Qufu, Hometown of Mencius

　　      The Hometown of Mencius is the birthplace of Mencius, located in Fucun Village, 15 kilometers south of the city and to the west of the Forest of Mencius’ Mother. It was restored during the Yuan Dynasty. Existing sites include the Archway of Mencius’ Hometown, Mencius’ Former Residence, Mencius’ Mother’s Spring, Mencius’ Mother’s Well, and Mencius’ Mother’s Pond.

　　 Jining City, Shandong Province

　　Mencius (372 BCE～289 BCE)　　Mencius (approximately 372–289 BCE), a thinker, statesman, and educator of the Warring States period, was a representative figure of the Confucian Mencian school. His given name was Ke, courtesy name Ziyu, and he was a native of Zou in the State of Lu (present-day southeastern Zoucheng, Shandong). He is regarded as the successor to Confucius’ teachings and is honored as the “Second Sage.” Legend has it that Mencius was a descendant of the noble Mengsun clan of the State of Lu. Orphaned at a young age and raised in poverty, he studied under a disciple of Zisi. After completing his studies, he traveled among various feudal lords as a scholar, attempting to promote his political ideas. He visited the states of Liang (Wei), Qi, Song, and Teng. Although he was once honored as a guest minister by King Xuan of Qi, he ultimately was not employed. In his later years, he retired to teach and... Details+