In Confucius’ opinion, ‘‘if we govern the people by regulations,
keep order among them by chastisements, they will flee from us, and
lose all self-respect. On the other hand, if we lead or govern them by
moral force, keep order among them by ritual, they will keep their
self-respect and come to us of their own accord’’ (Yang, 1958 : 12).
In the above discussion, by rule of virtue Confucius and Mencius
referred to the building of a virtuous culture as well as personal
role-modeling. Furthermore, the rule of culture differentiates moral
persuasions, norms of ritual and propriety, and formal laws and
regulations. Clearly, moral education and norms of propriety are an
integral part of the culture whereas formal laws and regulations are
looked upon with suspicion. The relationship between moral educa-
tion and norms of propriety is more complementary than that between
moral education and laws and regulations. While laws are viewed
as primarily punitive and prohibitive and imposed from above, norms
of ritual propriety are treated as behavioral embodiments of abstract
internal moral virtues (ren nei li wai) which have emerged through
practice within the community. Although Confucius and Mencius
included both moral education and the establishment of norms of
propriety as components of the rule of virtue, they focused more
on moral education. It is Xunzi, the famous realistic Confucian,
who further develops and elaborates the role of rule propriety as an
important leadership function (seeChapter 2).
Moral education according to Confucius and Mencius focuses
on the major virtues of benevolence, righteousness, ritual propriety,
wisdom, trustworthiness, and filial piety. As pointed out earlier, the
two masters emphasize the role model of the leader, the importance of
direct dyadic teaching, and mentoring through behavioral performance
of those virtues.
The rule of virtue is also a means of differentiating individuals and
relationships on the basis of virtues. Confucius advocated universal
kindness (fan ai) to all, but greater closeness to the more benevolent
(qin ren) as a sign of good character and good leadership. It suggests
that virtuous leaders should surround themselves with virtuous indi-
viduals and also employ, promote, and reward them accordingly.
The rule of virtue in practice entails leadership skills of balance,
thoughtfulness, and consideration. For instance, Confucius listed five
good and four bad practices of leadership and advised leaders to
‘‘honor the five excellent, and banish away the four bad things.’’ The
46 Xin-hui Yang, Yan-qin Peng, and Yueh-ting Lee