Mencius notes thinkers shift from Mohism to Yang Zhu’s egoism, then to Confucianism. He urges warm acceptance of returning converts, mocking scholars who harshly restrict them like hobbling pigs safely back in their pen.
Mencius lays out six ascending moral stages: good, sincere, beautiful, great, sage, divine. He judges Yue Zhengzi only reaches the first two levels, reminding learners moral cultivation demands steady progress toward higher spiritual realms.