Read “Confucius on Good Government” on page 145 of your textbook.
Answer the following questions using the information found in your the assigned reading. Support your answers with at least two quotes from the assigned Source from the Past that explain why you feel the way that you do and how the information in the source supports your position. Include in your answer any relevant examples or information about the historical period from your textbook and any other class sources. Your answer should be double-spaced, uploaded as Microsoft Word file (i.e. a .doc or .docx file type), and must also state who the author of the source is and when the source was written. Be as specific with the date written as possible.
What qualities does Confucius say were important for leaders to have in the Source from the Past? Which of these qualities do you feel is the most important for a good ruler? How were Chinese rulers to ensure proper order in their kingdoms according to Confucius? Did actual Chinese rulers discussed in your textbook readings follow Confucius’ advice and did it help China during their rule? If so, who and how? If not, why not?
I have attached page 145 of the text below.
SOURCES FROM THE PAST
Confucius on Government
Confucius never composed formal writings, but his disciples collected his often pithy remarks into a work known as the Analects (“sayings”). In the following excerpts from the Analects, Confucius is referred to as “the Master.”
The Master said, “He who exercises government by means of his virtue may be compared to the north polar star, which keeps its place, while all the stars turn toward it. . . .”
The Master said, “If the people are led by laws, and uniformity is imposed on them by punishments, they will try to avoid the punishment, but will have no sense of shame.
“If they are led by virtue, and uniformity is provided for them by the rules of propriety, they will have the sense of shame, and moreover will become good.”
What is Confucius’ argument concerning the role of laws in government?
Duke Ai asked, saying, “What should be done in order to secure the submission of the people?” Confucius replied, “Advance the upright and set aside the crooked, and then the people will submit. Advance the crooked and set aside the upright, and then the people will not submit.”
Ji Kang asked how to cause the people to respect their ruler, to be faithful to him, and to go on to seek virtue. The Master said, “Let him preside over them with gravity; then they will respect him. Let him be filial and kind to all; then they will be faithful to him. Let him advance the good and teach the incompetent; then they will eagerly seek to be virtuous.”
What is Confucius’ advice to political leaders on how to secure the respect of their people?
Zigong asked about government. The Master said, “The requisites of government are that there be sufficiency of food, sufficiency of military equipment, and the confidence of the people in their ruler.”
Zigong said, “If it cannot be helped, and one of these must be dispensed with, which of the three should be foregone first?” “The military equipment,” said the Master.
Zigong again asked, “If it cannot be helped, and one of the remaining two must be dispensed with, which of them should be foregone?” The Master answered, “Part with the food. From olden times, death has been the lot of all men; but if the people have no faith in their rulers, there is no standing for the state.”
Ji Kang asked Confucius about government, saying, “What do you say to killing the unprincipled for the good of the principled?” Confucius replied, “Sir, in carrying on your government, why should you use killing at all? Let your desire be to do what is good, and the people will be good. The relation between superiors and inferiors is like that between the wind and the grass. The grass must bend when the wind blows across it.”
The Master 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.”
For Further Reflection
In Confucius’ opinion, what is the fundamental role of governments?
How do these arguments of Confucius reflect and respond to the violence and chaos of the Later Zhou Dynasty?
Source: James Legge, trans. The Chinese Classics, 7 vols. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1893, 1:145, 146, 152, 254, 258–59, 266.
Updated with modern language by the textbook authors.
For Confucius, though, an advanced education represented only a part of the preparation needed by the ideal government official. More important than formal learning was the possession of a strong sense of moral integrity and a capacity to deliver wise and fair judgments. Thus Confucius encouraged his students to cultivate high ethical standards and to hone their faculties of analysis and judgment.