"The Analects" records Confucius as saying, "Set your aim for the way, hold on your virtue, rely on your benevolence and explore widely in your cultivation of the arts." The missions of Confucian teachings are to explore the relationship between heaven and humans, and understand the changes of the past and present.

The Confucian classic "Zhongyong" ("The Doctrine of the Mean") offers two approaches to achieve self-cultivation — honoring one's virtuous nature and maintaining constant inquiry and study. "Honoring one's virtuous nature" asks a person to fully know his nature.

Only when a person gains self-awareness can he perceive that achieving humaneness is determined by the person himself.

Ethics is the basic essence of Chinese philosophy. The close connection between ethics and aesthetics (goodness and beauty) is a prominent feature of Chinese philosophy.

In Chinese culture, building a human community with a shared future and pursuing universal knowledge on benevolence and proper destiny for human beings are particularly considered. The inner purpose for spreading Chinese culture is to inherit Confucianism and to create a peaceful world for our generation and the next.

Mencius believed that owning a heart of benevolence, righteousness, protocol and wisdom is part of a person's innate knowledge and good ability and is worthy to be exalted.

Humans are the essence of the universe. However, the human mind will be obscured by unkind desires when the mind attaches itself to objects.

Xinxue, or the School of the Mind, is the treasure of Chinese philosophy. When we talk about the origin and development of Xinxue, we will cover Confucius’ theory on benevolence, Mencius’ idea on innate knowledge, Zhuangzi’s thought on Xinxue and Lu Jiuyuan's philosophy arguing “the mind is principle.” The ideas passed on to Wang Yangming, a Neo-Confucian philosopher from the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), whose thought on Xinxue became agglomerate.