Mencius, a Chinese philosopher, is often regarded as the most important Confucian thinker after Confucius. He lived in the Warring States period, during which China was divided into different states with their own rulers, often waging war against each other. He traveled from state to state to convert rulers to the teachings of Confucius. At the same time, he also combated other influential movements of thought, especially those associated with Mozi and Yang Zhu (fifth to fourth century BCE). One's main access to his thinking is through the Mengzi (Mencius), probably compiled by his disciples or disciples of his disciples. The text was subsequently edited and shortened by Zhao Qi in the second century CE, and this is the version of the text available today.

Elaborating on Confucius's teachings, Mencius highlighted four ethical attributes: ren (benevolence, humaneness), yi (propriety), li (observance of...