The Chinese people call Menius the second Sage of China after Confucius. He was born approximately in 372 BC, and died in 289 BC. His another name Meng Ke who styled himself Zi Yu. He was a student of Confucius’ grandson. His mother has been considered as a typical example being good at teaching children. Both Confucius and Menius were great educational pioneers everybody knows in China. During the Warring-State Period of China (475-221BC), Menius once played an important role in spreading Confucian thought. He visited several kingdoms such as Sung, Qi, Liang, Chen and Lu, propagating his ideological and political point of view. However, his theory was too ideal to practice and not easily accepted by all the kingdoms he called on. Being frustrated, Menius returned to his own land, Shizou (today’s Zouxian County, Shangdong Province), set up school to enroll disciples or followers. Menius kept on advocating developing his thought owing to Confucian theoretical influence. In addition he began writing further to make his theories systematic and perfectly complete. He had two sophisticated disciples: one was Gongsun Chou, the other Wang Zhang. Menius’ disciples rewrote what Menius talked about during his visiting the kingdoms or states. As a classical book, Menius consists of seven articles. Menius inherited Confucianism and he was against reforming the whole society by force or violence, and advocated carrying out the Well-Like Field system. The Chinese character WELL is like the sign # in which the whole land (for example, the 100-Acre land) can be divided into 9 parts including the central part as a public one. Thus 8 parts were subordinate respectively to 8 peasants who could plow each own part and also in charge of plowing the central part as a tax-contribution to the state. He supported of feudal management instead of the slavery system. He turned Confucian benevolent ideology into benevolent government or administration in which he suggested that all the Warring States would be united. For the first time in Chinese history, he declared “The people are noble but the noble are humble”

Owing to his historical condition limit, apriorism or idealism somehow affected his theory. His belief is that man was born good or benevolent in nature, and turning the wicked just with his later changeable doing carelessly. His or her innate quality is of innocence. Menius theory or thought has had strong effect on the Chinese people’s mind for thousands of years. Up to now his childhood story is still told all over China. His mother was very strict with him. She moved for more than once in order to find a good neighbor who would have good influence to little Menius in manners. Once she was too angry to stop weaving-machine and cutting off all the warp and woof as she found his son not to study hard and behave well. As a great mind, Menius could hardly achieve a great deal education without his mother’s help during his childhood.

Menius left us some interesting and meaningful articles, one of which is Fish, I Wish to Have.
The general idea is like this: