SOURCE: "Chinese and Western Interpretations of Jen (Humanity)," in Journal of Chinese Philosophy, Vol. 2, No. 2, March, 1975, pp. 107-128.

In the following essay, Chan compares Chinese and Western interpretations of jen, the idea of humanity or humaneness, which is a central concept in Confucian thought.

The concept of jen (humanity, love, humaneness; pronounced ren) is a central concept of Confucian thought and has gone through a long evolution of more than 2000 years. The story of that evolution has been told elsewhere.¹ The purpose here is to see how the Chinese have understood the concept and how the West has interpreted it. We shall discuss the Chinese understanding under seven headings.

(1) Confucius (551-479 B.C.) the First to Conceive of Jen as the General Virtue. The word jen is not prominent in pre-Confucian Classics. It does not appear in the 'Book of Yü' or the 'Book of Hsia' in...