European rationalism and American utilitarianism have promoted the development of material civilization in Western countries, and have brought liberalism and individualism into vogue. Nevertheless, due to the disorders in developed societies, many people lack confidence in state power. This is related to issues of education in values.

In Western countries states are administered in terms of law; in education, great attention is paid to training all kinds of abilities instead of cultivating a lofty moral character and overall development.

In Eastern societies, because the Confucians attach great importance to morality and to the relation between virtue and ability, there is a tendency to place virtue above ability. Dong Zhonshu, the famous philosopher in the West Han dynasty, said:

Regarding the relation between virtue and ability, Sima Guang, the great historian in North Song dynasty, said:

That is, virtue determines the use and purpose of ability, while ability is the means of virtue.

Consequently, in Eastern countries, especially where the Confucian tradition has been preserved, education in virtue has always received great attention. In these countries, the influence of Confucian thought regarding education has been preserved till now, whether consciously or not. The culture favors the preservation of familial relations, the unity of society and the power of a state.

However, Confucian thought regarding hierarchy has ben criticized by modern intellectuals as anti-democratic. This criticism was reasonable and necessary, but the real problem was in the relation of the Confucian tradition to the monarchy, rather than in the theory itself, whose view of moral value has important theoretical significance.

The oriental view of morality is inseparable from the concept of human nature. We shall look here at the philosophy of Dong Zhongshu. On the basis of Mencius’s theory of human nature, influenced by the doctrine of Yin and Yang and the five elements, Dong Zhongshu claimed that human nature manifests five constant virtues, i.e., benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom and fidelity, which correspond to the five elements, i.e, metal, wood, water, fire and earth.

According to the Dong’s interpretations, the meaning of the five constant virtues can be expounded as follows:

- Benevolence manifests itself in the inner mind in love and compassion for people and in avoiding harm or envy toward anyone. In terms of behavior, benevolence demands that one be amiable, not wrangle with others nor do evil deeds. In short, as parents treat their children, the benevolent person spares no effort to help others, one even lays down one’s life to this end, with no thought of being repaid.

- Righteousness in contrast to benevolence involves thinking and acting from one’s own viewpoint. It demands rational action, mainly through a proper relation between position, power and duty, that is, the higher the position and power, the greater the duty. Righteousness demands concern for neighbors: to be righteous is to wish that one’s neighbors be as happy as oneself. In a word, as an elder brother is concerned about his younger brothers, the righteous person shares the comforts and hardships of others and is fair and just in handling affairs.

- Wisdom is the innate knowledge by which one judges right and wrong, good and evil. This is necessary in the practice of moral norms, for otherwise one cannot become a person of virtue.

- Fidelity is honesty. This means that, externally, one’s deeds match one’s words; and that internally one’s words and mind are in unison. Fidelity is a key to the perfection of human nature. It is the basis without which other virtues lose their authenticity; hence they are inseparable. Fidelity is inherent in a child, but might be lost due to external influences.

Wisdom is knowledge of morality and can be cultivated through moral education. In contrast benevolence, righteousness and propriety are developed only through practice and cannot be acquired through reason. Therefore Wang Yangming advocated the theory of the unity of knowing and doing, to stress the importance of practice.

The five virtues, as factors of human nature, constitute a complete system of values in accord with certain laws and structures, just as the elementary factors form nature in accord with certain laws. In order to apply these values to society and bring them into play in education, it is necessary to understand the specific properties of the system of the values.

- Sequence. There is an order of priority in the five virtues. Benevolence is first, righteousness follows, then propriety and wisdom, and finally fidelity. The criterion for this order is the benefit of each to people and society.

- Duality. According to Chinese philosophy, the five elements in nature are governed by the law of Yin and Yang. The five virtues also have this character: Yin is the seven human emotions, namely, joy, anger, sorrow, fear, love, hate and desire; Yang is the principles of the five virtues.

- Stratification. The system of five virtues can be divided into three sub-systems, namely, large, middle and small. The large system of five virtues involves all people in the world, the middle system of five virtues involves the people of a state or a nation, and the small system of five virtues involves all members of a family or a clan. In judging the value of a virtue, this stratification is a decisive factor. For instance, the righteousness in the middle system is more important than the benevolence in the small system, but less important than propriety in the great system. Concretely, aggression against an other state, to free it from crisis, conforms to righteousness in the middle system of values, but violates propriety in the great system.

The forms of coordination of these values are important in order to apply them concretely to society. These forms are established with the following rules:

- Fidelity is the basic virtue from which the other four virtues cannot be separated.

- Benevolence and righteousness are close in meaning, but differ in value, and therefore cannot play their roles coincidentally.

- Propriety defines different attitudes for different persons, that is, it can be used to supplement benevolence as well as righteousness. Especially when people are not familiar with each other, propriety is a more effective means for handling mutual relations.

The first is benevolence, propriety and fidelity; the second is righteousness, propriety and fidelity; the third is righteousness, wisdom and fidelity. The first form is most lofty and suits the person of high rank in the society, for instance, persons of royal lineage in a state, parents in a family, etc.; the second form can be used by persons of middle grade, for instance, those in charge of enterprises in a state, the adult in a family, etc. The third form suits the persons of low rank, for instance, the common people in a state, or children in a family. Therefore, each member of every social stratum must select a suitable coordination of values for him or herself. The 17-articles Constitution drawn up by Shotoku Taishi (574-622), the great Japanese philosopher and statesman, stipulated: "All subjects and officials must take propriety as the fundamental." This stipulation and the order of official position in "the 12 Court ranks" formulated by him, i.e., benevolence, propriety, fidelity, righteousness, wisdom, and so on, conform to the above applied principles of the five virtues.

In cultivating the five virtues, one must begin with fidelity and wisdom, after that, propriety, righteousness, benevolence. Thus the spirit is extended from the small system of five values to the middle and big systems. The Great Learning (Daxue) in the Confucian classic, The Book of Rites, described the whole process of moral cultivation as follows:

The investigation of things and the extension of knowledge are the completion of the principle inherent in things, namely, the cultivation of wisdom. Sincerity of thought and rectification of the mind are the cultivation of fidelity. Therefore, in The Great Learning, wisdom is put before fidelity. The cultivation of persons is to acquire benevolence, righteousness and propriety. The sequence of the priority of these three virtues is not fixed; however their degree of difficulty is definite, the most difficult being benevolence, and then righteousness. The regulated family is perfect having all five virtues of small system; the well governed state is orderly having all five virtues of middle system; the pacified world is tranquil having all five virtues of big system. That is, only by expanding the education of five virtues can world peace and human happiness be acquired.

The Doctrine of the Mean advocated "extensive study, accurate inquiry, careful reflection, clear discrimination and earnest practice." The preceding four steps are related to the culturation of wisdom in the five virtues. All rely on reason, instead of on desire and feeling which impede the cultivation of human nature in these steps. Therefore the mind must be concentrated and open; in moral cultivation one must keep a sincere and reverent attitude. Moral cultivation is a process of self-understanding through introspection to discover human nature and to advance one’s consciousness. It is not ordinary learning or knowledge. However cultivation should not end here.

Once human nature has been discovered and wisdom has been acquired they must be practiced; this is "earnest practice". To this extent, moral cultivation requires feeling to foster implementation in social practice. Only thus can one acquire the virtues of propriety, righteousness and benevolence. In this phase, it must control desire and feeling by reason and wisdom. In the last phase reason and feeling are united and desire is moderated by virtue. The mind is then clear, pure, bright and focused.

People always are affected by circumstances, so the social organization in which one lives and works is an important factor in one’s spiritual development. Therefore, in cultivating the five virtues, besides the above mentioned introspection and practice, the role of society is important. The one who leads a society or organization has great influence over those who live and work in the society or organization. So, these leaders must make greater efforts to cultivate virtues. Of all the forms of society, the family is the most fundamental. In moral education, the great effect of the family is very obvious. One who failed to enjoy the love and sincerity of parents in childhood could hardly acquire the virtues of benevolence and fidelity. Thus the moralization of society must begin with family.

In short, even in modern society the Asian theory of moral values has profound significance. Though the modern state is administered mainly by law, law only restrains people; it cannot teach man, especially it cannot perfect one’s mind. Hence, Dong Zhongshu called for law to be used as a supplement to virtue. This oriental wisdom still can inspire us.

1. Dong Zhongshu, Chunqiu Fanlu (Luxuriant Gems from the Spring and Autumn Annals), Chapter, Biren qiezhi (Must Be Benevolent and Wise).

2. Sima Guang, Zizhi Tongjian (The Comprehensive Mirror for Aid in Government), Zhouji (The Biography of the Kings in Chou Dynasty).

3. Xun Zi, Fuguo (Enriching the State).

4. The Analects (Lun Yu), Book I. See Confucius, The Analects (Lun Yu), trans. by D.C. Lau (Hong Kong: The Chinese University Press, 1983).

5. Mencius, Book IV, part B. See Mencius, trans. by D.C. Lau (Hong Kong: The Chinese University Press, 1984).

6. The Analects (Lun Yu), Book I. See Confucius, The Analects.

7. The Doctrine of the Mean: Chapter one. See Source of Chinese Tradition, Chapter I, compiled by W. Theodore de Bary, Wing-Tsit Chan, Burton Watson (New York: Columbia University Press, 1960), p. 119.

8. The Great Learning. See Source of Chinese Tradition, p. 11.