The 1^st International Symposium on Mencius Culture was held in Zoucheng on May 10^th to 12^th_.

On May 10^th to 12^th, the 1^st International Symposium on Mencius Culture was held in Zoucheng, Mencius’ birthplace in Shandong Province. The event was co-hosted by the Center for Research on Contemporary Cultural Development at Shandong University and the People’s Government of Zoucheng. The symposium, themed “Understanding of Mencius, Inspirations of the Future”, drew more than forty attendees from home and abroad. Discussion focused on “studying of Mencius’ temperament and attaining sagehood”, and “Mencius’ benevolent government and its contemporary value”.

 

As a representative of Confucianism during the Warring States Period, Mencius proposed a vision of human nature as originally and inherently good and advocated benevolent government. His philosophical legacy has exerted a profound and lasting influence on the formation of Chinese national spirit of China. It has been and is a significant contribution to the cultural development of China, Asia and the world.

 

The Chinese version appeared in Chinese Social Sciences Today, No. 450, May 15, 2013

                                               

                                                                                                                            Translated by Zhang Mengying