Mencius (book)

Mencius

Early 13th-century Mencius print held by the National Palace Museum in Taipei
Author	Mencius
Language	Classical Chinese
Subject	Philosophy
Publication date	4th-century BC
Publication place	China
Chinese name
Chinese	孟子
Literal meaning	"[The Writings of] Master Meng"
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Mèngzǐ Bopomofo ㄇㄥˋ ㄗˇ Wade–Giles Mêng4 Tzŭ3 Yale Romanization Mèngdž IPA [mə̂ŋ.tsɹ̩̀] Wu Romanization Man-tsy Yue: Cantonese Yale Romanization Maahngjí Jyutping Maang6zi2 IPA [maːŋ˨.tsiː˧˥] Southern Min Hokkien POJ Bēng-chú Tâi-lô Bīng-tsú Middle Chinese Middle Chinese mæ̀ng dzí Old Chinese Baxter–Sagart (2014) *mˤraŋ-s tsəʔ
Vietnamese name
Vietnamese alphabet	Mạnh Tử
Korean name
Hangul	맹자
Transcriptions Revised Romanization Maengja

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The Mencius is an anthology of conversations and anecdotes attributed to the Confucian philosopher Mencius (c. 371 – c. 289 BC).^[1] The book is one of the Chinese Thirteen Classics, and explores Mencius's views on the topics of moral and political philosophy, often as a dialogue with the ideas presented by Confucianism.^[2][1] The interviews and conversations are depicted as being either between Mencius and the various rulers of the Warring States period (c. 770 – 221 BC), or with his students and other contemporaries. The book documents Mencius's travel across the states, and his philosophical conversations and debates with those he meets on his journey.^[2] A number of scholars suggest that the text was not written by Mencius himself, but rather by his disciples.^[3] The text is believed to have been written during the late 4th century BC.^[3]