What is Confucian leadership?

China's traditional leadership philosophy, represented by Confucianism, starts with explaining the most basic laws of the world and the origin of life, makes the most incisive exposition and analysis of the leadership theory, and defines the connotation of leadership in the most essential and accurate way. As early as 2,500 years ago, the book "University" written by Ceng Zi, an ancient thinker in China, has already clarified this problem: "The way of a university is to be moral and for the people, and stop at perfection. Zhi Zhi then has a decision, then he can be quiet, then he can be quiet, then he can be safe, then he can think about it, and then he can get it. Things have a beginning and an end, and things have a beginning and an end. If you know the order, you will find a shortcut. If the ancient desire is obviously superior to the world, rule the country first; If you want to govern your country, you should first get your family together; If you want to reunite with your family, you should first repair your body; If you want to cultivate yourself, you should be upright first; If you want to be correct, be sincere first; Be sincere, let him know first; Knowledge exists in things. Content is known, knowledge is sincere, honesty is correct, mind is regular and self-cultivation, self-cultivation is the rule of the family, and the rule of the family is the rule of the world. From Tiandi to Shu Ren, one is based on self-cultivation, and those who are chaotic at the end will die; Thick is thin, thin is thick, and there is nothing. This is called knowing it, this is called knowing it. " "If you don't test its source, you can't understand the changes of ancient and modern times; If you don't know its gains and losses, you can't get it. " An idea that has been tested for thousands of years and is still widely circulated today will certainly not last long if it does not have inherent rationality and scientificity. Confucian leadership philosophy rooted in China traditional culture has broad application prospects in management practice. This is also the fundamental reason and motivation for the author to devote himself to the study of Confucian leadership. Throughout the history of human civilization, China is the only country in the world with an uninterrupted civilization history of 5,000 years. No nation or country has survived disasters like China, and it has great vitality and creativity. Theories that have not been tested by historical practice should be treated with caution. The ultra-stability of China's 5,000-year feudal social structure is undoubtedly the most powerful proof of the inherent rationality of China's traditional management culture. A civilization can only be truly lasting and stable if it has inherent rationality that conforms to objective laws. Knowing "Tao", following "Tao" and practicing "Tao" are the fundamental thoughts of Confucianism in management activities. As the saying goes, "man should abide by the law, the earth should abide by the law, the sky should abide by the law, and the Tao should be natural", and China culture is undoubtedly a scientific and reasonable application of the natural laws of the universe to the humanistic society. However, western scientific thoughts only pay too much attention to the grasp of nature. If Newton saw the laws of nature more deeply because he stood on the shoulders of giants, then he undoubtedly stood on the shoulders of Confucius, Laozi, Mencius, Sakyamuni and other ideological giants, and had a clearer and more thorough understanding of the mysteries of cosmic life. It is the rationality and universality of this management thought that is the cornerstone of establishing a leadership philosophy including all human civilizations, ancient and modern, Chinese and foreign, and the crystallization of thousands of years of human wisdom, which should be enjoyed by human beings regardless of culture or race. For example, the economic take-off model of the "Four Little Dragons" in the contemporary East proves that China's traditional leadership wisdom represented by Confucianism has a high degree of practical feasibility. So that the world praised the industrialized areas of Southeast Asia as "East Asian Confucian industrial civilization" and Japan as "Confucian capitalism". In the world commercial war, Japan is the only non-western country among the modern industrialized countries, with the "Four Books and Five Classics" as the harmony and Sun Tzu's Art of War as the outside. Shibusawa Eiichi, known as the father of modern Japanese industry, wrote the world-famous Analects of Confucius and Abacus in the process of summing up his leadership career. Kazuo inamori, the only surviving entrepreneur known as one of the Four Saints of Japanese Management, was interviewed by CCTV II in China. When asked what is the fundamental secret of his management, he solemnly wrote down four words: "Respect heaven and love others", which is the essence of Confucianism. As for South Korea, after 1 century, it took less than 30 years to complete the industrialization of western countries. Singapore has stepped into a new developing country and is known as "the best managed country in the world". Mr. Lee Kuan Yew, the former Prime Minister of Singapore, once said: "Although the eastern world lags behind the west in the creation and civilization of natural sciences, there are many things we can learn from in the humanities, ethics, philosophy of life and human mental state of the eastern world." "This cultural value is the most powerful factor for Singapore's success." Singapore strives to govern from two aspects, one is strict legislation and enforcement, and the other is to establish "Oriental moral values". The former treats the symptoms and the latter the root cause, and the two complement each other, that is, the Analects of Confucius says: "The Tao is political, and the people are exempt from punishment, but shameless; Tao is virtue, courtesy, shame and dignity. " So it has created a miracle of Singapore's economic success. In the most advanced value-oriented leadership theory at present, the determination of values is very important, and China's Confucianism provides a powerful tool for the determination of values and has become one of its most important application fields. Therefore, it is of great significance to combine China's traditional leadership philosophy with the essence of modern western leadership theory to provide leaders with a set of systematic and universal leadership training methods based on Confucian leadership philosophy.