Mencius of the former Persian Empire It had a wooden city wall miles long by 1.5 miles wide, which had 570 towers, 64 gates, and a 900-foot-wide moat He wrote admiringly of Chandragupta as an energetic ruler who personally supervised affairs of state The emperor lived in splendor in an enormous palace built of wood, but he also lived in fear of assassination, appearing only rarely in public, attired in a splendid purple and golden robe, and was either carried in a palanquin or rode on an elephant He also described the administration of the capital city by six boards each with five men, in charge of crafts and industry, trade and commerce, tax collection, foreigners, collection of statistical information, and public works Other information states that a quarter of the people’s produce was paid as taxes and that there were dues assessed on commerce He described the Mauryan military as having infantry, cavalry, chariots, elephants, navy, and a commissariat He also commented on the division of people into seven castes by occupation One passage on the people’s lives said: “They live happily enough, being simple in their manners, and frugal They never drink wine except at sacrifice The simplicity of their laws and their contracts is proved by the fact that they seldom go to law Truth and virtue they hold alike in esteem The greater part of the soil is under irrigation, and consequently bear two crops in the course of the year.” Some information Megasthenes provided was wrong, for instance his assertion that there was no slavery in India and that no famines occurred Nevertheless, his writings on India are valuable because there are few Indian sources on actual life in the period, and his were the first extensive observations by a foreigner Further reading: Rapson, E J., ed The Cambridge History of India, Vol 1, Ancient India Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1922; Sastri Nilakanta, K A., ed A Comprehensive History of India, Vol 2, The Mauryas and Satavahanas, 325 B.C–A.D 300 Bombay, India: Orient Longmans, 1957; Vassiliades, Demetrios Th The Greeks in India, a Study in Philosophical Understanding New Delhi, India: Munshram Manoharlal Publishers, 2000; Woodcock, George The Greeks in India London: Faber and Faber, 1966 Jiu-Hwa Lo Upshur Mencius (372–c 289 b.c.e.) Confucian philosopher Mencius is the Latinized form for Mengzi (Meng Tzu), which means “Master Meng” in Chinese He is revered 271 as China’s Second Sage, surpassed only by Confucius His personal name was Ke (K’o), and like Confucius he came from a lower aristocratic family Mencius’s mother was widowed, but she made sure that he grew up in a good environment She is honored as a model mother, and he later showed her great devotion Mencius studied under the disciple of a grandson of Confucius Like Confucius he traveled from state to state attempting to convince rulers to govern by virtue and follow the ways of ancient sage rulers, most often in vain; also like Confucius he was a distinguished teacher He debated with other philosophers, most notably with Moists He wrote a book entitled The Mencius, which contains his sayings and teachings Mencius expounded on Confucian teachings on government and human nature He emphasized the quality called ren (jen), which means “humanity” and “love,” but unlike the Moists who insisted on universal love, or the obligation to love all equally, Mencius insisted that one’s love to others is graded depending on their mutual relationships and obligations Mencius also insisted on the practice of righteousness, a sense of duty, or yi (i), in human relations He argued that it was the practice of these virtues that had made the reigns of ancient rulers a golden age Mencius lectured about benevolent government, insisting that the government existed for the people, not vice versa But if the ruler neglected his responsibilities, or worse if he misruled his people, Mencius was more radical than Confucius, saying that such a ruler has forfeited the Mandate of Heaven and should be overthrown He further explained that while the ruler owed the people a moral example, he could not expect them to practice virtue without enjoying economic well-being Thus he advocated and explained various social and economic programs that would be in the enlightened selfinterest of rulers to provide He idealized the early Zhou (Chou) dynasty for implementing the well-field system, one that divided the land equitably for groups of eight farming families that jointly farmed a ninth plot for the government and argued for its restoration Mencius taught that all people are born with the beginnings of virtue and inclination to goodness, which is as natural as water’s inclination to flow downward People turn to evil when they neglect to cultivate their innate goodness Thus, self-cultivation, a moral education, and the study of history are essential for individuals to return to purity, and the same applies to states to return to the virtuous ways of the golden age These teachings have made Mencius loved by the people and feared by tyrants