Yang Kui: Effectively Leveraging Fine Traditional Chinese Culture to Cultivate Political Virtue
Since ancient times, the Chinese nation has been a people that extols virtue and aspires toward goodness. Political virtue (zhèngdé) serves as the wind vane for the moral construction of society as a whole. Only by cultivating themselves through virtue can those who govern establish authority and win over the masses through moral character. General Secretary Xi Jinping has emphasized that leading cadres must stress political virtue and focus on "using fine traditional culture to rectify the heart and clarify virtue." Deeply excavating the essence of political virtue within fine traditional Chinese culture, and grasping the contemporary value of traditional wisdom such as "governing through virtue" and "the people as the foundation of the state," [1] possesses significant practical value and contemporary relevance for establishing and practicing a correct outlook on achievement, nurturing the political virtue of leading cadres, and elevating the level of modernization in national governance.
First, fine traditional Chinese culture contains a wealth of political virtue.
Fine traditional Chinese culture, accumulated and passed down over millennia, has formed many intellectual essences regarding political virtue. These provide rich nourishment for nurturing political virtue in the New Era. These intellectual essences transcend time and space, remaining fresh through the ages, and are highly consistent and internally connected with our Party’s requirements for loyalty to the people, pragmatism, integrity, fairness, and uprightness.
It contains political virtue for national governance. Fine traditional Chinese culture has always advocated that those who govern should keep the world in mind and prioritize the state. Confucius said, "He who exercises government by means of his virtue may be compared to the north polar star, which keeps its place and all the stars turn towards it," [2] emphasizing that governance by virtue can coalesce the hearts of the people and stabilize the four quarters. Guanzi advocated for both "governing the country according to law" and "educating to form customs," achieving a state of governance where virtue and law complement each other and education transforms the heart. This value orientation, which prioritizes national interests and emphasizes long-term stability and security, requires those who govern to clarify "great virtue" (míng dàdé) and take the safety of the state and the prosperity of the nation as their personal responsibility. For the present, leading cadres must further temper their political character, demonstrate breadth of vision and responsibility in practice, maintain their character as servants of the people, and strive for the great cause of building a strong country and national rejuvenation.
It contains political virtue for benefiting the people. "The flourishing of a government lies in following the hearts of the people; the decline of a government lies in or opposing the hearts of the people." [3] Traditional political virtue is threaded with the value of "the people as the foundation." From the humanitarian sentiment of "being the first to worry about the worries of the world, and the last to enjoy its pleasures," [4] to the concern for livelihoods expressed in "though we are but petty officials in this district, every rustle of the leaves and every sigh of the people touches our hearts," [5] and the administrative maxim that "even the smallest matter that benefits the people must be promoted," these all profoundly demonstrate that the people's support is the greatest politics and benefiting the people is the greatest achievement. This inspires us to always place the people in the highest position in our hearts, aim to improve the people's wellbeing, and earnestly practice the fundamental purpose of serving the people whole-heartedly, thereby profoundly grasping the scientific connotation of political virtue in the New Era.
It contains political virtue for self-cultivation and self-rectification. Fine traditional Chinese culture places great importance on cultivating the self and establishing virtue, emphasizing that "from the Son of Heaven down to the mass of the people, all must consider the cultivation of the person the root of everything." [6] The Confucian concept of "cultivating the self, regulating the family, governing the state, and bringing peace to the world" [7] requires those who govern to start from "rectifying the heart and making the intentions sincere," achieving "caution in solitude" (shèndú) and meticulousness in small matters, and maintaining integrity. Confucius’s famous saying, "If a ruler’s own conduct is correct, his government will be effective without the issuing of orders," also illustrates that the moral cultivation of those who govern is directly related to the gain or loss of public support and administrative effectiveness. These concepts of self-cultivation, passed down for millennia, provide rich cultural resources for leading cadres in the New Era to strengthen their moral cultivation.
Second, the political virtue in fine traditional Chinese culture possesses contemporary vitality.
The cultural lineage has continued for thousands of years, the flame passing on without extinguishing. The political virtue contained in fine traditional Chinese culture has accumulated a power of truth and practical force that transcends time and space; it is an indispensable and precious asset for advancing the construction of a strong country and national rejuvenation in the New Era.
It builds a cultural foundation that nourishes the heart with virtue for national development. Fine traditional Chinese culture regards moral education as an important support for uniting the hearts and forces of the people. Its logic of "governing through virtue" and its humanistic pursuit of "virtue nourishing all things" belong to the same lineage, laying a solid ethical foundation for the long-term stability and security of the state. In the contemporary era, the concepts of loyalty, responsibility, integrity, and being for the people within fine traditional Chinese culture have undergone creative transformation and innovative development, becoming deeply integrated with Socialist Core Values. This not only nourishes the political character of leading cadres but also strengthens the people's sense of home and country, ensuring that national development remains rooted in fertile moral and cultural soil.
It injects a moral force of extolling virtue and aspiring toward goodness into social stability. Fine traditional Chinese culture advocates values such as governing through virtue and self-cultivation to regulate the family, requiring the practice of honesty, trustworthiness, benevolence, filial piety, and humility. These concepts shaped the social character of the Chinese nation—prioritizing virtue and valuing righteousness—and, through localized forms such as village compacts and family instructions, integrated moral norms into daily life, transforming them into common standards for society. Through historical development, these have continuously accumulated into the profound and stable cultural genes of the Chinese nation. They both guide social behavior and provide internal moral constraints for the modernization of social governance, continuously promoting the formation of a healthy social atmosphere.
It provides value guidance for "rectifying the heart and practicing earnestly" in the self-cultivation of cadres. Fine traditional Chinese culture advocates "cultivating oneself with reverence," "cultivating oneself to bring peace to others," and "联合" "cultivating oneself to bring peace to the people." It requires that those who govern must rectify their own conduct and adhere to the principles of justice, diligence, and love for the people. These concepts closely link individual moral cultivation with the responsibility of national governance, ensuring that moral cultivation is no longer an empty sermon but an operational guideline throughout the entire process of performing one’s duties. This inspires our party members and cadres to be cautious in solitude and self-reflective in their personal character, to be fair and upright, diligent and pragmatic in their work, and to win the trust and support of the masses through noble conduct.
Third, we must persist in upholding the fundamentals and breaking new ground to continuously nurture political virtue.
Party members and cadres must consciously draw political wisdom and spiritual nourishment from fine traditional Chinese culture, persist in making the past serve the present, uphold the fundamentals and break new ground, and continuously nurture political virtue, improve their ability to perform their duties, and shoulder the mission of the era.
Value the people as the foundation and remain true to the original aspiration and founding mission of benefiting the people. Family affairs, state affairs, and world affairs—letting the people live a happy life is the top priority. Leading cadres must keep in mind the millennium-old admonition that "the people are the foundation of the state; when the foundation is solid, the state is at peace," [8] always stand firmly on the side of the people, take the safety and well-being of the masses to heart, and use public satisfaction as the fundamental standard for measuring work effectiveness. We must persist in going deep into the grassroots and the masses, conduct investigations and research on a regular basis, listen to the demands of the masses face-to-face, understand their wishes heart-to-heart, and respond to their expectations with practical actions. We must resolve the worries and anxieties of the masses with heart, soul, and strength, winning the hearts of the people through solid achievements and maintaining the flesh-and-blood ties with the masses forever.
Value practical work and uphold a pragmatic and realistic work style. "Though the way is near, without walking it, one will not arrive; though the matter is small, without doing it, it will not be accomplished." [9] Party members and cadres should establish themselves through a spirit of practical work—noticing that "knowledge gained from books is shallow; to understand it thoroughly, one must practice it personally." They must avoid "flower-frames" (superficialities) and "surface articles" (performative work), and resolutely resist formalism and bureaucratism. We must persist in starting from reality in all things, ensuring that decision-making follows objective laws and fits the actual situation at the grassroots level. We must speak the truth, plan practical matters, propose practical moves, and seek practical results, putting our minds into entrepreneurship and our energy into implementation, creating achievements that can withstand the test of practice, the people, and history.
Maintain a public-spirited mind and strictly abide by the disciplinary bottom line of exercising power for the public good. "When the Great Way prevails, the world is shared by all." [10] In ancient times, there were figures like Bao Zheng, who was iron-faced and selfless, and Yu Qian, who maintained his integrity; today, we have Jiao Yulu, who gave his all until death, and Yang Shanzhou, who offered selfless dedication. All are remembered and revered by the people because they held public justice in their hearts and were clean and selfless. Leading cadres should use these ancient sages and modern role models as a mirror, remembering that "power is bestowed by the people and must be used for the people," clearly distinguishing between public and private interests, handling matters fairly, and using power justly. In fulfilling duties and responsibilities, they must stick to the bottom line of principle, show no favoritism, seek no personal gain, and act strictly according to regulations, discipline, and the law. They should coalesce the people’s hearts with a public spirit and establish public credibility through integrity, forever maintaining the political character of Communists.
Plan for the long term and maintain the historical patience to persist over the long term. As the old saying goes: "He who does not plan for ten thousand generations cannot plan for a single moment; he who does not plan for the whole situation cannot plan for a single region." [11] Leading cadres should consciously inherit the strategic thinking of fine traditional Chinese culture. With the historical responsibility of "success does not have to be mine, but I must contribute to success," they should do more practical things that build foundations, benefit the long term, and improve people's livelihoods. They must resolutely avoid short-term behaviors like "draining the pond to catch the fish" and refrain from "image projects" that are flashy but impractical. Faced with long-term and foundational work, they should uphold the belief of continuous struggle and finishing what is started, persisting in "drawing a single blueprint to the end" and working one generation after another, writing excellent answers worthy of the era and the people through practical work and achievements.