Confucianism

Confucianism (儒家, Pinyin rújiā, literally "The School of the Scholars"; or, less accurately, ?? k?ng jiào, "The Religion of Kong") is an East Asian ethical and philosophical system originally developed from the teachings of the early Chinese sage Confucius.

Governing

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"To govern by virtue, let us compare it to the North Star: it stays in its place, while the myriad stars wait upon it."

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(Analects II, 1)

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Another key Confucian concept is that in order to govern others one must first govern oneself. When developed sufficiently, the king's personal virtue spreads beneficent influence throughout the kingdom. This idea is developed further in the Great Learning and is tightly linked with the Taoist concept of wu wei: the less the king does, the more that is done. By being the "calm centre" around which the kingdom turns, the king allows everything to function smoothly and avoids having to tamper with the individual parts of the whole.

Related Topics:
Great Learning - Taoist - Wu wei

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This idea may be traced back to early shamanistic beliefs, such as that of the king (wang, 王) being the axle between the sky, human beings and the Earth. (The character itself shows the three levels of the universe, united by a single line.) Another complementary view is that this idea may have been used by ministers and counsellors to deter aristocratic whims that would otherwise be to the detriment of the population.

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