includes casting away superstitions, the production of goods for the
market, the pursuit of material wealth, and the commitment to
efficiency and productivity. Weber contended that Protestant religion
contributed to the success of capitalism in the West and he identified
Protestant ethics as consisting of diligence, asceticism, and a non-
wasteful use of time. The question is: do Chinese traditional philoso-
phies, especially the dominant one of Confucianism, contain the seeds
of modern capitalism or is modern capitalism unique to the West?
We find plenty of evidence of modern capitalism in the earliest tradi-
tional schools of thoughts in China. To start with, even though known
for their emphasis on elaborate rituals and ceremonies worshiping the
heaven, the earth, and the ancestors, Confucianists, especially Xunzi,
explicitly restricted them to symbolic, socio-cultural, and expressive
functions and rejected superstitious beliefs that these rituals would
bring material benefits. Second, part of the Confucian philosophy
of benevolence is the provision of livelihood to the common people.
Materialism, while discouraged for the intelligentsia, was not just
allowed but encouraged for the common people. Third, organizational
efficiency in terms of division of labor, coordination, and accomplish-
ment of results are systematically dealt with by Xunzi regarding
the administration of government and by Sunzi regarding the adminis-
tration of military organizations. Lastly, following Weber’s definition
of capitalism, Redding ( 1993 ) identified the ‘‘Chinese spirit of capital-
ism’’ as consisting of three sets of Chinese core values: (1) familism,
(2) work ethics, and (3) money, frugality, and pragmatism. It seems
reasonable to assert that Chinese traditional culture contains both
socialist and capitalist values.
Western influences on modern Chinese leadership
theories and practices
The above discussion of the influence of traditional Chinese philosophies
does not mean that all of the Chinese contemporary leadership theories
and practices are totally home-grown or that Western philosophies and
practices have little impact on Chinese business leaders.Chapter 8,
which directly addresses the sources of influence through interviews
with thirty-five Chinese CEOs, shows that current Chinese business
leaders draw inspirations and guidance not only from traditional
Chinese philosophies and Chinese role models but also from Western
Introduction 15