All humans are inherently good. This is the core message of the ethics of the Confucian philosopher Mencius, who has had a long and diverse impact in East Asia to this day. For Mencius, talking about humans means discussing a being that has lost its immediate connection to nature, but can only find itself and its humanity when it understands that nature provides all material and spiritual nourishment and cannot be depleted by him, as long as he takes responsibility for ensuring that no lasting imbalance arises in the relationship between nature and humanity, no waste of resources, and no violation of the rhythms of the seasons. Humans and the surrounding nature, or cosmos, share the same order: In the laws of nature, humans recognize their own lives.