Mencius was an important Confucian philosopher and teacher. Mencius is one of the reasons why Confucianism began, he developed the religion by spreading Confucius' teachings. At the time, many people thought Mencius was more influential that Confucius. He believed that everyone was born good but people need good education, good influences and effort to be good or else they can become bad. He focused on human nature, education, destiny, and politics.