THE MAN OF JEN

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    • How would you describe the man of Jen?


    INTRODUCTION
    Human-heartedness which entails “Love” is called “Jen” in Chinese. “Jen” can be literally called “Perfect virtue” and it is one of the doctrines of Confucianism. Thus, the man of Jen according to Confucius is a man of high, all-rounded moral and ethical standards or virtue. What are the guiding principles of the man of Jen? How would one describe a man of Jen? This is the aim of this write-up.

    JEN AS A DOCTRINE IN CONFUCIANISM
    Confucianism is a philosophy of the life and the teachings of Confucius (also known as Kung fu Tzu), a Chinese sage; born in 551 B.C. in the state of “Lu” in eastern China. According to Confucius and his teachings, he never propounded new knowledge. His main mandate was to transmit the wisdom of the ancients, the traditional doctrines and cultural heritage of the Chinese people, to future generation. Confucianism is basically not the original work of Confucius. It is ancient traditional Chinese philosophy re-interpreted and transmitted to future generations by Confucius himself.
    There are three basic canons of Confucian philosophy of which the third of them is “the virtue of righteousness and human-heartedness”. As earlier said, Jen is the Chinese translation of the term “Human-heartedness” which entails “Love”. “Jen” can also be literally called “Perfect virtue”. Thus, a man of Jen is a man of perfect virtue. The concept of Jen is intrinsically linked with acting out of “Yi” (righteousness). As regards righteousness, there are morally right things to do and we are meant to do them without expecting any profit or reward in return. Even if you succeed in doing the right thing, as long as you were profit or reward minded, you would cease to be righteous. Therefore, according to Confucianism, a man of Jen acts or does things because he ought to do it and not because he wants to be rewarded.

    THE NEGATIVE AND POSITIVE ASPECTS OF JEN
    The doctrine of Chung and Shu represents a core part of “Jen”. “Jen” has both positive and negative aspects. The positive aspect of Jen is “Chung” while the negative aspect of Jen is “Shu”. “Chung” means “Conscientiousness to others” i.e. to show careful attention to others. Its injunction (formal order) is “Do to others what you wish, yourself”. For example, let it be that, I were passing by and I saw something which belongs to a colleague (like a very important possession) probably misplaced. I am going somewhere important and I have no time to waste trying to salvage any misplaced possession of a colleague. However, if I were to act according to the principle of Chung which says do to others what you wish, yourself, I would take it as a due responsibility to help protect and keep such misplaced property of my colleague even if it means that I spend some of my precious time. By the positive principle of Jen, I just have to assume such a responsibility.
    On the other hand, “Shu” means “altruism” i.e. being unselfish. Its injunction (formal order) is “Do not do to others what you do not wish yourself. This means the same as Chung but it just goes the other way round. For example, let it be that I have a deadline to meet as regarding the submission of a business proposal to a large importing and exporting firm. Everything I need is available except that in order to command appropriate presence, I have to go there with a presentable car. I do not have a car but my housemate does. That same morning, my housemate intends to travel for an important business meeting too and he must go with his car. Unfortunately for him, I have access to his car keys and then I take quick advantage and zoom off with his car, not minding the implication. I eventually get the contract I wanted as I commanded the right presence as well as every other requirement I needed to fulfill. But my housemate was stranded and had to look for an alternative which actually delayed him and eventually ruined his plans. The conclusion is that, I may have achieved my aim but according to Shu- the negative aspect of Jen, I am not a man of perfect virtue. This follows, as I did (to my housemate) what I did not wish anyone to do to me.

    THE PRINCIPLE OF THE MEASURING SQUARE
    The way to practice “Jen” is to apply the principle of the “measuring square” which entails using oneself as the standard of morality. This can be found in the neo-Confucian philosophical books of the “great learning” and the “doctrine of the mean”. Using oneself as the standard of morality simply implies that you avoid doing unto others what you know you do not wish done to you. In Chinese, the “doctrine of the mean” can also be called “Chung Yung”. For Confucius, the “principle of the measuring square” entails using self as the standard of morality and not the wish, decree or command of God. In essence, the religious idea of avoiding vice because God said so is not relevant in Confucianism. The maxim of the “principle of the measuring square” shows that Confucianism is a metaphysical materialist philosophy which is this-worldly oriented. In essence, a man of Jen is one whom takes the principle of the measuring square as a strict moral guide.


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