Confucius’ Notion of Government by Li and its Root in Ancient Cultural Values of China

Abstract

Governance by Li, or rules of propriety, is a Confucian political notion. It represents both a core concept of his government ideal – the “royal way,” and the pathway and measures for its realization. This central notion of his political thought, proposed as Confucianism was taking form, is inseparable from the civilizational tradition of rites and music from antiquity, i.e. the Xia, Shang and Zhou dynasties, a tradition arising from the early developing Chinese agrarian civilization and settled life, and the ethical norms rooted in the unique Chinese clan system. To Confucius, an ideal, ordered society was achievable when “all under heaven are led by perfect virtue,” where its members willingly subscribed to the rules of propriety of Western Zhou, fitting to their respective roles and occasion. This was to be achieved by degrees over time, through emersion in the holistic process of moralization by rites, music, poetry and dance, all being centered around the sovereign of Zhou and proper for different levels of hierarchy and milieus, with recognition for class and social stratification.