Why did Confucius advocate governing the country by virtue?

Confucius' thought of "ruling by virtue" is the result of profound reflection on real politics and a general plan for governing the country designed to adapt to the social development trend. Through the systematic development of Mencius and Xunzi, the theories of "great learning" and "golden mean" have been sublimated, forming a set of strict, complete and systematic strategies for governing the country, which has become an extremely important part of China's traditional political culture.

It is of great significance and immortal value in the history of China's political thought development, so it has been highly valued by political thinkers of past dynasties and played a very important role in stabilizing the political order of ancient China society.

In today's society, although the ancient rule of virtue can not be directly used as the way to govern the country, its ideological essence and rational core still have great value significance, which provides the necessary ideological resources for implementing the strategy of governing the country by virtue today. Today, we talk about governing the country by law as well as by virtue. The rule of law and morality are both means, and they complement each other.

Extended data:

Character achievement:

The core content of Confucius' political thought is "courtesy" and "benevolence". In the general plan of governing the country, he advocated "governing the country by virtue", which is the noblest way to govern the country. This strategy of governing the country is also called "rule by virtue" or "rule by courtesy". This strategy applies morality and politeness to the people, strictly follows the hierarchical system, and divides nobles and civilians into rulers and ruled. Broke the original important boundary between nobles and civilians.

Confucius lived in Lu, which had a deep tradition of patriarchal clan system in the Western Zhou Dynasty. At this time, the ruling power of the Zhou Dynasty had existed in name only, and there were constant struggles among governors, resulting in the social reality of "losing the king, abolishing etiquette and righteousness, losing political power, and being at home in the world". "No monarch, no minister, no father and no son" became the characteristic of that era.

The intensification of social contradictions has hindered the development of productive forces, and people's spirit and beliefs have also been destroyed as never before. These isomorphisms have become the historical origin and social conditions of Confucius' political thought, and "benevolence" and "courtesy" are the basic spirits of his political thought.

Confucius' highest political ideal is to establish a "world for the public" Datong society. The basic characteristics of "Datong" society are: the road is smooth, and "the world is public", so people can "choose their talents, talk about faith and friendship", and "people are not only close to their relatives, but also children, so that they can be provided for in the old age, be strong and useful, have their own strengths, be lonely and sick, and be provided for in the old age."