Mencius said that there are three things in life that bring the greatest happiness. The first is that our parents and siblings are fine; the second is having a pure and open heart so as not to feel ashamed before Heaven and people; the third is to have the opportunity to teach talented people.

Mencius' teachings asked people to treat others with great integrity and righteousness. But what is "great?" Mencius said: "A man lives in the spacious dwelling, occupies the proper position, and follows the ways of the empire. When he achieves his ambitions, he shares them with the people; when he fails to do so, he practices the way alone."

Mencius once discussed the meaning of beauty with a disciple. His conclusion was that one who fully possesses goodness is beautiful. The Confucian classic 'Mencius" recorded a conversation between Haosheng Buhai and Mencius. The disciple asked, "What sort of a man is Yuezhengzi?" "A good man," said Mencius. "A true man," he added.

Being one with the way is the ultimate prospect of a human being. The Confucian classic "The Analects" notes down visions of moral idealists. For the sake of moral ideals, sacrifices can be made when necessary to realize the benevolence.

"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.