Confucian Feminism and the Ethics of CareIn Li's text, Ren is divided into two aspects: the ren of affection and the ren of virtue. Li focuses on the similarities between the feeling of affection and the “care” of the ethics of care (177). Daniel Star, in his critique of Li's writings, focuses his attention on the ren of virtue, citing it as the foundation of Confucian ethics (78). According to Star, care ethics and Confucianism require two very distinct modes of moral thinking (81). For Confucianism, the way of thinking is based on virtue and its cultivation (78) and for the ethics of care, “care is more than ideal, it is a prerequisite for moral thinking” (82) . Star points out that Confucianism may begin with prudence, but it ends with virtue (83). Li asserts that Confucianism is less concerned with specific rules than with living by the golden rule of treating others as one would like to be treated. He connects the flexibility of rules to the ethics of care that bases judgments about the right thing to do on the current situation (181-82). Star argues that Confucianism depends heavily on o...