[1] The main focus of the Yangists was on the concept of xing (性), or human nature,[1] a term later incorporated by Mencius into Confucianism.
No documents directly authored by the Yangists have been discovered yet, and all that is known of the school comes from the comments of rival philosophers, specifically in the Chinese texts Huainanzi, Lüshi Chunqiu, Mengzi, and possibly the Liezi and Zhuangzi.
[1] The Yangist philosophers believed in the importance of maintaining self-interest through "keeping one's nature intact, protecting one's uniqueness, and not letting the body be tied by other things.
[7] The main focus of the Yangists was on the concept of xing, or human nature,[1] a term later incorporated by Mencius into Confucianism.
[8] Mencius additionally criticized the Yangists as selfish, ignoring the duty of serving the public and caring only for personal concerns.