[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. 475 – 221 BC), or with his students and other contemporaries.

[3] Mencius's core ideas on education and human nature were largely shaped during the Warring States period.

[4] When the Zhou dynasty was ended by the Qin, Mencius and other scholars went to the different kingdoms and advised the rulers and people like in the Jixia Academy.

[1] Examples are scholars such as James Legge, who opened the text to Western readers by comparatively exploring the Mencius through a Victorian missionary perspective.

The book's narrative depicts its characters' extensive dialogues on specific philosophical arguments, alongside Mencius's own reflections upon them in the form of short sentences.

His argument that each person possessed an inborn potential of virtue, contrasts with the position of contemporary figure Yang Zhu (440 – 360 BC), who argued that that human nature is motivated by self-interest.

[6][5] According to Mencius, 'sprouts' are innate moral habits that are present at birth, and are related to one's 'family affection' (qīn 親), and likewise grow in a family environment.

[6][4] These views are expressed in a passage detailing an encounter between Mencius and King Xuan of Qi (r. 319–301 BC), who rules without practising benevolent politics.

In this encounter, Mencius refers to the king's actions as 'looking for fish by climbing a tree' (yuán mù qiú yú 緣木求魚; §2A:4).

Mencius emphasises knowing the author as a person, to suggest the importance of the setting and temporal context of a literary work in one's evaluation of it.

Gearney notes that the form of intentionalism within the book differs from the style of traditional Western intentionalist modes of criticism.

Rather, Mencian standard posits that one should become acquainted with the author's personal, cultural, and political context before evaluating a literary work.