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GLOBAL VALUES –
CHINESE MORAL LEADERSHIP
Liu Baocheng, China
Summary
For thousands of years, Chinese leadership has been closely im-
mersed in the world of officialdom, which was institutionalised for 13
centuries (605–1905 AD) as the only legitimate career path for the intel-
lectual class through stereotyped exams. However, the exam was limited
to literature and macro management philosophy. As such, Chinese lead-
ers had a profound tendency toward literati and were far less pragmatic
in micro management. Their moral value is far more related to the con-
cept of nation represented by the emperor rather than responsibility to
the organisation composed of people under his rule. Moral leadership
has been highly emphasized on the quality of being and far less on do-
ing. Being clean from corruption, simply being nice to ordinary people,
and maintaining the status quo—these would be enough to justify a
leadership. It was insignificant and often dangerous for them to initiate
change, even for the knowingly better. Their focus was vested on dis-
tributive justice instead of innovation and growth. Although there are
different merits for various organisational structures, Chinese leadership
would habitually pick the type of spike, which signifies a top-down
chain of power control. A labelled good leadership typically would