What is the difference between the traditional Chinese concept of integrity and the Western spirit of contract and trustworthiness?

What is the difference between traditional Chinese "integrity" and Western "contractual spirit"? This article will try to briefly discuss.

1. Concepts of Integrity and Contractual Spirit

a) Integrity

Traditionally, "faith" is one of the "Five Constants", which means honesty and non-deception. Both Confucius and Mencius regarded "trust" as an important principle of friendship, emphasizing that "friends trust" and "friends have trust".

But Confucianism's "faith" is a relatively less important virtue. In the Four Teachings, the Five Teachings, and the Five Constants, "faith" is at the bottom of the list. The "letter" is only limited to kinship and quasi-kinship (i.e., "acquaintances"), and the circle is very small.

b) The spirit of contract

The word "contract" basically means transaction. The main characteristic of a contract is freedom: freedom to choose the parties, freedom to decide what to contract and freedom to choose how to contract.

The spirit of contract is not only expressed in the observance of the contract; it is in fact the unconditional respect and reverence for the rules, that is to say, doing one's best in one's duties, honoring one's promises, and abiding strictly by the rules.

2, integrity and the spirit of contract comparison

The difference between the spirit of contract and integrity is mainly manifested in three aspects: the binding force, the requirements of the subject and the form of expression.

c) Binding force: conscience vs. external authority

Integrity is a kind of moral cultivation, which emphasizes self-discipline and conscience. For the "sages", self-discipline and conscience are enough. But there are fewer sages, and what happens when one's self-discipline and conscience are not enough? As an ethic, the only external force that integrity can turn to is public opinion.

There is a story in the Analects of Confucius that says Zai I think three years is too long to observe filial piety, but only one year is enough. Confucius then asked, "Are you comfortable with only one year of mourning?" Zai I replied, "I am at peace." Confucius could only say angrily, "Go ahead and do it if your heart is content, but a gentleman would never do that!" When Zai I was gone, Confucius exclaimed, "This man Zai I is really unkind and unrighteous!"

"Filial piety" and "loyalty" are the most basic traditional morals, but even so, Confucius could do nothing about the "unfilial" Zai Mei, which shows that public opinion is only a kind of soft power. If the people who violate the morality don't care, the public opinion can't work.

The spirit of contract emphasizes external authority. There are two theoretical sources of the "spirit of contract" in the West today: the Christian theology of contract and the humanist theory of social contract. Although their starting points are different, both emphasize the sacredness of the contract, that is, the external authority of the contract.

For Christianity, the covenant is sacrosanct because the Bible itself is a covenant between God and man, and God is the highest external authority. Therefore, whether it is a covenant between God and man or a covenant between man and man, man must abide by it. Therefore, most of the countries and regions in the Christian cultural circle have a deep spirit of contract.

After the Enlightenment, Rousseau and others put forward the "social contract theory". The theory that the social order is a divine right, and the social order comes from *** with the agreement, the specific practice is that each person to give up part of the natural freedom and power, transferred to the "sovereign", the dominant social order. This idea is free from the influence of theology, but still emphasize the external authority of the contract, but the external authority from God into the *** with the agreement of man.

The spirit of contract in the West also has a very strong legal form. Thus, the spirit of contract has not only religion and ethics as binding forces, but also the reality of the law to bind.

d) Requirements on the subject: simple obligation vs. balance of rights and responsibilities

Honesty is a moral quality, an ethical requirement for people, so honesty is a unilateral obligation.

The existence of the contract must have more than two subjects, otherwise it will not reach the **** the same agreement. In such a ****same agreement, both parties must be in agreement, and the covenant needs to specify the powers, responsibilities, and interests of both parties. Because in the Bible, even the covenant between God and man must specify the responsibility of God, so should the covenant between man and man.

The balance of power and responsibility also means that the parties entering into the covenant can bargain. There are several people in the Bible who bargained with God. Influenced by these precedents, members of parliament in Western countries often quarrel, and Westerners often negotiate over and over again before signing a contract, but once an agreement is signed, it must be strictly enforced.

The day the contract is reached is the beginning of the faithful fulfillment of the promise; while enjoying the rights, strictly fulfill the obligations; while reaping the benefits, it is necessary to bear the risks. This is the spirit of contract embodied in the balance of rights and responsibilities.

e) Manifestation: Equal Treatment vs. Equal Treatment

The traditional context of honesty is differential, specifically, the need for honesty to relatives and quasi-relatives, but not to others. Moreover, integrity is ranked behind benevolence and righteousness, so when integrity conflicts with benevolence and righteousness, it is often integrity that is sacrificed. The first thing to be sacrificed is honesty.

"Romance of the Three Kingdoms" in Zhuge Liang is a typical: to "loyal" known, but often back "letter". For example, after the battle of Red Cliff, Zhou Yu asked Liu Bei whether he would attack the South County, Liu Bei according to Zhuge Liang's instructions, lied to Zhou Yu that will not. Zhou Yu then made a promise with Liu Bei. Zhou Yu then fought with Cao Ren, the defender of Nanxian County, and both sides suffered heavy casualties. Liu Bei and Zhuge Liang then took advantage of the situation and captured Nanxian County, which made Zhou Yu so furious that he burst into pieces.

It is strange that Zhuge Liang, on the one hand, arbitrarily tore up the agreement with Wu, but on the other hand, he made "connecting with Wu to fight against Cao" as the basic strategy of Shu, and expected Wu to absolutely abide by the agreement. Is this possible? But Zhuge Liang thinks so.

Contrary to traditional Chinese culture, the spirit of contract takes "faith" as the most basic moral obligation, and includes all people in the whole society, with great universality and equality.

There is a story in the Bible that tells of a nation called Gibeon in Canaan, which, when the Israelites attacked Canaan, wished to form an alliance with them for fear of being wiped out by the Israelites. But God would not allow the Israelites to ally with any Canaanites. The Gibeonites then lied to the Israelites that they were a nation on a distant border, and the Israelites believed it and signed the covenant. Subsequently, the Israelites realized that they had been deceived, but even so, they could not break the covenant. This is the spirit of covenant that Christian culture emphasizes: rules are to be followed even with enemies; covenants are to be kept even with God.

Why should rules be kept against enemies? Rules are both binding and protective. The result of Zhuge Liang's arbitrarily tearing up the agreement was that Wu no longer trusted Shu, and Shu lost an ally. And Wu suffered greatly. This is what happens when you don't play by the rules: it destroys the entire environment in which you live, and it benefits no one.

The spirit of contract honors rules, which is an attitude of responsibility to oneself and to others. In the long run, this helps to create a better environment and ultimately a ****win with collaborators and competitors.

3. Conclusion

The spirit of contract can actually be seen as the evolution of integrity: respecting social rules while keeping promises; respecting the interests of others while protecting the legitimate interests of self. It can be seen that the spirit of contract is more in line with the development of society in the market economy.

With the rapid development of the market economy, China's traditional view of integrity can no longer meet the needs of economic development, and it is high time for China to shape the spirit of contract~