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Article: After Confucius.(Confucius' followers)
- Article from:
- Calliope
- Article date:
- October 1, 1999
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1999 Carus Publishing Co. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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After Confucius died, his followers gradually developed a few formal rituals. They also made stone tablets carved with words honoring Confucius and Yan Hui, his favorite disciple.
Mengzi (Mencius), a Chinese philosopher who lived from about 372 - 289 B.C.E., was an important early follower of Confucius. Even more than Confucius, Mengzi believed that people were naturally good and needed only to cultivate that goodness. He believed in a ruler's duty to serve the people. If a ruler did not perform well, he risked losing the Mandate of Heaven, that is, the right to rule. Mengzi believed that the mandate may come from heaven, but it reflected the will of the people.
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