Confucian Characteristics

1. Jen (wren): human heartedness; goodness; benevolence, man-to-man-ness; what makes man distinctively human (that which gives human beings their humanity).

2. Li (lee):principle of gain, benefit, order, propriety; concrete guide to human action.

3. Second Sense of Li: principle of social order; ritual; ordering of life; conforming to the norms of jen (the limits and authenticity of li).

4. Yi (yee): righteousness; the moral disposition to do good (also a necessary condition for jen or for the superior man).

5. Hsiao (showe): filial piety; reverence

6. Chih (chee): moral wisdom; the source of this virtue is knowledge of right and wrong. Chih is added to Confucianism by Mencius (muhn shoos) who believed that people are basically born good.

7. Chun-tzu(choon dzuh): the ideal man; the superior man; gentle person in the most significant sense.

8. Te (day): power by which men are ruled; the power of moral example (the whole art of government consists in the art of being honest).