1. HIST 7520
CHINESE CULTURE IN TRANSFORMATION
(Prof. Chow Kai-wing & Dr. Fan Wing-chung)
The re-significance of Zhu Xi’s
conscientious pursuits for the moralistic
governance of contemporary Oriental
rulers to desalinate the affection of
American pluralism
Name: Lee Kwun-leung Vincent (李冠良)
Student I.D No.: 09429670
Major: Master of Social Science in China Studies (History)
Date: 22 October 2009
(4139 words)
1

2. CONTENTS
 Preface:
‘Nourishment’ as a governing jewel for ensuring a family-
liked submissiveness from all the compatriots
 Benevolent rulers:
Willing to bear a greater extent of responsibilities to re-
modify the social or global atmosphere, care for the
dignity of humans and uphold the civic morality
 Oriental rulers’ mission in this era of globalization:
To influence American pluralists for a respect to cultural
and ecological equilibrium by a critical reflection on their
bureaucratic and diplomatic ideology
 Endeavor for an organic ‘sinicization’ of Western
utilitarian culture with a faithful dedication of our
innermost peculiarities
2

3. Preface:
‘Nourishment’ as a governing jewel for ensuring a family-liked
submissiveness from all the compatriots
In accordance to the administrative re-centralization of Northern Song Regime as a
tactic of undermining the threatening forces from the marginal provinces1
, Zhu Xi
stressed the need to safeguard the “Heavenly-granted political authority” of the
Emperor, with the co-existence between “empirical loyalty” and “civilian values” as
an ideological supplement. To regard ‘compatriots’ as the prior asset of a family-based
nation, Zhu Xi brought about four major Confucian principles for the ancestral rulers
to admirably follow. They were, to nurture citizens’ livelihood (yang min 養民), to
enrich citizens’ wealth (fu min 富民), to bring wholesome affection to citizens after
gaining wealth (xian fu hou jiao 先富後教) and to promote efficient governance after
ensuring wealth (fu min yi zhi 富民而治)2
. The reconstruction of family prototypes
with harmony was a solid foundation for a modern Oriental society to ensure a
widespread submissiveness from the civic; in which parental, brotherhood, couple,
peer and entrepreneurial relationships were transcendentally regulated by the spiritual
temperaments of ‘mercifulness’, ‘education’, ‘filial piety”, “friendliness”, “devotion”
1
John King Fairbank, “China – A New History”, 1st
Edition in 1992, The Belknap Press of Harvard
University Press; Cambridge, Massachusetts; London, England [P.88-89: China’s Greatest Age:
Northern and Southern Song – Efflorescence of Material Growth]
{In 960 the commander of the palace guard under the last of the Five Dynasties in North China was
acclaimed by his troops as a new emperor. Thus catapulted into power, Zhao Kuangyin (趙 匡 胤 )
founded the Song Dynasty. He and his successor, prudent and capable, pensioned off the generals,
replaced the military governors with civil officials, concentrated the best troops in their palace army,
built up the bureaucracy from examination graduates, and centralized the reserves. It was an
exemplary job of controlling the military and establishing a new civil power…… As the political and
administrative center of Northern Song, Kaifeng (開豐) held a great concentration of officials as well
as the service personnel, troops, hangers-on attracted by the court.}
2
Cai Fanglu, “Zhu Xi and the Chinese Culture”, 1st
Edition of Oct 2000, Guizhou People Publication
Limited, PRC [P.463-465: A merge of Confucianism with Shinto in Japan as a mean to stabilize the
labor discipline]
{Being influenced by the “harmony-based” ideal, the Japanese entrepreneurs regarded “personnel
harmony” as the theoretical basis of collective spirit. They emphasized the preservation and
maintenance of harmonious, intimated, integrated, compromising and collaborative relationship
among their employees. Thus, their employees would foster a strong sense of responsibility towards
their dominator. Not only did such interaction add vitality to the enterprises, they could command the
spiritual vitality of the employees with great morale. This also healed the psychological injury of
Japanese people and created another economic miracle.}
3

4. and “tenderness”, with an addition of every person’s willingness to fulfill their moral
obligation and relevant duties from their hierarchical positions.
Nowadays, the Protestant civilization, mainly headed by the Americans, indoctrinated
their senses of cultural superiority to either Confucian-Taoist civilization or Islamic
civilization, as a tactic of forceful assimilation with other parts of the whole world.
Based on their idea of ‘excludability’, the American pluralists, being reluctant to
strive for mutual-exchanges and organic integrations within a tolerant framework of
ideological variations, manipulated their super-structural advantages, such as
democracy, individualism, technology, market-oriented competitiveness,
utilitarianism, instrumental-rationalism and consumerism, to alienate their cultural
opponents3
. Such a series of aggressive temperaments is contaminating the mentality
of our younger generation, for their unwillingness to repressively reflect the
trustworthy virtues behind a pursuit on those ever-updating hedonistic trends, nor to
be rationally clear with the ultimate purpose of upholding productivity and
effectiveness. Zhu Xi, who opened his mind to a “thoughtful analysis on various
universal substances” (ge wu zhi zhi 格物致知), provided a Confucian methodology
of “self-cultivation” for the rulers to encourage their people to uphold behavioral
goodness. Apart from commoners’ self-initiatives, bureaucrats, specifically the CCP
cadres or HKSAR civil servants nowadays, are reminded to reconsider the humanist
and civilian-based values in certain conditional situations while persisting on their
highly executive-led administrative manners. With rulers to take the lead of
“personnel and ethical harmony” by stressing collaborative, compromising and
hierarchical relationship, they could command the spiritual vitality of widespread
compatriots with great morale for collective enhancement.
3
Cai Fanglu, “Zhu Xi and the Chinese Culture”, 1st
Edition of Oct 2000, Guizhou People Publication
Limited, PRC [P.459-460: Zhu Xi’s Thought and Cultural Tendency of Modern China]
4

5. Benevolent rulers:
Willing to bear a greater extent of responsibilities to re-modify
the social or global atmosphere, care for the dignity of humans
and uphold the civic morality
A ruler, with an aspiration of succeeding benevolence and compassion, was supposed
to be able to put his prior emphasis on people’s livelihood, popular wishes and
universal interests. According to the view of Prof. Fu Lingling from Taiwan Catholic
Furen University, such a managerial principle had to be proportionately facilitated by
Emperors’ favor on the goodness of etiquette and creditability, in which a legitimate
model of guardianship was set up to enable people for an appropriate imitation. Prof.
Fu cited the Confucian phrase, “wholesome spiritual intention of the Emperor” (zheng
jun xin 正君心)4
to further justify her temperamental requests for those who were
doing something accountable to the commoners’ expectations:
“If an Emperor found it difficult to pursue a wholesome spiritual
intention, he had to re-approach the amiable officials and alienate the
cunning persons. He could identify the origins of righteous virtues and
obstruct the disordered paths towards self-ambitions. Then he was
able to perceive the positive elements. In the ancient times, the
amiable rulers appointed their masters to be prominent officials,
enable their distant guests to take up essential positions, establish
bureaus for the contribution of criticisms. They were in favor of
others’ advices from those at his frontier or his backstage, with an
unbiased alternation between two camps of opinions. What they
worried the most was a possibility of their momentary instability to
uphold their righteous ideals. Therefore, the amiable rulers held
plebiscites to select people with courage to speak, with an addition of
giving them an institutional platform to justify their arguments. This
4
Cai Fanglu, “Zhu Xi and the Chinese Culture”, 1st
Edition of Oct 2000, Guizhou People Publication
Limited, PRC [P.222: “Comments on Zhu Xi’s Political Thoughts” by Fu Lingling, Associate Professor
of Philosophy at Taiwan Catholic Furen University]
5

6. provided opportunity for the talented figures to participate in political
discussions.” 5
With regards to the tendency of civic demoralization and a declining predominance in
Jesuit faith in American capitalist world, the contemporary rulers, specifically those
from PRC, should take the lead of minimizing their individual supreme dignity,
upholding their heartfelt sentiments for people’s happiness and introduce a
wholesome continuity of people’s family-based prosperity by cherishing their
moralistic contributions of courageous opinions. In a diplomatic aspect, a benevolent
ruler, from any modernized nations with greater economic capacity, should effectively
utilize his forbearing attitude to mediate international conflicts with mutually-
beneficial wisdoms, eliminate imperialistic ambitions of particular invaders, maintain
peaceful coexistence and endeavor for universal integrity based on a spirit of family
unity.
Benevolence originated from the innermost beings of every mankind, in which it was
a naturalist psychological reaction of oneself to devote their love on those with
pragmatic needs with self-initiatives. Such Confucian idea correlated to the
motivation of nurturing people’s livelihoods comprehensively without being
dominated by either personnel biases or individual bribing attempts.
“As human-beings serve for their conscientious awareness, they have
to bear in mind with the four principles of behavioral goodness, which
are: “benevolence”, “righteousness”, “etiquette” and “intelligence”.
The benevolent people tend to forebear all kinds of variations. Such
kind of temperament was motivated by our love of devotion to every
kind of universal substances, whereas the sense of ‘compassion’ was
adoptable to all kinds of secular perspectives. Hence, to comment on
5
Cai Fanglu, “Zhu Xi and the Chinese Culture”, 1st
Edition of Oct 2000, Guizhou People Publication
Limited, PRC [P.222: “Comments on Zhu Xi’s Political Thoughts” by Fu Lingling, Associate Professor
of Philosophy at Taiwan Catholic Furen University]
6

7. the ‘heart’ of this universe, we could trace the nourishments from
‘heaven’ and ‘earth’. Thus, the four principles of behavioral goodness
did not have to be singularized for observation. Concerning the
ingenious feature of human hearts, we could realize that benevolence
was the vital asset from it. Thus, the four principles were easily
applied in daily affairs and they didn’t have to be intentionally
popularized. Benevolence emerged to serve the existence of virtues,
which correlated with the hearts of all the Creatures. Though a
particular substance didn’t demonstrate its ‘passion’, the relevant
sentiments had already existed concretely. Even the “passion” was
demonstrated, the amount of sentiments would not be exhausted. The
concrete substance had already preserved such type of sincere
elements. In such sense, the origin of kind responses and the
fundamental basis of voluntary actions came from the virtue of
benevolence.” {Translated from Zhu Xi’s proclamation in “The
Benevolent Discourses” (Ren Shuo 仁說) }
Unlike the blind theological pursuit, faith cynicism and biblical regurgitation of
American Protestants, Zhu Xi urged political aspirators to foster their philosophical
rationale while ingeniously dealing with the complicated interpersonal issues and
universal governance. As a ruler with comprehensive understanding on global issues
and toughed situations in particular under-developed or developing countries, they
should, both psychologically and administratively, strive for an intellectual separation
between religious persistence and secular concerns, so as to prevent from short-
sighted and superficial estimations. This could be found by rulers’ spiritual cultivation
through a rediscovery of “broadened horizon” (bo xue 博學), “evaluation” (shen wen
審問), “re-consideration” (shen shi 審視), “identification” (ming bian 明辨) and
“succession” (du xing 篤行)6
. What we could deny from George W Bush’s Middle
6
Cai Fanglu, Shu Dagang and Guo Qi, “New Horizon, New Interpretation – Zhu Xi’s Ideology and
Modern Society” (VOL.1), 1st
Edition in Dec 2007, Sichuan University Publication Limited, PRC
[P.162-163 – “The Discourses of Zhu Xi and Modern Education” by Hu Zhaoxi, Professor of History &
Culture Department at Sichuan University]
{Zhu Xi encouraged his students to make determination for a self-disciplinary learning with
sophistication and detailed analysis by introducing five principles of heartfelt learning: “Books are to
be reviewed by you. Virtues are to be explored by you. The instructor is just responsible for guiding you
to a certain preferable direction, who, with experiences in justification, welcomes you to approach for
7

8. East politics was that, he forcefully attached American perspectives onto the Muslims
with a combinative expediency of religious liberation and military invasion, whereas
the confrontation he raised was to serve for Americans’ own interests in exploiting
petroleum resources in Middle East without caring for Muslims’ persistence in super-
structural preservation. Therefore, by enhancing Americans’ ethical temperaments
with Zhu Xi’s virtual philosophy, the United States would be alerted of her
significance to uphold a global trend of diversification and promote equal status of
communications without a resort of bullying tactic.
For the PRC Government nowadays, the Communist cadres remained intolerant with
internal oppositional forces and continued with their uncompromising outlaw of
intellectual liberalists after the Tiananmen Crackdown in 1989. Though the capitalist
and free-market reforms were conducted with great success to prosper the socio-
economic circumstances of coastal Chinese cities, lots of rural provinces remained the
miserable and impoverished livelihood unresolved, as the peasants sought no legal
channel to complain about the bureaucratic exploitations and irrational treatments.
Throughout the 1990s and early 2000s, repressive and fragmented rural protests,
together with bloody confrontation between unwaged workers and provincial cadres,
occasionally occurred that sowed many hidden elements of unrests as an invisible
threat to the authoritative control of Communist rule. In Southern Song Dynasty,
Emperor Ningzhong ( 宋 寧 宗 ), being aware of the setbacks from his inferior
governance due to a renovation project in Eastern Palace, dared to neglect his
supreme dignity and publish an imperial edict to condemn him, with a reduction to the
frequency of sedan visits and an implementation of strict disciplines within the
bureaucratic strata. By re-approaching the miserable needs of people in famine
discussions if you’re in difficulties”.}
8

9. regions, Emperor Ningzhong did not allow his intimate practitioners to intervene the
political affairs and prevented the prominent officials from power monopolization for
the sake of their self-interests7
. By obeying Zhu Xi’s ideal of providing civilians with
nourishments and comprehensively absorbing the constructive reminders instead of
just favoring the flattering compliments8
, the contemporary PRC rulers could follow a
framework for a methodological attempt to reconstruct the necessary ideological and
moral restraints in order to better supervise the cunning power-holders, prohibit the
corrupted bureaucrats, minimize the class hatred and transform the wholesome social
habits into brilliant customs.
While stressing youngsters’ autonomy of enhancing their personal competencies and
knowledgeable capacities as a facilitation to the progressive growth of national
economy, the contemporary Chinese rulers should take the lead to fabricate the
innermost integrity of adolescence in order to make them alerted of their in-born
identity as an authentic ethical contributor. Lee Kuang Yew, Founding President of
Singapore, set a referential example in the Oriental world, as he implemented a series
of ‘etiquette education’ to halt the spiritual endangerments. Lee said, “If filial piety
was not highly valued, the ecosystem of human survival would become very fragile
and vulnerable. Our civilized society would tend to be full of wildness and
roughness.” To counteract with the abnormal expansion of American materialism,
7
Cai Fanglu, Shu Dagang and Guo Qi, “New Horizon, New Interpretation – Zhu Xi’s Ideology and
Modern Society” (VOL.1), 1st
Edition in Dec 2007, Sichuan University Publication Limited, PRC
[P.205 - “The Innermost Temperaments of Zhu Xi’s Civilian-based Ideal and Humanist Values” by Tan
Ping, Dean of Arts and Professor of Chengdu University]
8
(Same as above) [P.201: “The Innermost Temperaments of Zhu Xi’s Civilian-based Ideal and
Humanist Values” by Tan Ping, Dean of Arts and Professor of Chengdu University]
{Zhu Xi interpreted the concept from “Mencius’ Collection”:“Concerning the appointment of an
amiable chancellor, the Emperor should prevent from being dominated by his own personnel bias and
evaluate candidates’ suitability based on their concreted political talents. Both the selection of amiable
officials and the relief of taxation are the major criteria for the nurture of civilians’ livelihood.
Concerning the appointment of military generals, the Emperor should uphold plebiscites instead of
recruiting imitate practitioners, which could ensure an unquestioned submissiveness of all the
conscripted soldiers. Meanwhile, the Emperor was encouraged to forbearingly listen to the
constructive reminders instead of just favoring the flattering compliments, which was the guiding
principle for a comprehensive absorption of opinions.” }
9

10. eventual disintegration of family structures, ideological contamination of
utilitarianism and interpersonal degradation due to instrumental-rationalism, Lee
Kuang Yew organized the “Nationwide Civilized Behavior & Etiquette Months”,
the “Elderly-Care Weeks” and the “Chinese Culture Fiestas”9
to better promote the
five human ethics of Confucianism, namely “rulers and officials”, “parents and
children”, “husbands and wives”, “elderly and youngsters” and “peers”. The
Singaporean government leaders also made an indeed participation to act as
nationwide referential models. Through these series of activities, an atmosphere of
elderly-care respects, politeness and civilized behavior is wholesomely upheld in
Singaporean society.
Same as the Overseas Chinese in Pacific Asia, Europe, Canada or the United States,
the Singaporeans successfully transformed their family coherences as a modern
entrepreneurial ability10
. They organized cross-nation incorporations. What they
mainly relied on was not the shareholdings, but their mutual-agreements and
compromising collaborations. There experienced an invulnerable trust from the
mutual service of the family members. With family-based values as a psychological
jewel, people would be more united to resist the intrusion of American ideologies and
persist on their humanist lives with interpersonal harmony even surviving in a market-
based economic environment.
In short, there’s a hierarchical correlation between a ruler with benevolence and the
cultivation of civilians’ wholesome behavior. Rulers, who thoughtfully understand the
9
Cai Fanglu, Shu Dagang and Guo Qi, “New Horizon, New Interpretation – Zhu Xi’s Ideology and
Modern Society” (VOL.2), 1st
Edition in Dec 2007, Sichuan University Publication Limited, PRC
[P.638-639: “Zhu Xi’s Ecological-ethical Thought and Its Inspiration to This Modern World” by Xu
Gongxi and Su Min] (Xu Gongxi: Associate Professor and Head of Zhu Xi Philosophy Research
Centre, The Jiangxi Shangrao Institute of Education; Su Min: Instructor of Zhu Xi Philosophy
Research Centre, The Jiangxi Shangrao Institute of Education)
{Revival of Confucian education in Singapore to counter-balance the Pan-American mode of
capitalism, utilitarianism, individualism and hedonism}
10
(Same as above) [P.639: A comment on Confucianism in Singapore by Derek, an American
sociologist]
10

11. need to be approachable with people’s necessities apart from stressing keen
competitions in economic modernizations, would strategically and alternatively
implement both developmental measures and educational politics. They won’t allow a
flooding tendency of money-commanded and interest-oriented thoughts from
American culture to severely disorder the moral integrity of their civic society, thus
they would strengthen their investments on social welfare to help the orphans,
divorced family, teenage criminals, neglected children and tortured women.
Meanwhile, the rulers would endeavor to encourage lower-class people for a better
initiative in intellectual enhancement and achieve an egalitarian mode of wealth
redistribution by restraining the commercial sector from exploiting the labor interests,
hoping that the poverty gap would be narrowed and social harmony could be
fabricated with people’s gratification to the government unbiased considerations.
Oriental rulers’ mission in this era of globalization:
To influence American pluralists for a respect to cultural and
ecological equilibrium by a critical reflection on their
bureaucratic and diplomatic ideology
The American intruders regarded the Middle East countries as culturally inferior, thus
they endeavored to uphold a forceful biblical mission of Gospel extension and
transform the Muslims (specifically Iraqi, Palestinians and Afghans) into a new group
of submissive civilization with Christian customs. However, this modification
abnormally upset the ecological harmony; as a particular circus of substances, with a
severe minimization of intra-variations, no longer demonstrated a sense of mutual-
restraint and mutual-dependence among themselves. As Zhu Xi stated in his
publication called “Categorization of Discourses” (Yue Lei 語 類 ), “personalities”
(xing 性) were a kind of underneath substances beyond the ecological circulation,
11

12. whereas “virtues” (li 理) were the factional rationales scattered from personalities11
. If
an observer could foster a sense of appreciation, obedience and submissiveness upon
the in-born (or Heavenly-granted) natures and established values possessed by
particular substances, he/she could scatter an invisible series of ‘rational wisdoms and
mental enlightenments’ from such a parallel methodology of factional harmony as
his/her spiritual re-experience of ‘transcendental virtues’ throughout this universe.
Because of the existence of “breath” (qi 氣 ) as an important sentimental asset of
defining the respectful ideas from the specific features in different kinds of
“personalities”, the initial phenomena from such contrasts could persist with
equilibrium (zhong yong 中庸) that resulted in a normalization of super-structural
exchanges, including a platform of mutual-communications for the ideological
contribution to the maintenance of universal goodness. “Breath”, in such sense, had to
be maintained without letting either one vigorous camp annex or overwhelm its
opposing camp. Or to say, a specific kind of “extraordinary breath” has to be treated
with flexibility, humanized manners and softly-approachable gestures, instead of
being mechanically re-modified to suit the ever-updating crony and materialistic
secularity. To achieve this, the pluralists had to abandon their prejudices and re-
approach a thoughtful understanding upon the behind reasons of the encountered
cultural or ideological variations, with an attempt of being sympathetic with their
11
Rur-bin Yang, “Essays on Zhuzi Studies in East Asia: Proceedings of the Conference on Zhuzi
Studies and East Asian Civilization,” (VOL.2), 2002 Edition, Centre for Chinese Studies Research,
Taiwan, ROC [P.137 – “Categorization of Discourses” by Zhu Xi]
{‘The straight-forward persons should be described as being skilful to perceive the peculiar
personalities, thus they fostered lots of virtues with ease. “Personalities” were a kind of underneath
substances beyond the ecological circulation, whereas “virtues” were the factional rationales
scattered from personalities. By obeying one’s possessions from his/her in-born natures, he/she can
scatter lots of factional rationales with ease as a reflection of “virtues”. “Personalities” can be
applied to human beings, but we couldn’t define humans as without virtues due to their variation in
“breath” and spiritual temperaments. As Cheng Hao ( 程 顥 ) and Cheng Yi ( 程 頤 ) stated, “The
principle of obeying our personalities was that, being a cow should be submissive with the peculiarities
of cow and will never attempt to imitate the features of horses. Each kind of creature comprises its
given virtues, but it is covered by its spiritual temperaments. Thus, the possibility for mutual-
communication would vary pairs by pairs. But if mutual-communications are found from two or more
types of creatures, virtues can exist everywhere with eternity.’ }
12

13. uniquely-exploited competencies for the sake of preserving a wholesome
diversification in our humanist world.
What the Oriental rulers should do nowadays was to educate the American pluralists
with the Confucian idea of “moderation” (zhong he 中和 ), in which it effectively
healed their abnormal eagerness for teasing, bullying, comparison, jealousy,
excludability and discrimination. Zhu Xi regarded the willingness of upholding
ecological coexistence as a sentimental reflection from our ‘empathy’, thus there was
no need for a rigid legal definition to reallocate different substances into a non-
confrontational utopia with a strict checkmate on our philosophical minds. Zhu said,
“Moderation came from our force, and no boundary existed between Heaven and
humans. The allocation of Heaven and Earth, and the nurture of creatures,
continuously persisted with our wholesome initiation. These two pairs of persistence
was a representation of mutual-dependence, mutual-supplementation and mutual-
assistance. If moderation could not be achieved, there would be a mutual-exhaustion
between mountains and rivers, as well as instability of Heaven and Earth. The
emergence of infant mortality was due to such kind of ruined harmony.” 12
Chinese
philosophers were extraordinarily keen at mediating conflicts, as they resorted to a
mind of parallel valuation. Premier Wen Jiaobao received widespread cherishment
from both European and Asian communities due to his effort of international peace, as
he was capable in enforcing the hostile pairs to separately preserve their unique
characteristics as a mean of obtaining a normal platform of sustainable socio-
economic and diplomatic development. By utilizing our sentimental thoughts to seek
for bilateral or multi-lateral negotiations, the idea of “moderation” could effectively
12
Cai Fanglu, Shu Dagang and Guo Qi, “New Horizon, New Interpretation – Zhu Xi’s Ideology and
Modern Society” (VOL.2), 1st
Edition in Dec 2007, Sichuan University Publication Limited, PRC
[P.627 – Humans could harmoniously coexist with the Nature]
13

14. transform the “explosive and endangered contradictions” into a flourish of
collaborative and compromising thoughts, in which the pluralistic camp were made to
be alerted of their prior step in conducting an in-depth exploration upon the specific
rediscoveries of differences for a better preservation of the given temperaments.
Scholars who adored technologically-advanced elements of American culture might
argue that, the reintroduction of Zhu Xi’s thought in modern bureaucratic governance
might not be in accordance to the pursuit of “pragmatism”13
, as the spiritual-based
persistence neglect the creation of materialistic wealth, the human satisfaction of
materialistic interests, the utilitarian demand for social productivity and the cost-
effectiveness of socio-economic development. However, to eliminate mutual-
nonchalance between rulers and people, a linkage between civilian-based governance
and behavior-based governance should be revived. By an alternative adoption of
“family-based” perceptions and strategic socio-economic considerations, moral ethics
would be re-experienced in the commercial world, whereas the upper class is
discouraged from pursuing another polarized ideal of forgetting “universal
righteousness” for the sake of self-interest fulfillments. Chief decision-makers within
the strata of governmental seniority would also associate the quality of their
nationwide administration to the spiritual integrity of themselves.
Unlike the hereditary separation between leadership conduct and election morale in
the political culture of the United States, the efficiency of civil service in Oriental
countries could not depart from the pursuit of “wholesome spiritual intentions”.
13
Cai Fanglu, “Zhu Xi and the Chinese Culture”, 1st
Edition of Oct 2000, Guizhou People Publication
Limited, PRC [P.449 – Hu Xi’s perception on Zhu Xi’s ideals]
{Hu Xi’s stance of ‘pragmatism’ was a reflection of ‘Grabbism’ due to his biased adoration to the
American thoughts, his apprenticeship with John Dewey before his establishment of Yanjing
University, and his admiration to Protestant values. But Hu Xi still recognized certain elements of Zhu
Xi’s virtual philosophy. He regarded the thoughtful analysis on virtues from various substances as a
scholastic but rational attitude. He claimed that Zhu’s thoughts revealed not as mysterious as the other
kinds of Chinese philosophies, and might be even more scientific.}
14

15. Oriental policy-makers are mostly expected to possess an unbiased, sympathetic,
approachable, transparent and open-minded thought upon the constructive requests
from the civilians, as well as being sensitive with the ingenious concern of interests
and conflicts from the particular pairs of personnel coherences within the bureaucracy.
What Zhu Xi and his Confucian ancestors believed was that, the most important thing
for a ruler to do was to set him as an affectionate model for other bureaucrats to
imitate. That meant, the ruler had to impress his subordinate officials to carry out
“civilian-based” politics, showcase their mutual-dependence for collaboration, and
care for the people’s needs14
. If the ruler hadn’t got a wholesome aspiration, his
subordinate would just pursue a carefree mode of management and heartlessly fulfill
their deserved obligations. Under the emergence of interpersonal suspicions without a
thoughtful supervision and intervention from the ruler, the proficiency of the quality
on civil service would decline because numerous administrative sectors might uphold
the irresponsible attitude as a mean of preserving their selfish concerns.
We could not deny that loopholes are found from the concrete implementation of
“civilian-based” governance due to the possible disorders of human incentives,
whereas it might not be able to accommodate the ever-changing demand of modern
social politics and evolutions in ethical perceptions. However, with regards to a belief
in Zhu Xi’s conscientious pursuit, ‘restraints from external regulations’ are a kind of
supplementation to the humans’ weaknesses of innermost restraints. In such sense,
14
John King Fairbank, “China – A New History”, 1st
Edition in 1992, The Belknap Press of Harvard
University Press; Cambridge, Massachusetts; London, England [P.52-53: The First Unification –
Imperial Confucianism]
{Government by good example was the idea of the virtue that was attached to right conduct. To
conduct oneself according to the rules of propriety or ‘li’ in itself gave one a moral status of prestige.
This moral prestige in turn gave one influence over the people. “The people are like grass, the ruler
like the wind”; as the wind blew, so the grass was inclined. Right conduct gave the ruler power.
Confucius said: “When a prince’s personal conduct is correct, his government is effective without the
issuing of orders. If his personal conduct is not correct, he may issue orders but they will not be
followed.” }
15

16. judiciary governance can organically merge with “civilian-based” and “behavior-
based” governance15
. Some utilitarian scholars might worry that; the revival
Confucian collectivism might restrain the development of humans’ personalities due
to an over-emphasis on universal integrity for the maintenance of etiquette. Individual
bodies are often ready to be drowned inside the community and society. To strive for
equilibrium, there could be mutual benefits between individual developments and
community interests. With the emergence of a particularly progressive model, a
wholesome competence for mutual-enhancements could be foreseen within the
interpersonal atmosphere, which could motivate others’ morale for better struggles.
During the time of abandoning our traditions and prospering the collectivized spirits,
we should respect the individual thoughts of particular persons and thoroughly
recognize their liberty in personalities. We should seek for a harmonious integration
between individual capabilities and society, and between individual bodies and
collectivized interests.
The conscientious pursuits in humanist ideology, particularly the literati culture of
Northern Song Dynasty, should undergo an inheriting process first. Then, the details
within the established principles can undergo innovations within the framework of
convention. Under the condition of a strict obedience on Zhu Xi’s conscientious
ideals, the goodness of spiritual temperaments are foreseen to be transformed as a
vitality of universal contribution, whereas an applicable order is made from the task of
15
Wang Gungwu & Zheng Yongnian, “Damage Control – The Chinese Communist Party in the
Jiang Zemin Era”, 1st
Edition in 2003, Eastern University Press, Singapore [P.351: ‘Rule by Virtue’
under Jiang Zemin’s leadership]
{Confucians believed that a ruler has to be educated in Confucian virtues before he can be a legitimate
ruler; the ruler should be, first of all, morally superior to his subjects and his primary role is to be a
role model for the subjects to follow. The legalists, on the other hand, favored the rule by law. Out of
their conviction of the wickedness of human nature, they argued that a strong legal system should be
established to deter people from doing evil. In reality, Chinese emperors governed by using a
combination of the rule by law and the rule by virtue……. Law must be complemented by moral values,
human feelings and family concerns (以禮輔法). If individualism, albeit permitted by law, went too far,
it would become a cancer in our society.}
16

17. self-cultivation (xiu shen 修身) and national unity with family-based spirits (qi jia 齊
家), to the mission of national governance (zhi guo 治國) and universal stabilization
(ping tian xia 平天下). Zhu Xi’s idea of “Heart Studies” (xin xue 心學) advocated
that, humans should dare to condemn the wrongness of the authoritative rulers. Such a
spirit of bravery was an adoptable supplement to the democratic and civilian-based
thoughts in modern bureaucratic philosophy.
Endeavor for an organic ‘sinicization’ of Western utilitarian
culture with a faithful dedication of our innermost peculiarities
Humans nowadays often felt dissatisfied with the insufficient scientific elements in
their lives. Due to their over-emphasis on scientific advancement, they would
disregard humans’ autonomy as in-humanized operation units. Americans’ scientific
thoughts are actually an inconsiderate behavioral response of superficial intuition
from humans’ superego, thus their innovations could not enhance into a level of
natural science for a contribution to environmental conservations. Zhu Xi urged
people to put their emphasis on the “Heavenly virtues” of humans’ innermost
essences. The thoughtful analysis on the virtues of universal substances was a manner
of realizing the “Heavenly virtues”. Zhu Xi’s mode of investigation was a Chinese
manner of scientific pursuit, which reflected a great extent of courtesy, humbleness,
gratification, harmony, moderation, simplicity, non-extravagance and naturalism. It
effectively healed the ethically-deteriorating philosophy from the contemporary
Eurocentric world that underwent large-scaled distortions throughout the
Americanization process.
Zhu Xi had ever urged humans to recover their sincere manner of secular attitude: “If
17

18. the innermost peculiarities were not demonstrated, the fundamental substance would
remain natural without needs for in-depth exploitation. Thus, we should persist on
such comfortable platform with devotions and care for the preservation of
temperaments. This was so called the tactic of upholding one’s innermost
temperaments without any ambitious attempts of showing-off. Whenever we were
spiritually and mentally motivated, we should initially observe our properness and
neatness for a more affectionate expansion of individual talents. This was so called
the capability of self-reflection before showcase, during silence and beyond casual
time.”16
Fr. Matteo Ricci, missionary from Ignatus of Loyola in the 17th
century, also
regarded “thoughtful analysis on universal substances” (ge wu zhi zhi 格物致知) as a
channel for apostles to know more about our Creator’s compassion – a thorough
exploitation of virtues to search for their independent functionalities and ultimate
purposes, with an addition of perceiving the truths from Heaven17
. This reflected that,
Zhu Xi’s endeavor for a revitalization of human sincerity, initiated from the family-
based and agricultural tradition of China, are worth for inheriting as a balancing force
against the American pluralists who intransigently disrespect the supernatural values
from a peaceful collaboration with other cultural traditions. Forbearance and
tolerance, pragmatic trace on the fundamental implications, adoration to moral
integrity and patriotism, self-restraints with obedience to the public order, emphasis
on duties and civic responsibilities, emphasis on rationale and self-awareness to
control our spiritual emotion, emphasis on moral and behavioral temperaments,
emphasis on self-disciplines, emphasis on education, emphasis on a wholesome
16
Rur-bin Yang, “Essays on Zhuzi Studies in East Asia: Proceedings of the Conference on Zhuzi
Studies and East Asian Civilization” (VOL.2), 2002 Edition, Centre for Chinese Studies Research,
Taiwan, ROC [P.148: A mature concept of ‘moderation’ by Zhu Xi]
17
Tsai-chun Chung, “Essays on Zhuzi Studies in East Asia: Proceedings of the Conference on Zhuzi
Studies and East Asian Civilization” (VOL.1), 2002 Edition, Centre for Chinese Studies Research,
Taiwan, ROC [P.399: Nicholas Standaert, “The Investigation of Things and Fathoming of Principles
(gewu qiongli 格物窮理) in the 17th
Century Contact between Jesuits and Chinese Scholars”]
18

19. enhancement of personal qualities and thoughts, and emphasis on the national
unification and social stability, were the trustworthy assets from the understanding of
Zhu Xi’s virtual philosophy and its fellow series of Confucian proclamations that
could be absorbed for a prospective reformation of the marine civilizations.
“A nation is never operated in accordance to human interests, but in accordance to
the interest of righteous pursuits. The over-accumulation of wealth would cause a
division of people, while a balanced distribution of wealth would fabricate a united
spirit of people. Parties, with diversified backgrounds, would not counteract with the
officials who are courteous and humble”.18
Such an ideal, extracted from “The
Virtues on Tertiary Studies” (Da Xue 大 學 ), encouraged modern Orientals to
utilize their conscientious, objective, sympathetic and rational awareness to oppose
the nonchalance of righteous values whenever individual pursuit of interests emerged
abnormally. It was predicted that, with the growing popularity of Occidentals to
rediscover the transcendental meanings from their instrumental module of highly
competitive, machinery and individualistic lives in this capitalist era, Zhu Xi’s ideal,
specifically his “thoughtful analysis on universal substances”, would provide a
psychological framework for them to follow, in which they would regard the universal
harmony as their prior obligation, the coexisting interests of the entire globe and
mankind as their most precious jewel, and “conscientious awareness” as their most
adoptable methodology for innermost nourishments.
18
Cai Fanglu, Shu Dagang and Guo Qi, “New Horizon, New Interpretation – Zhu Xi’s Ideology and
Modern Society” (VOL.1), 1st
Edition in Dec 2007, Sichuan University Publication Limited, PRC [P.9-
10: “Zhu Xi’s Thoughts and the Moral Construction of Modern China” by Tan Enjie, Dean of Hong
Kong Academy of Confucianism]
19

20. REFERENCE MATERIALS
John King Fairbank, “China – A New History”, 1st
Edition in 1992, The Belknap Press
of Harvard University Press; Cambridge, Massachusetts; London, England
Cai Fanglu, “Zhu Xi and the Chinese Culture”, 1st
Edition of Oct 2000, Guizhou
People Publication Limited, PRC
Cai Fanglu, Shu Dagang and Guo Qi, “New Horizon, New Interpretation – Zhu Xi’s
Ideology and Modern Society” (VOL.1), 1st
Edition in Dec 2007, Sichuan University
Publication Limited, PRC
Cai Fanglu, Shu Dagang and Guo Qi, “New Horizon, New Interpretation – Zhu Xi’s
Ideology and Modern Society” (VOL.2), 1st
Edition in Dec 2007, Sichuan University
Publication Limited, PRC
Tsai-chun Chung, “Essays on Zhuzi Studies in East Asia: Proceedings of the
Conference on Zhuzi Studies and East Asian Civilization” (VOL.1), 2002 Edition,
Centre for Chinese Studies Research, Taiwan, ROC
Rur-bin Yang, “Essays on Zhuzi Studies in East Asia: Proceedings of the Conference
on Zhuzi Studies and East Asian Civilization,” (VOL.2), 2002 Edition, Centre for
Chinese Studies Research, Taiwan, ROC
Wang Gungwu & Zheng Yongnian, “Damage Control – The Chinese Communist
Party in the Jiang Zemin Era”, 1st
Edition in 2003, Eastern University Press,
Singapore
20