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The Zhou Dynasty is the last dynasty of Chinese slave society. Based on the Well-field System ( jing tian zhi ) and the Enfeoffment System ( fen feng zhi ), the Zhou regime established a hereditary political system based on clans. The system stipulates that their eldest sons inherit the titles and properties of the emperors, lords, and ministers. The virtue of the eldest son determines the course of politics. Many aristocrat groups without virtue decayed and fell into disarray, and “the subsidiary ministers of the great officers hold in their grasp the orders of the state.” “When bad government prevails in the empire, ceremonies, music, and punitive military expeditions proceed from the princes.” In response to the reality of “social degeneration,” Confucius put forward the idea of “selection of the virtuous” in the political field.
During the Warring States Period, the new landowning class emerged and put forward the idea of “appointing the virtuous and capable and men of distinguished talents placed in office.” Hsun-Tzu made the selection of the virtuous and capable a prerequisite for the prosperity of the state. Han-fei-tzu (about 280-233 BC) inherited Hsun Tzu’s (313-238 BC) idea of respecting the noble and the virtuous and advocated that talents should be selected regardless of their origin as long as they were useful to the state and the people. Guan Yiwu (Kuan Tzu, 719-645 BC)was rescued from prison and appointed, Sun Shu’ao was promoted from his seaside retreat, and Baili Xi (725-621BC) was bought back from the slave market and promoted. According to history, Wu Qi (440-381 BC), Ximen Bao, Su Qin (?-284 BC), Zhang Yi (?-309 BC), Lian Po (327-243 BC), Lin Xiangru (329-259 BC), etc., were all generals and prime ministers with humble origins.
Historically, the employment of people with both virtue and talent is of vital importance to the prosperity of a family and state. During the Spring and Autumn Period, there were more than 140 vassal states of all sizes, but only seven states – Qi, Chu, Yan, Han, Zhao, Wei, and Qin –were able to grow and prosper, and this had a lot to do with the fact that the monarchs of these states respected virtuous people. After the reign of Duke Zhao of Yan (?-279 BC), he took auxiliary officials as his teachers and built a system of employing the virtuous, resulting in many virtuous people rushing into Yan. Duke Huan of Qi (?-643 BC) set up a court school near the Jimen Gate in Linzi, the capital of the state, and recruited famous teachers from all over the country. The court school prospered in academic research, played the role of a think tank, and became a political advisory center, which played a positive role in promoting the great rule of Qi. After he acceded to the throne, he also appointed Kuan Chung as his minister, though they bear grudges against each other before. During his tenure, Kuan Chung carried out reforms in the state and formulated a policy of “honoring the king and expelling the barbarians ( zeng wang xiang yi )” and a foreign policy of “saving the Xing State and the Wei State( cun xing jiu wei ),” which helped Qi become the first hegemonic state in the Spring and Autumn Period. During the Warring States Period, the philosophy of recruiting the virtuous and promoting the scholars was very popular, with Lord Pingyuan (?-253 BC) and Lord Mengchang (?-279 BC) each having a thousand hangers-on ( men ke ), Lord Xinling (?-243 BC) and Lu Buwei (?-235 BC), 3, 000. The famous generals like Lian Po and Lin Xiangru were hangers-on before they took their important posts. During the Western Zhou Dynasty (1046-771 BC), the Qin State was once a weak nomadic tribe, but it gradually became stronger due to its constant practice of talent selection by successive kings. Duke Mu of Qin (?-621 BC) employed Baili Xi to achieve his hegemony; Duke Xiao of Qin (381-338 BC) entrusted Shang Yang to introduce reforms; and King Yingzheng (246-210 BC) promoted and put Li Si ((284-208 BC), Wang Jian, Meng Wu (?-219 BC), Wang Ben, Li Xin, and other capable officials in important positions and finally unified China.
In ancient China, there were five criteria for selecting the virtuous and the capable.
1. Stressing the cultivation of noble character in governing the state. Confucianism emphasizes self-cultivation and demands that politicians take “rites” as the norm for their speech and behavior. “Look not at what is contrary to propriety; listen not to what is contrary to propriety; speak not what is contrary to propriety; make no movement which is contrary to propriety.” ( The Analects of Confucius ) Mencius believed that “to cultivate your character, getting away from desires is the best way.” (The Works of Mencius ); Mo Tzu believed that “frugality leads to prosperity, but lewdness leads to death.” ( The Works of Mo Tzu ). The Tso Chuan says, “The decline of the state is often caused by the wickedness of officials who do not follow the right path; the loss of virtue of officials is often due to the connivance of their superiors and the prevalence of bribery.” So, virtue is the primary principle of selecting officials. In the Confucian view, the purpose of cultivating moral character is to enable the politician to develop a character of having few desires, not greedy and not meticulous, so as to be law-abiding, diligent in government, and loving and compassionate to the people.
2. The well-being of the people: the ultimate goal of governance. Confucianism emphasizes that “the people are the foundation of the state” and “he who wins the support of the people will flourish.” Mencius said, “When one rejoices in the joy of his people, he is happy with the people, and they will also rejoice in his joy; when one grieves at the sorrow of his people, they will do the same. He who rules his country is one who occupies himself with concerns for the pleasure and sorrow of all his people.” ( The Works of Mencius ) Hsun Tzu, on the other hand, proposed that “the king is the boat, and the people are the water. The water that bears the boat is the same that swallows it up ( The Works of Hsun-Tzu ),” explaining the profound truth that “the reason for the prosperity of the regime is to conform to the common aspiration of the people; the reason for the downfall of the regime is that it goes against the will of the people.” ( The Kuan Tzu ).
3. Impartiality and selflessness in governance. In the Three Sovereigns and the Five Emperors era, the system of “abdicating and handing over the crown to another person” was practiced, with Emperor Yao receiving the throne from Emperor Zhi and then handing it over to Emperor Shun, who passed the throne to Emperor Yu later. At that time, the emperors were elected by the common people and were only allowed to serve after passing the trial. The lords and literati appointed by the emperors were also sages and gentlemen. The virtue of the emperor’s unselfishness in political affairs was widely recognized. The monarchy in ancient China objectively required that the ruler should not be selfish and serve the people wholeheartedly. Therefore, the spiritual cultivation of the self is to manifest one’s illustrious virtue and be impartial.
Confucius said, “How majestic was the manner in which Shun and Yu held possession of the empire, as if it were nothing to them!” ( The Analects of Confucius ) Shun and Yu possessed supreme power but did not govern the country for the interests of their own. Only when the rulers exercise power for the people and do it impartially can their governments be virtuous.” Confucius said, “He who exercises government by means of his virtue may be compared to the north polar star, which keeps its place and all the stars turn towards it.” ( The Analects of Confucius ) Confucius went on to say, “If they be led by virtue, and uniformity sought to be given them by the rules of propriety, they will have the sense of shame, and moreover will become good.” ( The Analects of Confucius ) If the people have a sense of shame, they can consciously follow what is right and lead an honest and clean life. “Governance of virtue” and “governance of rites” were consistent requirements of ancient Chinese politics, as well as institutional regulations. The basic requirements for public officials in ancient China were that they must be impartial, honest, virtuous, and close to the people, taking the people as the foundation of the state.
4. The strict integrity in government affairs. During the Warring States Period, Qu Yuan (340-278 BC), the poet of Chu, sang in The Songs of the South : “When I was young, I was endowed with the virtue of honesty and integrity, and I devoted myself to morality and righteousness without slackening off a little,” showing his pursuit of integrity. The Rites of the Chou contains: “The performance of the officials can be judged by the six aspects: first, whether they are honest and good at their work; second, whether they are honest and execute the decrees; third, whether they are honest, prudent and diligent; fourth, whether they are honest and fair; fifth, whether they are honest and law-abiding; and sixth, whether they are honest and clear about right and wrong.” In short, an official needs to have integrity, competence, dedication, fairness, law-abiding, and the ability to distinguish right from wrong. The “six aspects” take the word “integrity” as their top priority, requiring officials not to be meticulous and to exercise their power fairly and effectively.
Mo Tzu proposes “four virtues” for a gentleman: “The way of the superior man makes the individual incorruptible in poverty and righteous when wealthy; it makes him love the living and mourn the dead. These four qualities of conduct cannot be hypocritically embodied in one’s personality.” ( The Works of Mo Tzu )
Lü’s Commentaries of History , a masterpiece of the School of Eclectics at the end of the Warring States Period, devoted a chapter to the “Utmost Loyalty” and “Loyalty and Selflessness,” arguing that “if officials are not honest and fair, the way of governance declines.” ( The History of the Han Dynasty )
In the Tang Dynasty, the main criteria for assessing officials were the “four virtues” and the “twenty-seven qualifications.” The “four virtues” are righteousness, prudence and clarity, fairness, and diligence.
Bao Zheng (999-1062), an honest and upright official in the Song Dynasty, submitted a memorial to Emperor Renzong on Not Appointing the Corrupted Officials : “An honest official is a model for the people and a corrupt official, a thief for the people,” attaching a great weight to a clean government. When Bao Zheng was appointed as the magistrate of Duanzhou (now, Zhaoqing City in Guangdong Province), he was a clean official and benefited the people in the prefecture. When he was about to leave his post, some local people gave him a gift of inkstone, but he politely declined, “I would never taking anything from the people.”
In the Ming Dynasty, Hai Rui (1514-1587) was an upright and honest official in Nanjing and exercised power for his people. When he died,“all people stopped work and mourned him along the river.” They were dressed in white and cried their eyes out, bidding farewell to their beloved chief.
5. Working diligently for the people: the way of governance. Diligent government is the traditional political system of etiquette and law and the practical need to conduct the people’s public affairs. Ancient Chinese politics was mainly a moral monarchy, where the sovereignty and power were in the people, and the power of governance was in the emperor, dukes, and officials. The emperor was responsible for the whole country; the dukes were loyal to the emperor and responsible for the people of their own states, and officials were loyal to their dukes and responsible for the people of their own fiefdom. Therefore, the emperor took the greatest responsibility, and he had to be careful in his administration, checked the public opinion in detail, and showed deep concern with the people. The governments would conduct an annual assessment and a three-year appraisal, determining the promotions and dismissals of officials. If the state were well-governed, they would be praised; otherwise, they would be dismissed. Therefore, the dukes and the officials did not dare to act rashly. If a duke made a mistake, the ministers had to remonstrate tactically with him according to their duties.
The Classic of Filial Piety says, “Therefore, if a son sees his father acting wrongfully, he should speak out against him; if a minister sees the king acting unrighteously, he should advise him to stop it.” Because of the institutional advantages of the abdicating system, the Xia, Shang, and Zhou dynasties were prosperous and established a civilization lasting for thousands of years. After the First Emperor of the Qin Dynasty, also known as Qin Shi Huang, conquered all the rival feudal states and thus created a unified Chinese empire under the Qin, he implemented the administrative system with prefectures and counties and established a centralized system and a bureaucratic political group with the guiding ideology of Legalist School ( fa jia ) under cover of Confucianism, which was emulated by all subsequent dynasties.
The officials of each dynasty were responsible for managing the complicated affairs of the vast empire, including the construction of water conservancy, education, household registration, judicial trials, maintenance of law and order, etc. In order to complete the taxation, conscription, corvée, and other affairs, the efficiency and integrity of the political group were directly related to the stability of the government. Therefore, in the traditional official culture, diligence is considered as an essential requirement for politics. Among the various virtues promoted by ancient Chinese bureaucracy, diligence is the primary virtue required of officials, which helps to make up for the deficiencies of the monarchy itself since the Qin Dynasty and regulate and balance the normal operation of the political system.
In ancient China, from the Hereditary System to the System of Recommendation ( cha ju zhi ), and to the Imperial Examination System( ke ju zhi ), the monopoly of the gentry on political power was gradually broken, and the mobility of social stratum was unblocked, which had a substantial impact on later generations.