The Four Beginnings
Innate moral sprouts that can develop into the four cardinal virtues.
Mencius taught that humans have four innate moral beginnings: compassion (leading to ren), shame (leading to yi), respect (leading to li), and discernment (leading to zhi). These sprouts must be cultivated.
All humans have a mind that cannot bear to see others suffer.
This is Mencius's famous argument for innate human goodness.
Mencius