Liang (181), Emperor Gaozu of Han (-256), Hongwu Emperor (1328), Jiang Zemin (1926), and Zhou Enlai (1898).

Others born in China

Go to all Rankings
Load previousLoad previous

Among PHILOSOPHERS In China

Among philosophers born in China, Mencius ranks 4. Before him are Confucius (-551), Laozi (-604), and Sun Tzu (-544). After him are Zhuang Zhou (-369), Mozi (-470), Zhu Xi (1130), Han Fei (-280), Xun Kuang (-313), Milarepa (1052), Shen Kuo (1031), and Wang Yangming (1472).

Chinese born Philosophers

Go to all Rankings
Load previousLoad previous

Related Profiles

  • PHILOSOPHER

    1081 Individuals

  • John of Damascus

    Rank 90

  • Zengzi

    Chinese Philosopher And Disciple Of Confucius (505–435 Bc)

  • Zhang Zai

    Chinese Philosopher, Essayist, Politician, Writer, And Cosmologist (1020-1077)

  • Zhou Dunyi

    Chinese Cosmologist, Philosopher And Writer (1017–1073)

  • Xun Kuang

    Chinese Confucian Philosopher (C.310–after 238 Bce)

  • Mozi

    5th-century Bce Chinese Philosopher And Founder Of Mohism

  • Confucius

    Chinese Philosopher (C. 551–479 Bce)

  • Zhu Xi

    Chinese Historian, Philosopher, Poet And Politician (1130–1200)

  • DatawheelCL