Jen

ren

 or jen

In Confucianism, the most basic of all virtues, variously translated as “humaneness” or “benevolence.” It originally denoted the kindness of rulers to subjects. Confucius identified ren as perfect virtue, and Mencius made it the distinguishing characteristic of humanity. In Neo-Confucianism it was a moral quality imparted by Heaven.

---

Jen 

(Chinese for “humaneness”), the basic concept of Confucian philosophy. Confucius, who understood. jen as the universal virtue, interpreted it as “love for others.” Mencius, who is credited with the aphorism “Jen is man,” emphasized the interpersonal character of the concept, whose essence is expressed in relations between people. In neo-Confucian philosophy a cosmological sense was added: jen began to be interpreted as the love that forms the basis of the universe and unites man with heaven and earth.

REFERENCES

Jung, Hwa Yul. “Jen: An Existential and Phenomenological Problem of Intersubjectivity.” Philosophy East and West, 1966, vol. 16, nos. 3–4, pp. 169–88.
Chan, Wing-tsit. “Neo-Confucianism: New Ideas in Old Terminology.” Philosophy East and West, 1967, vol. 17, nos. 1–4, pp. 15–35.