The benevolent man loves others.

This allusion comes from Meng Zi (The Book of Mencius). The Confucian thinker, statesman and educator Mencius (c. 372-289 BC), also known as Meng Ke, talked in the book about the difference between a man of virtue and an ordinary person: The man of virtue always treats others with kindness, because he has ren (benevolence) and li (rites) in his heart.

This is a well-known saying attributed to Mencius, but the idea originally came from Confucius (551-479 BC), also known as Kong Qiu, a thinker, educator and statesman and the founder of Confucianism. The benevolent man has virtue, wisdom, courage, integrity and personal charms, and cares for others. Ren, or benevolence, is the highest moral value and greatest virtue cherished in Confucian culture. Its basic meaning is to love others. One should show filial piety to one's parents, respect one's elder brothers, and extend love and care to other family members and eventually to everyone else under heaven.

This is one of the quotations from Chinese classics cited by Xi Jinping at a teacher-student seminar in Peking University in May 2014. Since ancient times, this shrewd observation has been applied in governance, reminding the rulers to love the people as they love their own families and to extend such love to all beings under heaven.

仁者愛人

“仁者愛人”的典故，出自《孟子》。“仁者愛人”主要談論君子與普通人的分別，在于君子能夠保持心中的善端，而保持善端的關鍵，就是將“仁”和“禮”永存心中。“仁者愛人”這句話雖然出自《孟子》，但這一觀念卻是直接繼承孔子的。“仁者”即有仁德的人，是有大智大勇、德行完滿、關愛他人、有人格魅力的人。“仁”是儒家文化中最高的道德范疇和境界，其以“愛人”為基本規定，意指“仁”從孝父母、敬兄長開始，進而關愛家族其他成員，并擴大至關心全天下的人。

“仁者愛人”，是2014年5月習近平在北京大學師生座談會上發表講話時引用的一句名言。在孟子提煉的思想命題下，其被應用于治國理政，強調君子由親愛親人而仁愛百姓，由仁愛百姓而愛惜萬物。