Like most educated, middle-class young men, Confucius pursued a career as an administrator, and it was in this role that he developed his ideas about the organization of government. Seeing firsthand the relationships between the ruler and his ministers and subjects, and keenly aware of the fragility of the political situation of the time, he set about formulating a framework that would enable rulers to govern justly, based on his own system of moral philosophy.

  Confucius’s moral standpoint was firmly rooted in Chinese convention, and had at its heart the traditional virtues of loyalty, duty, and respect. These values were personified in the junzi: the “gentleman” or “superior man,” whose virtue would act as an example to others. Every member of society would be encouraged to aspire to the junzi’s virtues. In Confucius’s view, human nature is not perfect, but it is capable of being changed by the example of sincere virtue. Similarly, society can be transformed by the example of fair and benevolent government.

  The notion of reciprocity—the idea that just and generous treatment will be met with a just and generous response—underpins Confucius’s moral philosophy, and it is also a cornerstone of his political thinking. For a society to be good, its ruler must be the embodiment of the virtues he wishes to see in his subjects; in turn, the people will be inspired through loyalty and respect to emulate those virtues. In the collection of his teachings and sayings known as the Analects, Confucius advises: “If your desire is for good, the people will be good. The moral character of the ruler is the wind; the moral character of those beneath him is the grass. When the wind blows, the grass bends.” In order for this idea to work effectively, however, a new structure for society had to be established, creating a hierarchy that took account of the new meritocratic administrative class while respecting the traditional rule of the noble families. In his proposal for how this might be achieved, Confucius again relied very much on traditional values, modeling society on relationships within the family. For Confucius, the benevolence of the sovereign and the loyalty of his subject mirror the loving father and obedient son relationship (a relationship considered by the Chinese to be of the utmost importance).

  Confucius considers that there are five “constant relationships”: sovereign/subject, father/son, husband/wife, elder brother/younger brother, and friend/friend. In these relationships, he emphasizes not only the rank of each person according to generation, age, and gender, but the fact that there are duties on both sides, and that the responsibility of the superior to the inferior in any relationship is just as important as that of the junior to the senior. Extending these relationships to the wider society, their reciprocal rights and responsibilities give society its cohesion, creating an atmosphere of loyalty and respect from each social stratum toward the next.

Confucius believed that a wise and just sovereign had a benign effect on the character of his subjects.

At the top of Confucius’s hierarchy was the sovereign, who would unquestionably have inherited this status, and in this respect Confucius shows the conservative nature of his political thinking. Just as the family provided a model for the relationships within society, the traditional respect shown to parents (especially fathers) extended also to ancestors, and this justified the hereditary principle. Just as a father was considered the head of the family, the state should naturally be ruled over by a paterfamilias figure—the sovereign.

  Nevertheless, the sovereign’s position was not unassailable in Confucius’s thinking, and an unjust or unwise ruler deserved to be opposed or even removed. However, it was in the next layer of society that Confucius was at his most innovative, advocating a class of scholars to act as ministers, advisors, and administrators to the ruler. Their position between the sovereign and his subjects was crucial, since they had a duty of loyalty both to their ruler and the people. They carried a high degree of responsibility, so it was essential that they be recruited from the most able and educated candidates, and that anybody serving in public office should be of the highest moral character—a junzi. These ministers were to be appointed by the sovereign in Confucius’s system, so much depended upon the sovereign’s own good character. Confucius said: “The administration of government lies in getting proper men. Such men are to be gotten by means of the ruler’s own character. That character is to be cultivated by his treading in the ways of duty. And the treading of those ways of duty is to be cultivated by the cherishing of benevolence.”

The role of these public servants was mainly advisory, and ministers were not only expected to be well-versed in the administration and structure of Chinese society, but also to have a thorough knowledge of history, politics, and diplomacy. This was necessary to advise the ruler on matters such as alliances and wars with neighboring states. However, this new class of civil servants also served an equally important function in preventing the ruler from becoming despotic, because they showed loyalty to their superior, but also benevolence to their inferiors. Like their ruler, they too had to lead by example, inspiring both the sovereign and his subjects by their virtue.

Many parts of Confucius’s writings read like a handbook of etiquette and protocol, detailing the proper conduct for the junzi in various situations, but he also stressed that this should not merely be empty show. The rituals he outlined were not mere social niceties, but served a much deeper purpose, and it was important that the participants behaved with sincerity for the rituals to have any meaning. Public servants not only had to fulfill their duties virtuously, they also had to be seen to be acting virtuously. For this reason, Confucius laid great emphasis on ceremonies and rituals. These also worked to underline the positions of the various members within a society, and Confucius’s approval of this illustrates his tendency to conservatism.

  The ceremonies and rituals allowed people to manifest their devotion to those above them in the hierarchy and their consideration toward those below them. According to Confucius, these rituals were to permeate the whole of society, from formal royal and state ceremonies right down to everyday social interactions, with participants meticulously observing their respective roles. Only when virtue was sincerely and honestly manifested in this way could the idea of leading by example succeed. For this reason, Confucius held sincerity and honesty to be the most important of virtues, next only to loyalty. Many of these rituals and ceremonies had their basis in religious rites, but this aspect was not important to Confucius. His moral philosophy was not founded on religion, and the political system he derived from it simply acknowledged that there was a place for religion in society. In fact, he seldom referred to the gods in his writings, except in terms of a hope that society could be organized and governed in accordance with the Mandate of Heaven, which would help to unify the states vying for power. Although he firmly believed in rule by a hereditary sovereign, he did not feel the need to justify it as a divine right.

This implicit dismissal of the divine right, combined with a class system based on merit rather than inheritance, showed Confucius at his most radical. While he advocated a hierarchy reinforced by strict rules of etiquette and protocol, so that everybody was very aware of their place in society, this did not mean there should be no social mobility. Those with ability (and good character) could rise through the ranks to the highest levels of government, whatever their family background; and those in positions of power could be removed from office if they failed to show the necessary qualities, no matter how noble the family they were born into. This principle extended even to the sovereign himself. Confucius saw the assassination of a despotic ruler as the necessary removal of a tyrant rather than the murder of a legitimate ruler. He argued that the flexibility of this hierarchy engendered more real respect for it, and that this in turn engendered political consent—a necessary basis for strong and stable government.

Actors performing a Confucian ritual in Shandong Province, China, convey the importance of restraint and respect to modern visitors unversed in their highly formalized tradition.

The principles of Confucius’s moral philosophy also extended into the fields of law and punishment. Previously, the legal system had been based on the codes of conduct prescribed by religion, but he advocated a more humanistic approach to replace the divinely ordained laws. As with his social structure, he proposed a system based on reciprocity: if you are treated with respect, you will act with respect. His version of the Golden Rule (“do as you would be done by”) was in the negative: “what you do not desire for yourself, do not do to others,” moving the emphasis from specific crimes to avoidance of bad behavior. Once again, this could best be achieved by example since, in his words, “When you meet someone better than yourself, turn your thoughts to becoming his equal. When you meet someone not as good as you are, look within and examine your own self.”

Rather than imposing rigid laws and stern punishments, Confucius felt that the best way to deal with crime lay in instilling a sense of shame for bad behavior. Although people may avoid committing crime if guided by laws and subdued by punishment, they do not learn a real sense of right and wrong, while if they are guided by example and subdued by respect, they develop a sense of shame for any misdemeanors and learn to become truly good.

The Chinese emperor presides over the civil service examinations in this Song dynasty painting. The exams were introduced during Confucius’s lifetime and were based on his ideas.

Confucius’s moral and political philosophy combined ideas about the innate goodness and sociability of human nature with the rigid, formal structure of traditional Chinese society. Unsurprisingly, given his position as a court administrator, he found an important place for the new meritocratic class of scholars. However, his ideas were met with suspicion and were not adopted during his lifetime. Members of the royal and noble ruling families were unhappy with his implied dismissal of their divine right to rule, and felt threatened by the power he proposed for their ministers and advisors. The administrators might have enjoyed more control to rein in potentially despotic rulers, but they doubted the idea that the people could be governed by example, and were unwilling to give up their right to exercise power through laws and punishment.

Later political and philosophical thinkers also had their criticisms of Confucianism. Mozi, a Chinese philosopher born shortly after Confucius’s death, agreed with his more modern ideas of meritocracy and leading by example, but felt that his emphasis on family relationships would lead to nepotism and cronyism. Around the same time, military thinkers such as Sun Tzu had little time for the moral philosophy underlying Confucius’s political theory, and instead took a more practical approach to matters of government, advocating an authoritarian and even ruthless system to ensure the defense of the state. Nevertheless, elements of Confucianism were gradually incorporated into Chinese society in the two centuries following his death. Championed by Mencius (372–289 BCE), they gained some popularity in the 4th century BCE.

Religious functions were absorbed into Confucianism when it became the official philosophy of China. Confucian temples such as this one in Nanjing sprang up throughout the country.

Confucianism may have been adequate to govern in peacetime, but it was felt by many not to be robust enough for the ensuing Warring States period and the struggle to form a unified Chinese empire. During this period, a pragmatic and authoritarian system of government known as Legalism supplanted Confucius’s ideas, and continued as the emperor asserted his authority over the new empire. By the 2nd century BCE, however, peace had returned to China, and Confucianism was adopted as the official philosophy of the state under the Han dynasty. It continued to dominate the structure of Chinese society from then on, particularly in the practice of recruiting the most able scholars to the administrative class. The civil service exams introduced in 605 CE were based on classic Confucian texts, and this practice continued into the 20th century and the formation of the Chinese Republic.

  Confucianism has not entirely disappeared under China’s communist regime, and it had a subtle influence on the structure of society right up to the Cultural Revolution. Today, elements of Confucian thinking, such as those that deal with societal relationships and the notion of filial loyalty, are still deeply ingrained in the Chinese way of life. Confucian ideas are once again being taken seriously as the country shifts from Maoist communism to a Chinese version of a mixed economy.