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The term originally referred to the lord of the people, the one who ruled on their behalf, i.e., the monarch. Later on it also referred to government officials. The people of ancient times regarded the “lord of the people” as “following the mandate of heaven and complying with the wishes of the people.” The people and their lord formed an organic whole like the human body and heart. In modern China, the term has become the Chinese equivalent of “democracy,” mainly meaning the fundamental principle of state power belonging to all of the people and also the political system and social conditions based on that principle. In essence democracy is government by the people who are able to exercise the right of managing state and society, and who, in this process, can freely express their opinions and safeguard their interests. Democracy is based on the principle of decision by the majority with due respect for the rights of individuals and the minority. Democracy is designed to safeguard the social status of citizens. It is a socialized form of human rights, and one of the core values conducive to a good society.
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.
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.
Rule by law, as opposed to rule by man, calls for ruling a state and its people by the ruler through enacting and strictly enforcing laws and regulations. It is an important political thought of the Legalist scholars in the pre-Qin period. Rule by law meted out well-defined rewards and punishments, but tended to be excessively severe and rigid in enforcement. From the Han Dynasty all the way to the Qing Dynasty, rule by law and rule by man were exercised by various dynasties, mostly in combination. With the spread of Western thoughts to China in more recent times, the concept of “rule by law” acquired new implications, evolving into one of “rule of law.”
The expression means fair and just. Gong (公), the opposite of si (私 private), means impartial and not self-centered. Zheng (正), the opposite of qu (曲 crooked), has two meanings. One is shared norms based on justice, and the other is making oneself comply with these norms in one’s behavior and stay unbiased and impartial in one’s relationship with others. Fairness is expressed mainly in a state or society having a common morality and norms with which all people are bound and which people use to judge whether others are doing right. In modern society, fairness finds its expression mainly in the way that institutions, laws, and people are just and social wealth and public resources are fairly distributed. It is seen as one of the core values conducive to good morality and society.
As the Chinese translation of the Sanskrit word "sama," pingdeng (平等) means the same level with no difference. As a fundamental concept of Buddhism, it originally meant that there was no difference between the various castes. Later on, in Mahayana Buddhism and Buddhism adapted to the Chinese conditions, such as Zen Buddhism, it was believed that there was no difference between dharmas and between all sentient beings in terms of Buddha-nature and ultimate meaning. Buddhism stresses the value of equality in several respects, of which the most important one is equality for all sentient beings (there is no difference between living things). This is generally considered to mean equality for everyone. In modern times, the Western concept of equality was translated as pingdeng, in the sense that as a member of society, everyone enjoys the same status, opportunities and rights in social relations and social activities.
This term refers to a thriving, prosperous, and perceptibly refined society in which people behave in a cultured fashion. Wen (文) refers to the arts and humanities, including social norms, music education, moral cultivation, and a social order that is hierarchical yet harmonious. Ming (明) means bright, prosperous, and highly civilized. The Chinese nation has always preferred wen to wu (武 force). This is the loftiest ideal pursued by the Chinese nation since ancient times. It was also the criterion by which to judge whether the governance of a nation was well conducted.
The term means acting on one’s own free will without being subject to external restrictions. In ancient China, both Confucians and Daoists longed for freedom both of the mind and in their lives. In modern times, this term has become the Chinese word for “liberty” and “freedom.” As a technical term, it has two meanings. One is citizens’ statutory and law-protected rights not to be interfered in their will and actions, such as freedom of speech, freedom of assembly, and freedom of religious belief. The other, philosophically, refers to freedom of people’s understanding of necessity and their transformation of the objective world. Based on a profound understanding of the principles governing the nature and society and aiming to ensure individuals to achieve well-rounded development, freedom is considered one of the core values conducive to a good society.
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