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The benevolent person has a loving heart. Renzhe (仁者) refers to benevolent and virtuous people or people with loving hearts, who have tremendous courage, wisdom, perfect moral character, charm, and charisma, and who love and care about others. Confucianism holds ren (仁) as the highest moral value. The basic meaning of ren is loving others, and to love others, one should first show filial piety to one’s parents and respect one’s elder brothers, and then extend love and care to other family members, and eventually to everyone else in the world. Mencius （372？-289 BC） synthesized and upgraded this notion into a theory to be applied to the governance of a country. He proposed that a person of virtue should love and care about first his loved ones, then other people, and finally everything on earth. Confucianism believed that love could be extended to people in a certain order, but that benevolence has general value, which is both the foundation and the goal of building a harmonious and good-will society.
The basic meaning of the term is love for others. Its extended meaning refers to the state of harmony among people, and the unity of all things under heaven. Ren (仁) constitutes the foundation and basis for moral behavior. It is also a consciousness that corresponds to the norms of moral behavior. Roughly put, ren has the following three implications: 1) compassion or conscience; 2) virtue of respect built upon the relationship between fathers and sons and among brothers; and 3) the unity of all things under heaven. Confucianism holds ren as the highest moral principle. Ren is taken as love in the order of first showing filial piety to one’s parents and elder brothers, and then extending love and care to other members of the family, and eventually to everyone else under heaven.
The Chinese character for human being (人) has been imbued with Chinese humanistic spirit since it was created. In its ancient form, it resembled a man standing with his body slightly bending forward, his hands on his sides, looking modest and polite. Because humans have the ability to think, they understand that an individual is too weak to survive alone and, therefore, they need to cooperate with each other. Ancient Chinese thinkers believed that human beings were one of the three elements of the universe, the other two being heaven and earth. Humanity was the soul of the world; therefore, human beings were the most distinguished among all things. Many ancient concepts, particularly in the political and ethical spheres, were based on this humanistic spirit.
Universal love, equal affection for all individuals, is a basic concept of the Mohist School of thought, as opposed to the principle of differentiated love advocated by the Confucian School. Universal love emphasizes that you should love others as you love yourself, and love others’ relatives and people of other states as you love your own so that all people would love one another equally. This principle of affection has no regard for blood ties or social status. It is an affection that is exercised equally without differentiating between individuals, families, or nations. If such a principle could be realized, we could avoid conflicts between persons, clans, or nations and bring equal benefit to all.
Bo (博) means extensive, wide; ai (爱) is synonymous with hui (惠) which means benefit to all. Ancient Chinese believed that ensuring the people a life of peace and security is hui. Love in turn is an expression of ren (仁) , or benevolence, which is based on close human relationships. The term applies primarily to a concept of governance of “love for and benefit to the people,” as demonstrated through its systems, laws, policies, and measures which should be as inclusive as possible. The term also refers to a kind of social morality and personal integrity based on harmonious engagement with others, goodwill, and mutual help.
On the semantic level, fan’ai (泛爱), like the term bo’ai (博爱), means a broad love that extends to all. However, in the history of Chinese thought, it has been used with a different connotation: while bo’ai generally suggests “love of all human beings,” fan’ai infers “love of all humans as well as all things.” It means the same as what Mencius（372?-289 BC） advocated that men of virtue should love others and treasure everything on earth, and what Zhang Zai （1020-1077）proposed that all people are brothers and sisters, and all things are companions.
This term refers to love for one’s kin and particularly for one’s parents. It is a natural affection, and it also refers to the way in which such feeling is expressed. Confucianism holds that such a love should also be extended to others so that it will foster public virtue. Excessive affection for one’s kin, however, can lead to favoritism in one’s conduct. So righteousness is proposed by Confucianism as a means to curb excessive love for one’s kin.
Mencius (372?-289 BC) advocated that those in power should govern with love and benevolence. He believed that humans by nature have love for their fellows, but that this needs to be widely inclusive in order to constitute a true rule with benevolence. Love and benevolence begin with close family and relatives but then should spread to embrace all the people under his rule. This is the way to achieve rule with benevolence.
This term means to love and care for the common people. This is not only a sentiment which those who govern should have for the common people, but also an important principle which must be adhered to in governance. The ancient Chinese believed that those who govern should use specific policies and measures to benefit the people and enable them to live and work peacefully, free from sufferings and unwarranted infringements. This is the precondition or basis for those who govern to win the respect of the people. "Loving the people" was not only an important political concept - it also extended to the military sphere and became an important principle when raising armies to make war. According to this principle, the people of both one's own side and that of the enemy should receive caring love. This is a manifestation of the Chinese thinking "people first" and "benevolence and righteousness."
A state which takes good care of its people is one with true power. A ruler will be trusted and supported by the people, and the state under such a ruler will be a solid stronghold only when the policies and measures made and implemented meet the people’s requirements and represent the people’s fundamental interests. This is a new theme derived from the concept of “loving the people,” which is the fundamental driving force of a state’s becoming strong and prosperous. It is also an extension and development of the concepts of “the people are the foundation of a state,” and “a benevolent person loves others.”
Being friendly and caring for others is most important. Ancient Chinese believed that human beings are most precious things in the world, so benevolent people care for others. When it comes to governing a country, a ruler’s love for others should be transformed into love for the people. People are the most fundamental components of a state whose stability and security depend on its people. Therefore, a ruler should consider it his top priority to have love for his people, to be considerate to his people, to always make things easier for his people and follow his people’s will. Policies should be made in the interest of the people, and so should laws and institutions. This is not only what a benevolent government that Confucianism advocates is all about, it is also the basic concept on which ancient legalists made policies and laws for running a country. It epitomizes Chinese people’s humanitarian sentiments.
The term means to have love for the people, and cherish all things in the world. Here wu (物) includes plants and animals, while ai (爱) implies using them in a measured and appropriate way. This was first proposed by Mencius （372？-289 BC） who differentiated natural emotions as: a love for close family, a broad compassion for other people, and a sense of cherishing for plants and animals. The love could be close or distant, but a person of virtue always begins with love of close relatives, which then extends to other people and eventually to all things in the world. Though this feeling starts within the family, it should extend beyond it, even beyond the human race to include plants and animals, to become a broad love. The goal is to achieve harmony within oneself, with others and with nature. Zhang Zai’s （1020-1077）concept that “all people are my brothers and sisters, and all things are my companions” is very similar.
The one who is benevolent is invincible. The benevolent refers to a ruler who has the virtue of benevolence or to a state with benevolent rule. In terms of political affairs, benevolence manifests itself as benevolent governance based on love and care for the people, use of penalties with restraint, lighter taxes, and benefiting the people to the greatest extent possible. In this way, the ruler will gain the support of the people and achieve unshakeable unity of will among his subjects and himself, so that the state will be invincible. The underlying principle is that a state’s source of strength lies in winning the hearts and minds of its people; if only the people are cared for, will the state be able to draw strength from this source.
This idea was first put forward by Zhang Zai （1020-1077）of the Northern Song Dynasty, who held that people and things are all created by the vital force of heaven and earth, and thus are similar in nature. He advocated love for all people and things in the world, and his view transcended the old anthropocentric viewpoint and aimed to reach harmony between oneself and other human beings as well as between oneself and other creatures and things. It is the same as the idea that a true gentleman has ample virtue and cares for all things. This notion is an important part of the School of Principle of the Song and Ming dynasties.
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