自有“四书”之名以来，《孟子》在“四书”中的学习次序经历了数次变化。从朱子之学规定的“第三”，到科举考试制度下的“第四”，再到近代教育转型过程中的变化起伏，每一次变化既受到教育制度与政策的影响，同时也基于人们对于《大学》、《中庸》、《论语》、《孟子》四本书难易程度理解上的不同以及学习需求上的考量，其中《孟子》一书自身所具有的特点在“四书”教育发展的过程中受到不同程度的关注，其次序的变化也成为影响整个“四书”学习次序变化的关键。

Since the formation of namely “Four Books”, the studying order of Mencius in “Four Books” has experienced several changes. Zhu Xi regulated Mencius as the “third order” in the “Four Books”, then in the imperial examination system, Mencius lied in the “fourth order”, afterwards, Mencius’s order experienced changes in the process of modern education transformation. Every change was affected not only by the educational system and policies, but also by people’s understanding of the difficulties of the Great Learning, the Doctrine of the Mean, the Analects of Confucius and Mencius, as well as the considerations on studying demand of these “Four Books”. In this process, the characteristics of Mencius attracted different degree of attention, and the studying order of Mencius has become a key influcing the studying order of the whole “Four Books”.