Confucius

Confucius makes it clear that he is against the “crooked” way of ruling. The “jen,” or humaneness is a virtue that Confucius expects a ruler to exhibit. Confucius definitely defines being scholarly and virtuous as part of his creed for a ruler. He very much so values education. He also considers being selfless to be a virtue. “When good government prevails in a state, to be thinking only of one's salary. When bad government prevails, to be thinking, in the same way, only of one's salary. That is what is shameful." This quote further explains his stance on selfishness. He goes deeper into virtue as being someone who looks internally before looking at others; humble in a sense. He wants them to self-examine. The quote, “The superior man [or the chun-tzu] has nine things which are subjects with him of thoughtful consideration,” shows how Confucius expects rulers to treat his subjects with justice and kindness. Confucius speaks clearly about how the “li,” or rites, should be treated with respect. In response to K’an-Tzu’s question about government, Confucius replied, “Sir, in carrying on your government, why should you use killing at all?” This is indicative of Confucius’s want for peace and kindness, not for ruthless dictatorship.

Mencius is all about doing what is right? He, like Confucius, does not agree with selfish gain. Mencius wants his government and rulers to have integrity. He also finds not killing people to be a dominant quality of a ruler: “In the world today there are no rulers disinclined toward killing. If there were a ruler who did not like to kill people, everyone in the world would crane their necks to catch sight of him. This is really true. The people would flow toward him the way water flows down. No one would be able to repress them.” Though rare, Mencius is serious about that type of ruling. “Benevolent government” is a term that Mencius throws around quite often. He wants his rulers to be looking out for their own people....