A ruler who aspires to the kingly way treats the people as his tian (天) or the highest authority. Broadly speaking, this means that a leader who wishes to accomplish great things must consider the people to be the most important. The term wangzhe (王者) originally referred to rulers who unified the country through benevolent governance, that is, rulers who had great achievements. The word tian represents the highest authority, an allusion to that which is of the greatest importance. The foundation of a country lies in the will of its people; the support or opposition of its people is the fundamental factor which determines whether a country or regime thrives or dies, whether it flourishes or is supplanted. Leaders who wish to achieve great things must attach the highest importance to the interests of the majority of people if it is to win their broad support. This concept is aligned with the concepts “the people are the foundation of the state” and “the will of the people is the foundation of the state.”

Rulers who honor the kingly way regard the people as the highest authority, and the people regard food as what is of greatest importance. (The History of the Han Dynasty)

A ruler should regard his people as his highest authority. If the people support him, the country will be at peace; if the people assist him, the country will be strong; if the people oppose him, the country will be endangered; if the people turn against him, the country will be destroyed. (Liu Xiang: Garden of Stories)