Abstract: As a gem of Chinese traditional culture, Mencius educational thought includes prime ideas as follows: the function of education is to cultivate the benevolence and morality of a human, and to restore the goodinnature of a human; the value of education lies in its ability to make a human different from a beast, to make the worthy different from the unworthy, to normalize the social feudal order of seniority in human relationships, and to get the inclination of the hearts of the people; teachers should pay attention to teaching methods, such as exemplary teaching, teaching students with virtues and in accordance with their aptitude; students should pay attention to learning methods, such as engaging in selfexamination, combining learning and thinking, uniting knowledge and behavior, and digesting all they have learned.

Key words: Mencius, educational thought, profundity, enlightenment

摘要： 孟子教育思想是我国传统文化之瑰宝，其精义包括：教育的功能是培养“仁德”，恢复“善性”；教育的价值在于使人有别于禽兽，使“贤”有别于“不肖”，使社会伦常秩序得以规范，使“民心”得以归服；为师者，应注重言传身教，教之以德，启发诱导，循序渐进，因材施教，不屑教诲；求学者，应牢记学问之道，求其放心，欲其自得，反求诸己，立志养气，学思结合，以博反约，融会贯通。孟子教育思想对现代教育实践有重要启示。

关键词: 孟子, 教育思想, 精义, 启示