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The notion of the people’s will being the foundation, or the “roots,” of government comes from a dialogue between a king of the Shang Dynasty and Houfu (in a text found on bamboo slips of the Warring States Period). Houfu said to the king, “The people’s will is like the roots of a tree: they support the leaves.” By that he meant that public support was the foundation of the state, and without it the state or political power would perish. The ancients believed that a government was legitimate so long as it “followed the mandate of heaven and complied with the wishes of the people.” people’s wishes were a prerequisite of heaven’s will, and only if the state complied with the people’s wishes, would it enjoy lasting stability. This notion is identical to the concept that "people are the foundation of the state".
This term refers to the evaluative judgment or view of the people in a country or region, on an issue, phenomenon or incident which touches on their common interest and which has broad societal meaning. Ancient Chinese often took the “mandate of heaven” to be the basis and highest concept for the legitimacy of political authority and for policymaking, but in fact they often regarded the “will of the people” to be the principal source, content, and manifestation of the “mandate of heaven.” They also considered it to be the fundamental principle of a country’s governance, and thought that having or losing the will of the people determined the rise or fall of a country and political power as well as the development of state affairs. It is the core of the Chinese concept of the people as the foundation of the state. All enlightened Chinese statesmen past and present have regarded the “will of the people” to be the most important factor in governance.
This term means that the people are the essence of the state or the foundation upon which it stands. Only when people live and work in peace and contentment can the state be peaceful and stable. This saying, which first appeared in the “Old Text” version of The Book of History as an instruction by Yu the Great, can be traced to Mencius’ (372?-289 BC) statement: “The essence of a state is the people, next come the god of land and the god of grain (which stand for state power), and the last the ruler,” and Xunzi’s (313?-238 BC) statement, “Just as water can float a boat, so can water overturn it.” This idea gave rise to the “people first” thought advocated by Confucianism.
This term means to love and care for the common people. This is not only a sentiment which those who govern should have for the common people, but also an important principle which must be adhered to in governance. The ancient Chinese believed that those who govern should use specific policies and measures to benefit the people and enable them to live and work peacefully, free from sufferings and unwarranted infringements. This is the precondition or basis for those who govern to win the respect of the people. "Loving the people" was not only an important political concept - it also extended to the military sphere and became an important principle when raising armies to make war. According to this principle, the people of both one's own side and that of the enemy should receive caring love. This is a manifestation of the Chinese thinking "people first" and "benevolence and righteousness."
This term means safeguarding the people’s life. It first appeared in The Book of History. In the view of ancient Chinese, the mandate of heaven determined to whom supreme power in the human world belonged. The mandate was bestowed and removed according to predetermined principles. Virtuous rulers received the mandate, those without virtue lost it. The most important virtue for retaining the mandate of heaven was protecting the people, which was to ensure a safe and peaceful life for them, and this manifested the ruler’s love and care for his people. “Protecting the people” was a central goal of governance in ancient China.
The term means to benefit and provide for the people. Huimin (惠民) is a concrete manifestation of benevolent governance and loving the people, with focus on dividing wealth among the people and benefiting them. The emphasis is on placing the interests of the people first, so that they will support both ruler and government officials. Specifically this means all policies and measures must be in the public interest, must fulfill and ensure the real needs of the people, and keep wealth with them; they should not conflict with the public interest, or worse, be deceitful or resort to force.
This term means to provide the people with necessities of life and educate them. According to The Book of History, this is what constitutes good governance. To reach this goal, the ruler must manage well the “six necessities and three matters,” the six necessities being metal, wood, water, fire, land, and grain, and the three matters being fostering virtue, proper use of resources, and ensuring people’s livelihood. This concept of governance, which focuses on promoting both economic and ethical progress, is people-centered.
A state which takes good care of its people is one with true power. A ruler will be trusted and supported by the people, and the state under such a ruler will be a solid stronghold only when the policies and measures made and implemented meet the people’s requirements and represent the people’s fundamental interests. This is a new theme derived from the concept of “loving the people,” which is the fundamental driving force of a state’s becoming strong and prosperous. It is also an extension and development of the concepts of “the people are the foundation of a state,” and “a benevolent person loves others.”
If one can make the people live in peace and happiness, he can unify all the land. In ancient China, a "king" (wang 王) was not just the one who held the highest power. Rather, he was a man who clearly understood the fundamental principle of maintaining harmony with heaven and earth as well as other humans and enjoyed popular support. To "protect the people" is to love and care for them, ensuring that they obtain the means of survival, receive education and live and work in peace. To "protect the people" is the primary function of the state or government, a prerequisite for winning the people’s hearts and minds; it is also the source of legitimate power. It gives concrete expression to the vision of "putting the people first" and "benevolent governance."
This idea was first put forward by Zhang Zai （1020-1077）of the Northern Song Dynasty, who held that people and things are all created by the vital force of heaven and earth, and thus are similar in nature. He advocated love for all people and things in the world, and his view transcended the old anthropocentric viewpoint and aimed to reach harmony between oneself and other human beings as well as between oneself and other creatures and things. It is the same as the idea that a true gentleman has ample virtue and cares for all things. This notion is an important part of the School of Principle of the Song and Ming dynasties.
The term means to have love for the people, and cherish all things in the world. Here wu (物) includes plants and animals, while ai (爱) implies using them in a measured and appropriate way. This was first proposed by Mencius （372？-289 BC） who differentiated natural emotions as: a love for close family, a broad compassion for other people, and a sense of cherishing for plants and animals. The love could be close or distant, but a person of virtue always begins with love of close relatives, which then extends to other people and eventually to all things in the world. Though this feeling starts within the family, it should extend beyond it, even beyond the human race to include plants and animals, to become a broad love. The goal is to achieve harmony within oneself, with others and with nature. Zhang Zai’s （1020-1077）concept that “all people are my brothers and sisters, and all things are my companions” is very similar.
The ancient Chinese believed that virtuous men followed the will of heaven in establishing a political regime and becoming its sovereigns; hence their success came from the mandate of heaven. This thought is similar to the Western notion of the divine right of kings; but it also emphasizes the wishes and will of the people, or people-centered thinking. In ancient China, this phrase was often used in praise of the founding of a new dynasty, and the implementation of major social reforms to justify its legitimacy.
Water can carry a boat, but can also overturn it. Here, water is compared to the people, while the boat is compared to the ruler. The phrase, “carry or overturn the boat,” reveals the importance of popular support: people are the critical force that decides the future of a regime and a country. This is consistent with such political doctrines as “the people are the foundation of the state,” and “follow the mandate of heaven and comply with the wishes of the people.” Since ancient times, this term has served as a warning to the ruler, reminding him of the need to respect local conditions and popular will, to govern the country for the people, and to anticipate dangers in times of security.
“Opportune time,” which originally referred to the favorable weather at the time of war, now generally refers to various temporal advantages, including weather, timing, opportunity, and so on. “Geographic advantage,” which originally referred to advantageous positions in battle, now refers to generally various favorable spacial conditions, including terrain, position, location, and such. “Unity of the people,” which originally referred to popular support, unity of all ranks, and societal solidarity, now refers in general to advantages in personnel. Ancient Chinese believed that these three were the most important factors for success. Among them, “unity of the people” is decisive because “opportune time is not as valuable as geographic advantage, and geographic advantage is not as valuable as unity of the people.” The saying reflects the three fundamental dimensions of a problem the Chinese people take into consideration: time (opportunity), space (environment), and people. It reflects the basic notion of putting people at the center of everything.
If a country has no people harboring resentment against those in power, it is a country that can be called a strong country. This is a Legalist definition of a strong state. The Legalists were pragmatic, emphasizing farming and military fighting, a rich state with a strong army. However, they did not at all measure the strength of states by their hard power alone but also by their soft power. The essence of soft power is the people feeling no hatred of those in power. The prerequisite of no such hatred is justice, fairness and equality in the country and the result is national unity. This term is the Legalist expression of the notion that “people are the foundation of the state.”
Silencing the people and preventing them from expressing their opinions is more damaging than blocking the course of a river and causing a flood. Fang (防) means “a dike” to stop water flowing, and its extended meaning is to “block,” “prevent,” or “stop.” Obstructing the river flow will make the water rise and wash away the dikes, causing uncontrollable flooding. The ancients used this analogy to describe the serious harm that could occur if the public was not allowed to express its opinions. Taken from a positive angle, it means that the public will is powerful and irresistible, and that a ruler should allow its expression, or else expect popular resistance. The idea is in line with such notions as “people are the foundation of the state”, “the people’s will is the foundation of the state”, and “people can float the boat (of state) or sink it”.
Disaster for a state is the collapse of its political power base, not the disintegration of its upper ruling stratum. The foundation of state power is popular allegiance and control of grass-roots society. “Collapse like a landslide” is a metaphor for political authority losing popular support, all of society crumbling precipitously and the people being driven to desperation and revolt. “Roof-tiles coming loose” refers to disintegration and splits in the ruling group, some struggling for power and others breaking the law and even plotting rebellion. Collapse means shaking the social and economic foundations of state power and denying its legitimacy and right to exist. It is thus something much to be feared. Disintegration, on the other hand, can usually be overcome within the existing framework and is not to be feared as much. This kind of political wisdom attaches great importance to the will of the people and governing grass-roots society. It is similar to the idea of “people first.”
The term means that those who win the hearts of the people or get the service of the talented will rise while those who lose the hearts of the people or fail to get the talented people will perish. Ren (人) stands for people’s hearts as well as people’s talents. This saying, which comes from Records of the Historian, has two connotations. First, the rise and fall of a country or government depend on winning people’s hearts. Only by winning people’s hearts and responding to their wishes can a country or government continue to thrive. This is in accord with the philosophy that “people’s will is the foundation of the state” and “people are the foundation of the state.” Second, talents are critical to the rise and fall of a country or government. Only by identifying and recruiting the most capable and most upright people, and by suitably employing them can a great cause be completed and a country and its government remain stable and secure. Winning people’s hearts is closely related to attracting the talented. Winning people’s hearts will eventually draw in the talented, and recruiting the talented will eventually help win people’s hearts. All leaders, be they heads of states, groups or teams, should follow this notion of ruling.
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