Chapter 3: The Management Wisdom of Chinese Culture
Ancient Chinese management ideas are based on Chinese philosophy, which are based on the golden mean and strive to achieve social stability and harmony. The management philosophy embodied in the golden mean is still admired and respected by the world today, and has a profound impact on today's management theories and methods.
Section 1: Six management masters of China's pre-Qin period
The idea of moderation has been around since before Confucius. It is recorded in the Analects that Yao said: "Consultation!."Ershun!The calendar of the heavens is bowing, and it is allowed to hold on to it. A passage from "Shu Da Yu Mo": "The human heart is only in danger, the Taoist heart is only slight, but the essence is the only one, and it is allowed to cling to it." All show that in the era of Yao Shunyu, the idea of moderation has appeared, and has been highly valued by people of insight at that time. This book mainly introduces the management ideas put forward by the six giants from the Yellow Emperor, to the Yao Shunyu era, and then to the Zhou Gong and Jizi, the core of which is part of the traditional management thought.
For example, "Shangshu Hongfan" records that King Wu of Zhou asked Jizi, a relict minister of the Yin Dynasty, for advice on state affairs, and Jizi put forward nine articles, among which "unbiased, unbiased, unbiased, and unpartyed, and the royal road is swinging" emphasizes the political wisdom of "holding the middle", which can be regarded as the ideological source of the golden mean.
3.1.1 The Nine Virtues of the Yellow Emperor
The Yellow Emperor, the leader of the ancient Chinese tribal alliance and the head of the Five Emperors, is revered as the "first ancestor of humanity" in China. After the Yellow Emperor unified the tribes of China, he began to work on the political, material and spiritual civilization of the whole society, which played a huge role in promoting the development of ancient Chinese history and laid the foundation for the establishment of the monarchy system in later generations. During the reign of the Yellow Emperor, he sowed hundreds of grains and plants, vigorously developed production, created writing, began to make clothes, built boats and cars, invented guide cars, fixed calculations, made music laws, created medicine, and so on, and was the ancestor of the ancient civilization of the Chinese nation.
The Yellow Emperor established the ancient state system: the painting field is divided into territory, eight families are a well, three wells are a neighbor, three neighbors are a friend, three friends are a mile, five miles are a yi, ten yi is the capital, ten are a division, ten divisions are a state, and the country is divided into nine states;A total of 120 official positions were set up to manage the country, including three dukes, three young eunuchs, four auxiliaries, four histories, six phases, and nine virtues (official names). The Yellow Emperor put forward the "six prohibitions" at all levels, and "heavy" is excessive, that is, "the sound ban is heavy, the color ban is heavy, the clothing ban is heavy, the incense ban is heavy, the taste ban is heavy, and the room is forbidden to be heavy", requiring ** thrift and simplicity, and opposing extravagance.
The Yellow Emperor proposed to govern the country with virtue, "cultivate virtue and revitalize the army", give the world with "virtue", cultivate virtue together, but benevolence is action, cultivate virtue and righteousness, especially set up "ministers of nine virtues", educate the people with nine elements, that is, filial piety, kindness, literature, faith, speech, respect, loyalty, courage, righteousness, and carry out ideological and moral construction. In the use of talents, visiting, selecting, appointing, and using talents. Implement the rule of law in the country, set up "etiquette and law" and "rule the law without changing", Ming Limo served as a judge, Houtu served as a prison officer, sentenced those who committed serious crimes to be lost, and those who committed serious crimes were sentenced to beheading, and so on.
Later, in "Shangshu Gao Taomo", the "Nine Virtues" proposed by Shun's minister Gao Tao was also deeply influenced by the Yellow Emperor's concept of "the minister of the nine virtues". Gaotao's "Nine Virtues" refers to: wide and chestnut (tolerant but fearful of people), soft and standing (gentle but powerful), willing and respectful (making compulsive requirements but humble attitude), chaotic and respectful (having the talent to govern the world but not casually), disturbing and resolute (both tame and resolute), straight and gentle (both serious and gentle), simple and incorruptible (both grasping the big things, not letting go of the small things), rigid and plugged (strong outside and full inside), strong and righteous (holding power without losing morality).
If a king appoints those who can uphold these virtues for a long time, it is a good government!It is the management function of the king to bring together the advantages of people with three virtues and six virtues, and to comprehensively implement the "nine virtues" standard, to know people and be good at their duties, and to let people with "nine virtues" hold certain positions. If all levels are outstanding in talent and morality, learn from each other, and fulfill their duties, then the country's politics and religion will be perfect.
Gaotao's primary political proposition is to implement moral governance, Gaotao believes that the key to the implementation of moral governance is to improve people's moral cultivation, emphasizing that the self-cultivation of monarchs and ministers should be from top to bottom, from themselves to others. Those who propose to be officials must have.
Three, six, nine virtues, with three virtues to ask for Dr. Qing, with six virtues to ask for princes, with "nine virtues" to ask for the Son of Heaven. He pointed out that "governing the country by virtue" means that the virtuous are the best of the best, and each of them is allowed to do what he can, and the monarch and the ministers are of the same heart as morality, and they are cautious and fearful, so that the strategy of success can be realized. Pi Peng, "Jian Shuo Shangshu Gao Taomo "Nine Virtues"", Literary Education, No. 3, 2015. Gaotao culture was passed down by Confucianism and inherited by Confucianism, thus developing into an important part of the ideological system of Confucianism, which ruled China for more than 2,000 years. From the "Nine Virtues" put forward in the "Shangshu Gao Tao Mo", we can also get a glimpse of one of the essences of Gao Tao culture, "having both ability and political integrity, appointing people on the basis of merit", requiring all levels of "diligence and integrity" and "governing the country by virtue".
Ge Rongjin, a professor of philosophy at the Chinese University of China, believes that the "nine virtues" mentioned in "Shangshu Gao Taomo" can best reflect the spirit of moderation. Professor Ge Zhiyi of the Center for the Study of Ancient Chinese Culture at Dalian University said: "This combination of the two opposite ends into one virtue should be the so-called Zhongde, which in turn leads to the concepts of Zhongzheng, Zhonghe and even Zhongyong." "Shangshu Shundian": "Straight and gentle, wide and chestnut, rigid and cruelty-free, simple and not arrogant", according to Kong Shu, it is also the righteousness of the nine virtues. The Book of Rites: The Mean's 'use it at both ends' should help to understand the nine virtues. This is the pursuit of a gentleman's moral cultivation in harmony, character and thoughtfulness, is the proposal of Confucius's moderation, should be enlightened. ”
This article is excerpted from Mr. Duan Junping's classic work on Chinese management, "From Excellence to Moderation - Chinese Management Wisdom".
Duan Junping: A well-known expert in Chinese culture, a famous calligrapher, and a well-known management scholar. Master of Business Administration, Chinese University of Hong Kong;Doctor of Business Administration, City University of Hong Kong;Visiting Scholar of Peking University;Member of the ** Cultural Committee of the China Democratic National Construction Association;He has been employed by many universities at home and abroad as a professor of Chinese Studies, calligraphy and management. Director of Beijing Calligraphers Association, Vice Chairman of Beijing Dongcheng Calligraphers Association, Vice President of Beijing Poetry Society, President of Jinglu Academy, Chief Expert and Founder of Aiweilong Media Management Consulting Group.