has given rise to a wide variety of interpretations. The word itself has been translated as anything from moral perfection to magnanimity, from humaneness to compassion, or even simple altruism.
The Chinese character for jen is made up of two elements, that for ‘man’ and that for ‘two’. Man + two = man-to-manness. In other words, jen is not concerned with individual spiritual morality, more with social behaviour, or moral character demonstrated in a public setting. Confucius makes this plain in his sayings (or Lun Yu, frequently referred to as the Analects). ‘When asked the meaning of jen, Confucius replied: “It means to love your fellow human beings.”’ Later he elaborates on this: ‘There are five things, and whoever manages to put these into practice is jen. [These are] respectfulness, tolerance, trustworthiness, quick-witted diligence, and generosity. If a man is respectful he will not be treated with insolence. If he is tolerant he will win over the multitude. If he is trustworthy, then others will entrust him with responsibility. If he is diligent and quick-witted he will achieve results. If he is compassionate he will be good enough to be put in command of other men.’
Confucius saw jen as part of education. In other words, one had to be taught such behaviour rather than simply learning it from experience. In his time, education was regarded as a matter of learning how to behave, rather than the acquisition of specific knowledge. Confucius concurred with this attitude. The acquisition of knowledge was wisdom, not jen
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