The Mencius (; Old Chinese: *mˤraŋ-s tsəʔ; ), is a collection of anecdotes and conversations of the Confucian thinker and philosopher Mencius on topics in moral and political philosophy. Mencius was a disciple of one of the students of Zisi, a grandson of Confucius, and the Mencius records his travels and audiences with the various rulers of the Warring States period, his students, and his other contemporaries. A number of linguistic and textual clues suggest that the text was not written by Mencius himself but by his disciples, probably during the late 4th century BC.