Mencius stresses prioritizing essentials: wise men focus on urgent tasks, benevolent ones prioritize kin and worthies. Yao and Shun followed this. He criticizes those fussing over trivial rituals while ignoring core mourning and dining etiquette fundamentals.
Mencius puts forward graded love: cherish creatures without full benevolence, treat people kindly yet less intimately than family. True virtue starts with loving relatives, expands to caring for people, and finally extends affection to all natural things.