“Legitimate Authority” in the Chinese Tradition: Ethics-Politics

Abstract

Abstract Max Weber proposed three types of legitimate authority: charismatic, traditional and rational-legal. Roughly at the same time, the Chinese scholar Liang Qichao, fully aware of the strong link between ethics and politics in ancient China, put forward the concept of “ethics-politics”, which launched a major debate. None of Weber’s three types of legitimate authority is applicable to the ancient Chinese model of “ethics-politics”, and “ethics-politics” should be considered and explored as a fourth type of legitimate authority. This article gives an outline of the historical origins of “ethics-politics” as well as the principles that gave rise to the concept. Then it cites pre-Qin Confucianism, particularly the thoughts of Confucius, Mencius, and Xunzi, to exemplify the legitimate authority of “ethics-politics” from five aspects: (1) inwardly being a sage and outwardly being a king; (2) rule of the man of virtue, viz. “to govern by virtue” and “rule by rites” or “rule of rites”; (3) benevolence as the core value; (4) everyone should become good as the goal of government; (5) Heaven/Tian as the supreme divinity.