Mencius (Mengzi 孟子 371–289 BC) was a Chinese philosopher who followed in the footsteps of Confucius. An important part of his philosophy was that human nature is fundamentally good. (Wing-cheuk 154) Mencius believed that “the feelings of pity, of shame and antipathy, of respect and reverence, of right and wrong, are found in all men” and that these four beginnings give rise to the principles of humanity, righteousness , fairness and wisdom. (Wing-cheuk 162) The example often given of these feelings is that of a child about to fall into a well. As someone watching this, you feel worried about the child and will try to help him, not because you want a reward from the parents or because you are afraid of contempt from others for not helping. Mencius claims that the answer to this question lies in the fact of the four beginnings, as the name suggests that these are simply the beginning and not the end. To possess adequate virtues one must have adequate self-cultivation and let one's beginnings grow as one grows a tree. Only with proper care can a mighty oak grow. Otherwise, the tree will wither and this is the creation of evils. Mencius argues that trying to develop one's four beginnings is similar to drawing a perfect square. Even with great skill it is impossible to do it by hand. Instead, you need to use a carpenter's square and with this tool you can create as many squares as you want. For Mencius, “in a moral reality, the principles (li) are the carpenter's square” (Wing-cheuk 163). Furthermore, it states that principles and righteousness are common to all hearts, that morality is universal. argue that this statement is not entirely true. Although Mencius would not be able to see it in his lifetime, many of the values ​​and customs of his society have completely vanished. For example, the principle of deference to the older brother does not exist in many modern countries. This differs from the principles of