從思想史看，《尚書》是最早關涉心性思想的文獻，其分別從「心」、「念」、「性」三個角度表達了對人性、人慾的初步看法，並認為通過「宅心」、「克念」、「節性」的功夫，便能發揚善性，走向善政。《尚書》的這一套心性思想，可以說是中國思想史上最初的心性論，首次將心、性、念與主體修養聯繫起來，推動了道德主體意識的發展，同時也將道德與政治緊密地關聯在一起，於濃郁的周初宗教文化中開拓出一個嶄新的文化發展方向。《尚書》心性論雖然是原初的、樸素的，但對後世心性之學的形成與發展卻具有深遠的意義。

Shangshu is the earliest document talking about the nature of mind in the history. It expresses the preliminary views on human nature and desire from the perspectives of “Xin”, “Nian” and “Xing”, and believes that we can develop our good nature and make good governance through the efforts of “Zhaixin”, ”Kenian” and “Jiexing”. For the first time in the history, it connected the nature of mind with politics and opened a new cultural direction in the early Zhou dynasty, which deeply influenced the later theory of nature of mind.