five good things were: ‘‘Being beneficent without great expenditure,
laying tasks on the people without their repining, pursuing what one
desires without being covetous, maintaining a dignified ease without
being proud, and being majestic without being fierce’’ (Legge, 1971 :
352). In contrast, the four bad things were: ‘‘To put people to death
without having instructed them; this is called cruelty. To require from
them, suddenly, the full tally of work, without having given them
warning; this is called oppression. To issue orders as if without
urgency at first and, when the time comes, to insist on them with
severity; this is called injury. And, generally speaking, to give pay or
rewards to men, and yet to do it in a stingy way; this is called acting
the part of a mere official (Legge, 1971 : 352).
The significance of Confucian benevolent leadership theory
The Confucian leadership philosophy of benevolence needs to be
evaluated in its historical context. In the Spring and Autumn and
later the Warring Periods of Chinese history, the social, political, and
cultural systems disintegrated and society was ridden with combats,
violence, poverty, and instability. Rulers of the states were relying
on brutal suppression and punishment to maintain social order. The
Confucian philosophy of benevolence and the rule of virtue were in
direct contrast to the practice of the rule of tyranny and of force and
punishment. To be sure, Confucians valued hierarchy, obedience,
and conformity, as these contributed to societal order and stability and,
more importantly, were more complementary with and reciprocal to
values of kindness, benevolence, and righteousness than disobedience
and rebellion. Confucian benevolent leadership theory therefore
represents the mutual interests of the ruling class and the common
people, which may explain why Chinese feudal society under the
dominance of Confucianism lasted for more than two thousand years.
Many Confucian thoughts and practices make more sense with
reference to the fundamental values of benevolence and humaneness.
For example, individuals are submitted to the discipline of character
cultivation because doing makes good citizens and superior leaders
who treat others kindly, morally, and fairly. And such benevolence-
oriented character-, community-, and culture-building efforts, accor-
ding to the Confucian vision, lead to a harmonious, benevolent, and
just world (shi jie da tong).
Confucian and Mencian philosophy 47