The “Good Official” as a Confucian Sage: The Focus on Morality in Traditional Chinese Admonitions and Its Contemporary Relevance

Abstract

Chinese administration continues to be influenced by Confucian “rule of morality,” which stresses personal virtue, moral education, and the endeavor to be a moral model. This article examines traditional values and the image of the “good official” as prescribed in the rarely studied historical Confucian admonitions (官箴). These were composed as instructions for daily administrative practice. In order to understand which values were regarded as important, the article focuses on the “internal sage” concerning inward moral self-cultivation and the “external king” concerning exterior actions of officials. Finally, the article discusses some implications of Confucian values in contemporary Chinese public administration, the debate on the rule of law, as well as the study of public administration and public values.