宋朝的大忠臣文天祥(1236~1282)在從容就義的前夕，特親書絕筆自贊，繫之於衣帶間，其詞云:「孔曰成仁，孟曰取義，惟其義盡，所以仁至。讀聖賢書，所學何事？而今而後，庶幾無愧！」聖賢教人明仁義，知廉恥，並終身堅守不變。《易經》謂：「立人之道，曰仁與義。」不仁不義之徒是無法立於天地之間的。 宋代士大夫重視儒術，講求政治清平，民生安樂，而治亂安危的關鍵人物是君主，故曰：「君仁莫不仁，君義莫不義。」君主好學，多與經筵官相接，究明聖人經旨，以前代興亡治亂為鑑，進而親賢臣，遠小人，行仁政，收民心，必然天下大治，國祚久長。北宋名儒司馬光、程頤、范祖禹等，任侍讀或侍講，皆勸皇上正君心，法祖宗。仁宗時，翰林侍講學士李淑所修成的《三朝寶訓》，便成為皇上御經筵時必讀的寶典。南宋理學家朱熹、真德秀為侍講、侍讀，力勸皇上先正心、誠意，則君道正而天下治，一切都在人君一念之間。宋儒認為仁是一切道德的總稱，包有四端和五常，絕不能用博愛二字來解釋仁，而仁與義又不能分開。雖說「仁者愛人」，但先要明愛之理，意謂愛的正當與否，要在斷之以義。朱熹釋仁謂「仁者心之德、愛之理」，最為切當。父母撫育子女是仁，而身教、言教或鞭打也是仁，此即愛切貴嚴之義。他們不是坐而言，而亦起而行，為親族創義田、義莊，以幫助貧困的族人免於饑寒，為鄉人創義倉和義學，又有義塚、義役，皆為社會福利。宋廷亦極留心災荒救濟，深得人民愛載。其立國雖不能純於仁義，而未嘗不慕義勉仁，得享三百二十年國祥，其效若是。

Before his martyrdom, Wen Tien-hsiang (文天祥),the last prime minister of the Song Dynasty, wrote to demonstrate his determination to die for the cause of justice by referring to Confucius and Chinese traditional ethics. A typical intellectual in China must stand for the view professed in I Ching (Book of Change,《易經》)that, ‘Without the concepts of benevolence and justice one cannot establish oneself or get along in the world.’ Scholars and officials in the Song Dynasty, such as Ssu-Ma Kuang (司馬光), Chen Yi (程頤), Fan Tsu-yu (范祖禹), Chu Hsi (朱熹), and Chien Teh-shiou (真德秀), cherished Confucian humanism and demanded that emperors should be educated to cherish moral laws and social duties. The imperial tutors and mentors developed a radical political philosophy putting the ruler under an obligation to save the world. They considered benevolence to be the main theme of morals; to them, benevolence is much more than kindness, and cannot be separated from justice. A benevolent man can love the people in the right way only after having realized the meaning of justice. As Chu Hsi points out, ‘Benevolence is the highest ethical principle, by which one cares for others.’ Benevolence is thoroughly applicable: many philanthropic enterprises carried out by the wealthy and influential families in the Song Dynasty were based upon the philosophic teaching of benevolence. That the Song governments were earnestly devoted to social relief was a proof of the success of the intellectuals in promoting the idea of benevolence and justice. And it is arguable that the Song Dynasty, though weak in military might, had been able to survive fierce foreign invasions and to last for more than three centuries because of its good government.