儒家思想与国际关系 外交学院国际关系研究所 周永生 |
Confucianism
and International Relations Zhou Yongsheng Institute of Researches on International relations College of Diplomacy |
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近年来，学术界对国际关系理论的研究十分活跃，发表和出版了大量有关的学术研究成果，目不暇接，令人欣慰。但兴奋之余，未免也有几多忧虑。这些成果很多是介绍和评价西方国际关系理论和流派。即使有些学者想自立门户，建立起自成体系的理论框架，但究其实质，大多仍然逃不出西方理论的窠臼，具有西方国际关系理论在中国演绎的倾向。中国缺乏真正属于我们自己的国际关系理论。除了“和平共处五项原则”以外，更缺少能够为世界所普遍认可和接受的国际价值观念。
任何一个能够引导世界前进的大国除了其自身必须具有相当的硬实力以外，还必须在思想和价值观念等软实力方面占有突出的地位，这是不言而喻的道理，亦被历史与现实无数次证明。中国作为一个正在崛起的大国，不仅要在经济上崛起，同时，我们也要在思想文化上崛起。否则，中国的崛起必将是片面的、畸形的，缺乏感召力的。从某种意义上说，思想文化的崛起决不比经济的崛起更容易。面对这一困境，我们仅从现有的意识形态中去挖掘是无法找到出路的。要摆脱这一困境，我们必须从博大精深的中国古文化中去汲取营养，培育力量。其中，2000多年中位居中国正统思想地位的儒家思想有很多值得我们汲取的宝贵精神财富。如果能把它们引入到国际关系、外交的理论中，对于建立一个具有普遍国际价值意义的中国国际关系和外交理论必将是十分有益的。本文试图按此思路作一尝试，以就数于各位。
一、“德治”——天下大治的根本 “德治”是儒家思想理论的核心，在儒家看来，“德治”是天下大治的根本。《大学》中说，：“大学之造，在明明德”。“古之欲明德于天下者，先治其国。欲治其国者，先齐其家。欲齐其家者先修其身。欲修其身者，先正其心。欲正其心者，欲诚其意。欲诚其意者，先致其知。致知在格物。”从这里可以看出，不仅大学之道在于弘扬光明的德性（德行、道德），而且，在治理好一国的基础上，才能超出一国的范围界限，把光明的德性弘扬于天下，达到天下大治。
孔子在《论语》中通篇所讲的“君子”的含义就是指具有高尚德性、道德的人。不仅如此，孔子认为君子通过忠信还可以使德性获得进一步增长。孔子说：“君子进德修业。忠信，所以进德也。” 同时，孔子认为，必须以德治国，才能治理好国家。所谓“为政以德，譬如北辰，居其所而众星共之。” “道之以德，齐之以礼，有耻且格。” 仍然是强调了“德”对于治理天下、统治人民的重要性。孔子虽然没有明确解释什么是“德”，但是，从儒家的思想体系中我们不难理解它具有广泛的含义。如《大学》中所说的“止于至善”：《尚书》中所说“德惟善政，政在养民。” “三德：一曰正直，二曰刚克，三曰柔克。” 子张问孔子如何提高德性？孔子回答说：“主忠信，徒义，崇德也。” 孔子认为，以忠诚信实为主，唯义是从，即可提高德性。在《春秋左传》中，甚至还对“德”进行了细致的划分，称“孝敬忠信为吉德，盗贼藏奸为凶德。” 认为德既有好的一面，也有恶的一面。但这种观念在儒家的思想中并不占主流地位。唐代思想家韩愈则认为：德是人、事物自身所具有的，无需外来影响的事物（“足乎无待于外之谓德”）。
总之，在儒家看来，德是光明、善良、正义、忠信、美好、适度、幸福等人和事物正的一面的象征。也有的人认为它包括了仁、义、礼、智、信等内容，德治，就是大力弘扬高尚的德性，以此来教化人民，形成尚德之风，上下遵守，则可实现国家大治，天下大治。
那么，这种“德治”思想和现代国际关系有何关联、又如何引进和借鉴这种思想呢？在国家和国际关系的层面来理解和运用儒家的“德治”思想可以主要从以下四个方面作为切入点：
1、一个国家必须成为一个有道德的国家才能安定、顺利地生存和发展。 儒家认为，一个有道德的国家，人民才能安居乐业，内和则外俱。这样，国家就能安定、顺利地生存和发展下去。即孟子所说的：“域民不以封疆之界，固国不以山溪之险，威天下不以兵戈之利。得道多助，失道寡助。寡助之至，亲戚衅之。多助之至，天下顺之。……固君子有不战，战必胜矣。
2、一个国家必须遵守道德，并弘扬道德才能强大。 孟子说：要辅佐国君治理国家，使人民都获得提高，没有比进行道德教育更好的方法了。如果不能遵守道德，身体力行地去推行和实现道义，就不能有所作为。 孟子列举了商汤以七十里、周文王以一百里的领地统一天下的事例来说明他们遵守并弘扬道德，令天下人向往，众盼若归，致使其壮大的道理。即“以力服人，非心服也，力不赡也。以德服人，中心悦而诚服也。”
3、在国际关系中，各国若普遍遵守国际道德，全世界将长治久安，和谐、健康地发展；各国若不遵守国际道德，势必天下大乱；若个别国家不遵守国际道德，其将自取灭亡。 儒家的这种思想是很好理解的。比如在中国的盛唐时期，东亚各国都普遍地吸取了尊崇道德的中国文化，在这一时期内，东亚各国大体处于相对安定、繁荣的发展阶段。而在战国时代，各诸侯国不以道德自律，你争我夺，天下大乱，生灵尽遭涂炭。第二次世界大战时期，德日意法西斯国家泯灭人性，不遵守国际道德，自恃有强大的国力，称霸于一时，最后都走上了灭亡之路。
4、遵守并弘扬国际道德就是坚持了在国际关系上的“德治”。比如说，不以大欺小，不以强凌弱，坚持正义，反对邪恶，反对霸权等。
二、“仁政”——立国之基础 “仁政”是儒家治国的一项重要主张。儒家认为，一个国家是否实行“仁政”，关系到这个国家的统治基础是否稳固，关系到这个国家的盛衰兴亡。
孟子见梁惠王，梁惠王披面就提出“亦将有以利吾国乎？”这样的问题。而孟子却回答说：如果一个国家从上到下，都相互争夺利益，那么，这个国家也就危险了。他告诉梁惠王；您只要讲求仁义就可以治理好国家，何必要谈利益呢？ 依靠道德去实行仁义的人可以使天下人归顺，使天下人归顺却不必依靠国家的强大。 孟子认为，夏商周三个朝代就是因为实行仁政而获得了天下，又都是因为最后都归于不仁而失去了天下。“国之所以兴废存亡者亦然。” 孟子还特别强调了居于高位的统治者“仁”的重要性。他说：“君仁，莫不仁。君义，莫不义。君正，莫不正。一正君，而国定矣。” 他还引用引子的话来说明，仁的威力是不能用人数来计算的，“‘夫国君好仁天下无敌’”。 反之，居于高位的统治者若不仁危险也特别巨大。他说：“天子不仁，不保四海。诸侯不仁，不保社稷。卿大夫不仁，不保宗庙。士庶人不仁，不保四体。”
那么，“仁政”究竟是什么呢？孟子说：“仁，人心也。” “仁者爱人”，“爱人者，人恒爱之”。 “恻隐之心，仁也。” 孔子说：“克己复礼为仁。一日克己复礼，天下归仁焉。” “夫仁者，己欲立而立人，己欲达而达人。” 子贡问道：“如有博施于民而能济众，何如？” 孔子则答曰：这何止是仁，简直就是圣人做的事情了。孔子说：“能行五者于天下，为仁矣。”即“恭，宽，信，敏，惠。恭则不悔，宽则得众，信则人任焉，敏则有功，惠则足以使人。” 《大学》中也说：“唯仁人为能爱人，能恶人”。 “刚，毅，木，讷，近仁。” 高尚的人为了追求“仁”，捍卫“仁”可以舍弃自己的生命。即“志士仁人，无求生以书仁，有杀身以成仁。” 有了道德上的“仁”，也就有了行为上的勇气。 按照儒家的思想理解，“仁政“是以慈爱、善良、施予、智慧、诚信等的精神境界和心地管理国家、统治人民。
儒家的“仁政“思想对于国际关系主要有以下四个方面的意义：
1、 一国推行仁政可以使国家安定繁荣；各国都推行仁政，整个世界将安定繁荣。 否则，一国将无宁日，世界将无宁日，即孟子所谓：“仁则荣，不仁则辱。”
2、
对其他国家实行“仁政”。
3、 要用仁政来约束对利益的追求，摆正仁政与利益的关系。
在国际关系中，如果各国都把利益当作是首要目标，必然会出现竞相逐利而不仁的局面。
4、
要把握“仁政”善良和施予的本质，兼顾“仁政”的多种变化与表现。
三、“义勇”——道德的楷模 “义”和“勇”在儒家的思想中占有重要的地位。追求“义”，兼有“勇”是儒家向往的道
什么是“义”和“勇”呢？“勇”是比较好理解的。所谓“勇者不惧” ，不惧谓之“勇”。“义”的含义则比较复杂、深奥。孟子对“义”有多种解释和比喻：“羞恶之心，义也。” “敬长，义也。” “义，人路也。”“舍其路而弗由”。 《礼记》中则说：“除去天地之害，谓之义。” 在古汉语中“义”同“宣”，是适度、恰当当、恰到好处的意思，引申为正道、道义、正义等。儒家所讲的“义”，有时是用其本意，有时是用其引伸意义，有时两种含义兼而有之。 孟子关于“义”和“生命”的论述掷地有声，震撼心灵，响彻寡宇：“生，亦我所欲也。义，义我所欲也。二者不可得兼，舍生而取义者也。”
孔子对于“义”也有许多论述。孔子说：“君子之于天下也，无适也，无莫也，义之与比。” “君子喻于义，小人喻于利。” 孔子称赞子产具有君子的四种道德。其中之一就是“其使民也义”。 “闻义不能徙，不善不能改，是吾忧也”。 “不义而富且贵，于我如浮云。” “君子义以为质”。 “君子义以为上。” “主忠信，徙义，崇德也。” 同时，“义”还是统治人民的良好方法。孔子说：“上好义，则民莫敢不服”。
从这些论述中我们可以看出儒家对于“义”重视的程度。那么，“义”和“勇”又是怎样一种关系呢？孔子说：“君子有勇而无义为乱，小人有勇而无义为盗。” 可见，“义”应该是“勇”的统帅、根本，不能有“勇”无“义”。“勇”和“义”配合才相得益彰。 那么，“义”、“勇”在国际关系和外交上有何可借鉴之处呢？
1、 国家应该把道义和正义目标放在外交和处理国际关系的首要地位。 要想做到这一点，必须有勇气相配合。否则，将因为惧怕而不敢、也不能伸张道义和正义。
2、
在利益面前，不能见利忘义，而应该“见利思义”。 要通过合理、正当、符合道义的
3、 维护和伸张正义既要有勇气，也要有方法，并注重实际效果。
在伸张正义的时候，既要有“见危授命” 的勇气，也要审时度势，把握分寸。即所谓：“邦 4、 有道义的国家应该勇于承担国际领导责任，以便更好地维护和伸张道义。
有道义的国家应该勇于引导或带领道义和勇气不如自己的国家在国际上维护和伸张正义， 四、“诚信”——安身立命的出发点
“诚”和“信”是儒家行为处世的重要准则和政治信条，是人在社会上得以安身立命的出发点与法宝。
“诚”在古代汉语中有诸多含义和解释：“纯也，无伪也，真实也”；“信也”；“敬也”；“真
儒家关于“诚”的论述很多。《中庸》上说：“诚者，物之始终。不诚无物。是故君子诚之为贵。诚者，非自成己而己也，所以成物也。” 儒家把“诚”看作是一切事物的开始和终端，没有“诚”，就形成不了万物。因此，儒家认为，高尚的人非常看重“诚”，不仅用他来完善自己，还要用它来完善事物。“诚”——真实，是上天赋予事物的属性，要修养真实，是人的活动范畴。 “诚者，不勉而中，不思而得，从容中道，圣人也。诚之者，择善而固执之者也。” 儒家还认为，“意诚”，是心正、修身、齐家、治国、平天下的基础； “至诚”，是治理天下的“大经”，安定天下的根本。
儒家关于“信”的论述也不少。孔子说：统治拥有一千辆兵车的国家，要“敬事而信，节用而爱人，使民以时。” 他告诫自己的学生：“谨而信，凡爱众，而亲仁。” 宣扬：君子“主忠信。” 反之，“人而无信，不知其可也。大车无 ，小车无 ，其何以行之哉？” 孔子教育学生主要有四个方面的内容，其中之一就是“信”。 他嘱咐学生们：“笃信好学，守死善道。” 认为信约接近于道义，所说的话就可以实现。 “言忠信，行笃敬，虽蛮貊之邦行矣，言不忠信，行不笃敬，虽州里行乎哉？” “君子义以为质，……信以成之。”
孔子不仅在一般的人际关系上强调“信”，在治理国家方面对“信”也是非常重视的。子贡向孔子问治国之道，孔子说：“足食，足兵，民信之矣。”对此三项，孔子强调，“信”（信任）是最重要的，“民无信不立”。 他奉劝统治者任用士人要“忠信重禄，所以劝士也”。 “上好信，则民莫敢不情。” 他的学生子夏也说：“君子信而后劳其民，未信则以为厉己也”。 对于君主进谏也要首先使其信任，才可避免不良的效果，即“信而后谏，未信则以为谤己也。”
儒家虽然重视“信”，但并没有把“信”强调到绝对化的程度。孔子说：“言必信，行必果，径径然小人哉！” 孟子沿着孔子的这一思路，对孔子的这一思想做了进一步的阐述：“大人者，言不必信，行不必果，惟义所在。” 道德高尚的人不必拘泥于小信、小行，关键是要从道义的大局来处理“信”，符合道义的则“信”，不符合道义的则“不信”，不能因为求“信”、或拘泥于“信”而损害道义的大局。
从儒家的“诚”、“信”思想中，我们可以得到如下启示：
1、
要推行真实、诚恳的外交。
2、
要树立国际威信。 3、
要守信用，但不为信用所拘泥。
4、
订立国际约定、条约等一定要符合道义。
五、“贵和”——理想的关系境界
儒家重视“和”，以“和”为贵的思想流传很广，几乎为后世和大众所普遍接受。在国际关系和外交领域也有广泛的应用。如在50年代，中国同印度提出的“和平共处五项原则”，苏联首脑赫鲁晓夫所提出的“三和”外交路线等，都说明了中国儒家思想中“和”的精神的广远影响。“和”是儒家在处理人际关系、国家间关系所追求的一个理想的境界。
“和”在古汉语中的意思是：“顺也，谐也，不坚不柔也。” 《中庸》上说：“喜怒哀乐之未发，谓之中；发而皆中节，谓之和。”“和也者，天下之达道也。致中和，天地位焉，万物育焉。” 《中庸》上把人的感情表达符合礼仪称为“和”，并认为它是天下共通的大道。如果做到了“中”与“和”，天与地则各就其位，万物则发育生长。
孔子说：“礼之用，和为贵。” 意思是说，推行礼仪，应该不刚不柔，恰到好处才是可贵的。孟子则把“和”的思想直接用于人际关系。孟子说：“天时不如地利，地利不如人和。” 而《礼记》则把“和”的思想用到了理政、治国方面，称“发号出令而民说，谓之和”。 这体现了统治者与被统治者、国家的上与下之间“顺”与“谐”的关系。《礼记》还认为“义与信，和与仁、霸王之器也。有治民之意而无其器，则不成。” 它把“和”看作是统治人民的四个主要工具之一。而《尚书》则把“和”直接用到了各国的关系上。《尚书》在颂扬尧皇的丰功伟绩时说：“百姓昭明，协和万邦。” 说尧皇表彰和奖励好的百姓，努力协调和理顺各诸侯国之间的关系。由此可见，儒家对“和”的重视，从一般的事物，到人际关系，到理政治国，到国际关系都侵透了“和”的思想。
那么，“和”的精神对现代国际关系又有哪些可资借鉴的地方呢？
1、 要认识到“和”是各个国家生存和发展的基础。
要把“和”提升到国际关系理念中的一个高度地位，把它视为国家间生存与发展的基础，
2、 以“和”的精神作为处理对外关系的重要准则。
要把“和”的精神渗入到外交政策与活动中，与一切可以和好相处的国家和好相处。对难 3、
应该大力宣扬“和”的精神，把它作为具有中国特色的国际关系和外交理念在国际场 “和”是最具中国特色的一种思想文化。它不仅具有深刻的内涵，而且具有普遍的实用性和宽广的应用领域。因此，有必要大力推动各国深刻领会并接受中国的“和”的思想精髓。 4、
用“和”的精神主动去化解一些在外交和国际关系中现实存在的和历史上遗留下来的
六、“礼教”——秩序良性循环的约束机制
“礼教”思想是儒家思想中的重要组成部分。在文革时，它是儒家思想中遭到攻击和批判的主要靶子之一。被扣上了“害人的礼教”、“维护封建的待级制度”等大帽子。客观地说，在儒家的礼教思想中的确存在着一些糟粕性的东西。它不仅繁琐 ，对居于上位的人和统治者有利，而且，对人的思想和行为也有很大的束缚作用。但是，如果从它的合理内核来考虑，即使在今天，它的主旨仍然具有很大的积极意义。其中之一就是在“礼”的思想主导下，约束社会从上到下（君臣、父子、兄弟、夫妇、长幼、宾朋等）的每一个人，使其各司其职，各守其位，各尽其责。使人际关系和社会关系在“礼”的制约下协调发展，社会秩序获得良性循环。
礼记》上说：“夫礼者，所以定亲疏，决嫌疑，别同异，明是非也。” 意思说：所谓礼，是用来制定人际关系亲疏=判断事物地位疑惑、区别异同、阐明是非道理的。所谓“礼教”，即是修养礼仪的含义。“修”礼，谓之“教”。
儒家关于礼教的论述很多，除了专著《周礼》、《礼记》等，孔子和孟子也有很多论述。孔子说：“礼，与其奢也，宁简。丧，与其易也，宁戚。” “不知礼，无以立也。” “立于礼。” “君子义以为质，礼以行之”。 孔子还对“礼”的平衡功效进行了阐述：“恭而无礼则劳，慎而无礼则徙惠，勇而无礼则乱，直而无礼则绞。” 孟子说：“有礼者敬人”，“敬人者，人恒敬之。” “恭敬之心，礼也。”
孔子在谈到治国时说：“君事臣以礼，臣事君以忠。”“居上不宽，为礼不敬，临丧不哀，吾 何以观之哉？” “能以礼让为国乎？何有？不能以礼让为国，如礼何？” “安上治民，莫善于礼。” “上好礼，则民莫敢不敬”。 孔子对用“礼”来治国进行了多方面的阐述。孟子对于“礼”在治国上的作用说得更加直白：“无礼义，则上下乱。” 《礼记》中也强调了“礼”在治国上的重要性：“礼者，君之大柄也。” “礼之于正国也，犹衡之于轻重也，绳墨之于曲直也，规矩之于方圆也。” 并指出：忠信是“礼”的道德根本，义理是“礼”的表现形式。没有根本则无法建立“礼”，没有表现形式则无法推行“礼”。 “礼也者，合于天时，设于地财，顺于鬼神，合于人心，理万物者也。” 以此来说明“礼”是符合天地万物自然规律的，也制约着天地万物。“礼”还有能解除邪僻，增进事物的美好，纠正事物，实行圆通等作用。
由此可见，“礼”的作用是十分广泛的。它应用在人和社会上，主要是用来约束人心，维护上下秩序，平衡人的其他品格。不仅如此，“礼”在诸侯国之间也有严格的制约作用。在《礼记?王制》中把诸侯国分为“大国”、“次国”、“小国”三个等级，并按照这三个等级有相应的礼制规定。
在国际关系上，我们可以从四个方面来吸取“礼教”中合理的成分。
1、 国际关系要想正常、和谐地运作必须有“礼”来制约。
有人或许以为，有国际法的制约即可足矣，大可不必再搬出老掉牙的“礼”来。其实不然。
2、
把儒家“礼教”的精神实质与现行国际行为规范和国际礼仪相结合，研究制定新的国
3、 在国际上倡导各国各守本分，各尽其责。
大国应该承担大国的责任，小国有小国的义务；大国有大国的权利，小国也有自己应该分
4、 在国际关系中引进和推动“礼教”的实现，决不是什么独出心裁，不符合实际的主观 空想，而是尊重国际关系的客观规律，是从主观上进一步强化按照国际关系客观规律办事的意识。
外交、国际关系就象人类社会一样，其中自然存在着“礼”的因素和成分，只是我们没有把它系统、全面地整理发掘出来，没有把它理性化。孔孟所倡导的“礼教”是有其尊重自然规律，适应自然规律，按照自然规律办事的积极成分的。这也是它能在中国保持两千年兴盛的主要原因。它后来之所以衰败，一是出于社会客观环境的变化，特别是工业文明所造成的生产方式的变化及其它的相关改变使然；二是由于“礼教”在兴盛的过程中有逐渐走向繁琐、走向极端的倾向，所以它的衰败也就成了必然。衰败以后，为后世的人们所唾弃、鄙视，甚至抛弃了它的合理内核，这又走向了另一个极端。我们的任务就是要按照辩证法的思想，在外交和国际关系中，给它恢复起一个应有的恰当地位。而不能走把它捧上天，或贬之入地的极端。
七、“廉耻”——自律的坐标
“廉耻”是儒家自律思想中最重要的部分之一。它对后世有很大的影响。
“廉”在古汉语是“敛也，自检敛也”、“清也”，“洁，不滥浊也”等意思。 “廉耻”，就是对清洁、清白操守和羞辱心理的感觉。它是儒家借以反省自身道德和操守的重要凭借，是儒家追求完善自身高尚道德的有效机制。
早期儒家对“廉”的论述不多，对“耻”的论述则颇多。
孟子说：“可以取，可以无取，取伤廉。” 以此要求人们能注重操守，廉洁自律，不取无义之财。
孔子对“耻”的论述十分经典：“道之以政，齐之以刑，民免而无耻。道之以道，齐之以礼，有耻且格。” 如果仅仅以政令、法律来约束百姓的话，那么，百姓只是想逃避法律，没有廉耻之心。如果用道德来教育百姓，用礼教来约束百姓，百姓犯了错误有廉耻心，而且知道改正。
90年代初，伊拉克之所以敢冒险入侵科威特，在多方的劝告下还赖着不走，是因为萨达姆藐视国际法规，怀着可以逃避掉国际上强力干预的侥幸心理铤而走险。所以，法律在现代社会尽管不可或缺，但对于人和社会仍有很大的局限性。
一个道德高尚、懂得“礼教”的人或国家一旦犯了错误，会适应于其自身的道德水准有羞耻、悔改的意识，而不会出现因惧怕法律、就要设法逃避法律制裁的侥幸心理。所以，道德、廉耻、法律是内、中、外的关系。有道德才会有廉耻之心，有廉耻之心才能改正错误，即“过则勿惮改”， 才能进一步提高道德修养。而法律只能是外科手术式地解决问题，它难以影响到人的内心世界，并且很少或不给人以改正的机会。但是，在没有道德，缺乏廉耻的情况下，只是靠法律来解决显现出来的表象问题。相对于德治，儒家虽然不主张法治，但也不排斥运用法律手段，并赞成使用一些法律手段。
孔子对“耻”的论述很多，如：“敏而好学，不耻下问” 等。孔子还提出了判断耻辱的标准：“邦有道，贫且贱焉，耻也。邦无道，富且贵焉，耻也。” “邦有道，毅：邦无道，毅，耻也。” “古者言之不出，耻恭之不逮也。” “君子耻其言而过其行。” 孔子对“羞耻”感给予了很高的评价：“行己有耻：使于四方，不辱君命可谓士矣。” 《中庸》则引用孔子的话，对懂得“羞耻”的评价更高：“知、仁、勇三者，天下之达德也”。……“‘知耻近乎勇’”。 孔子虽然倡导士人要保持一颗羞耻之心，但却不赞成被动受辱，提出了避免耻辱的办法：“恭近于礼，远耻辱也。”
儒家的“廉耻”思想对国际关系有如下四点启示：
1、
有道德的国家要廉洁自律，不能唯利是图。比如说，有些发达国家为了保护好本国
2、
有道德的国家要严于律己，经常反省本国的对外政策和行为，对不当的地方要有羞耻
3、
有道德的国家要知不足有耻，谦虚并善于学习其他国家的长处，弥补本国的短处。惟
4、
有道德的国家要以实为本，言行一致，表里如一。耻于言过其行，或内厉外俱，或色
1.《周易·乾·文盲》。 10.参见，《孟子·公孙丑章句下》，“辅世长民莫如德”，“其
乐道，不如是不足与有为也。” |
It is most gratifying that in recent years the academic circles have been very active in the theoretical studies of international relations and published an endless series of academic research results. But on second thought one cannot help being worrisome because most of those results were introductions and evaluations of Western international relations theories and Western schools of thought. Even if some scholars tried to set up their own schools and build a self-independent theoretical framework, yet most of them could not escape the conventional Western theories and tended to offer some sort of evolution of Western international relations theories in China. China still falls short of its own international relations theory. It is even more acutely short of an overall outlook of world-accepted international values except for the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence.
All great powers that can lead the world forward must, apart from possessing considerable hardcore strength, occupy a prominent position in “soft strength,” such as ideas and values. This is a self-evident truth that has been proved time and again in both history and reality. As an emerging great country, China must not only stand up economically, but also ideologically and culturally. Otherwise China’s emergence will be only one-sided, or lopsided, lacking a force of inspiration. In a certain sense, ideological and cultural emergence is by no means easier than economic emergence. Confronted with such a predicament, we shall find it impossible to find a way out if we only dig from the present ideologies. To get rid of such an embarrassing situation, we must absorb nutrition and foster our forces by digging into the treasure house of ancient Chinese culture. In this treasure house, the Confucian ideology that has stood out as the Chinese orthodox for over 2000 years is a valuable gem worthy our assimilation. If we can introduce it into the theories of diplomacy and international relations, this will be certainly very beneficial to setting up a Chinese theory on diplomacy and international relations with international value significance. This article aims to make such an attempt under such guidelines and you are expected to offer your comments
I. Rule of Virtue: Basic to Nationwide Political Stability
Rule of virtue is central to Confucian thinking and theory. In the mind’s eye of Confucians, the rule of virtue is pivotal to overwhelming nationwide stability. The Great Learning says, “What the Great Learning teaches is to illustrate illustrious virtue.” “The ancients who wished to illustrate illustrious virtue throughout the empire, first ordered well their own States. Wishing to order well their States, they first regulated their families. Wishing to regulate their families, they first cultivated their persons. Wishing to cultivate their persons, they first rectified their own hearts. Wishing to rectify their hearts, they first sought to be sincere in their thoughts. Wishing to be sincere in their thoughts, they first extended to the utmost their knowledge. Such extension of knowledge lay in the investigation of things.” From this we can see that not only the Great Learning lies in illustrating illustrious virtue (virtue and morality), but also the proper order of a state lies in so doing. Only on the basis of ordering well a State can we go beyond the scope of a state and achieve great order throughout the empire.
The “superior man” expounded at full length in the Analects of Confucius implies none other than a man of lofty virtue and ethics. Not only so, but Confucius thinks that a superior man may further bring forth his virtue by being faithful and trustworthy. He says, “A superior man keeps upgrading his virtue and proficiency. Faithfulness and honesty means upgrading one’s virtue.” Meanwhile, he considers that only by ruling the country with virtue could the country be properly ruled. Hence, the saying: “Governance with virtue is just like the North Polar Star with the other stars in its accompaniment.” “Teach the people with virtue, make them well-behaved with rites and investigate into misconduct.” All these point to the importance of virtue in ruling the country and governing the people. Although Confucius did not explain clearly what virtue was, yet from the Confucian ideological system we can easily find out virtue has extensive implications. For example, the Great Learning teaches us “to rest in the highest excellence.” The Book of History tells us that virtue alone underlies virtuous governance, which consists in feeding and clothing the population.” It goes further to say, “Virtue consists in uprightness, inflexibility and flexibility.” Zi Zhang asked Confucius how to upgrade virtues, Confucius replied, “ Be faithful and honest, and uphold justice and you are virtuous.” So, according to Confucius, one can become virtuous so far as one practices faith and trust and adheres to what is just and fair. In the famous commentary by Zuo Qiuming on the Spring and Autumn Annals, virtue was further defined in detail, saying “Filial piety, faith and honesty are good virtues and robbery and evil-mindedness are bad virtues.” Zuo considered there were good and bad virtues, but his idea was not in the main stream of Confucian ideology. Tang thinker Han Yu considered virtue as something attached to a person or thing without any outside influence (“What we call virtue exists in it without outside influence.”)
In a word, in the view of Confucians, virtue is the positive side of man and things, symbolic of brightness, gentleness, righteousness, faithfulness, honesty, beauty, moderation and happiness. Others thought it as embracing benevolence, justice, rites, wisdom and trust. The rule of virtue means vigorously publicizing lofty morality to cultivate the people and bring about a moral atmosphere for all to abide by and thus to achieve lasting peace in the state and the empire.
A. To achieve stability and smooth survival and development, it is a must for a state to be virtuous.
According to Confucians, only in a state of virtue can the people live and work in peace and contentment. Only when harmony prevails inside can foreign aggression be warded off. This is the way leading to state stability, smooth survival and development. Or in the words of Mencius, “Localizing the people does not depend on closing the boundaries. Stabilizing the state does not depend on perilous mountains and rivers. Authority over the empire does not depend on military superiority. Righteousness will mean an abundance of support. Injustice will mean the loss of support. When there is an absolute loss of support, even relatives will go in revolt. When there is a great abundance of support, the empire will forge ahead smoothly… So a superior man is not warlike. But if he ever fights, he is invincible.”
B. To become powerful, a state must abide by morality and carry it forward.
Mencius says, Nothing is better than moral education to assist the king in ruling the state and to enable the people to improve themselves. It will be impossible to perform any great deeds without abiding by morality and pushing it forward with self-practice. Mencius cited examples of Emperor Tang of the Shang Dynasty and Emperor Wen of the Zhou Dynasty conquering the Empire by seventy li and one hundred li territories respectively. He used these examples to explain the importance of abiding by and carrying forward morality. He used those examples to expound how the Legendary Emperors got the support of the people and thus became strong as the focus of hope and expectations. The rationale was, conquest by force brings no sincere compliance. The compliance thus obtained is nothing but subordination to force. Persuasion by virtue will lead to sincere and even hearty compliance.”
C. In international relations if all countries abide by international virtues, the world will enjoy a lasting peaceful, harmonious and healthy development. If they don’t, the world will be in chaos. If certain isolated countries refuse to do so, they will be doomed to extinction.
It is easy to understand such Confucian thinking. For example, during the prime Tang Dynasty in China, when the East Asian countries absorbed the virtue-conscious Chinese culture, they were more or less at a stage of development characterized by relative stability and prosperity. In the Warring States period, when dukes did not discipline themselves with virtues, but were fighting each other, the empire was in great chaos and the people got killed and suffered greatly. During the Second World War, the German, Japanese and Italian fascists who, being extremely inhuman and rejecting international virtues, had run amuck with their mighty forces at one time all ended up in utter defeat.
D. Abiding by and carrying forward international virtues means adhering to the rule of virtue in international relations. Say, adhere to justice and oppose evils and hegemony instead of the big and strong bullying the small and weak, and so on.
II. “Benevolence”: Basis for the Founding of a Nation
Benevolence was an important Confucian advocacy in ruling states. According to Confucianism, whether a state practices benevolence or not has a vital bearing on whether the state can stabilize its ruling foundation and whether it can achieve prosperity or not.
Mencius went to see King Hui of Liang Kingdom. The king asked him if he had any counsel to profit his kingdom. But Mencius replied that a kingdom would be endangered if people from top down there were all scrambling for profit. He told the king that he might rule well his kingdom so far as his majesty practiced benevolence and righteousness, so why talking about profit? Those who practiced benevolence and righteousness by means of virtue might bring the populace to allegiance and popular allegiance might not necessarily depend on the mighty power of a kingdom. For Mencius, the three dynasties of Xia, Shang and Zhou had come to power because of benevolence and lost their power because of its abolition. “”This was true of the rise or fall, the prosperity or decline of a kingdom, too.” Mencius especially emphasized the importance of the top rulers practicing benevolence. As he claimed, “As the king is benevolent, so will all others be. As the king is righteous, so will all others be. If the king is just, so will all others be. Once the king is just, the kingdom will be stable.” Mencius cited the words of Confucius to indicate that the size of a kingdom’s population was not the yardstick for the commanding strength of benevolence. “ ‘ A king will be invincible if he is benevolent.’” On the contrary, the danger would be particularly grave if the top ruler was not benevolent. He said, “If the emperor is not benevolent, the empire will be in danger. If the duke is not benevolent, the dukedom will be in danger. If the ministers are not benevolent, the ancestor temples will be in danger. If the scholars and common people are not benevolent, their physiques will be in danger.”
But what was benevolence then? Mencius says, “Benevolence means the will of the people. “ “Benevolence means loving the people.” “Those love the people are always loved by the people.” “Taking pity on others is an expression of benevolence”. “ Confucius says, “Benevolence means selflessness and restoration to the rites. Once this is achieved, the empire will achieve benevolence.” “What is benevolence? It is none other than establishing others for the sake of establishing oneself and making others successful for the sake of making oneself successful.” Zi Gong asked about the doctrine of truth: “Would it be all right to salvage the people while being benevolent to them,” Confucius replied that this was beyond benevolence and was simply something fit for the sages. Confucius says, “Those who can practice five virtues in the empire are benevolent indeed. The five virtues are respectfulness, magnitude, honesty, acumen and kindness. Respectfulness dispels disrespectfulness. Magnitude gains popularity. Honesty brings trust. Acumen brings meritorious performance. Kindness brings willing service.” The Great Learning also teaches, “Only those who are benevolent can love or hate correctly.” “It is close to benevolence to be firm and steadfast, simple and slow.” A noble man is ready to lay down his own life in pursuit of or in defense of benevolence. “Men with high ideals never shun death at the sacrifice of benevolence. They prefer to die to achieve benevolence.” Once there is moral benevolence, there will be courage in deeds. According to Confucianism, benevolent rule means ruling the country and the people with charity, kindness, offering, wisdom and sincerity.
Confucian benevolent rule ideology has mainly the following four implications in international relations.
Benevolence rule in one country may lead to stability and prosperity of that country. Benevolence rule in all countries may lead to world stability and prosperity. Otherwise, the country will be restless. The world will be restless. Or in the words of Mencius, “Benevolence spells prosperity and non-benevolence, humiliation.”
2.
Be benevolence to other countries.
3. Apply benevolence to bind the pursuit of interests and put benevolence and interests into a proper order.
If in international relations all countries make their own interests the top priority, there will certainly arise a situation of non-benevolence to scramble for interests. If a country is allowed to damage the interests of another country for egoistic purposes, then the victimized country will certainly struggle for more interests to compensate it own loss, and even will inflict greater damages to those of the adversary. With such a malignant cycle going on, the world will definitely be in a great chaos. Therefore we should not advocate the slogan of national interests above everything else in international relations, but rather infiltrate the ideal of “benevolence” and apply it to bind the pursuit of interests.
4.
Grasp the essence of kindness and offering in benevolent rule
and give consideration to the multifarious changes and manifestations
of benevolence.
III. “Righteousness and Courage”: Model of Virtue
Righteousness and courage occupy a very important position in Confucian ideology. Pursuing after righteousness with courage as the supplement was the model of virtue aspired for by the Confucianism.
What was righteousness and courage then? Courage is easy to understand. “Courage means fearlessness.” So to be fearless means to be courageous. The implications of righteousness are more complicated and sophisticated. Mencius gave many interpretations on and metaphors to righteousness: “It is a sense of righteousness to be ashamed or to disgust.” ”It is righteous to respect the elders.” “Righteousness means the way man should follow.” “Don’t abandon the way and hold on to it.” The Book of Rites says, “ It is called a work of righteousness to remove all natural disasters.” In ancient Chinese, the character “righteousness ” resembles “moderation,” meaning aptitude or appropriateness, or proper fitness. It was extended to mean proper way, morality and justice, etc. The word righteousness sometimes pointed to its original meaning, sometimes to its extended meaning, and sometimes to both.
Mencius’ elucidation of righteousness and survival was resounding, stirring and world-shocking. He says, “Survival and righteousness are both my aspirations. If both were not obtainable, I would prefer the latter to the former.”
Confucius also had many expositions on righteousness. He says, “A superior man has no rigid demand on worldly affairs. He would consider it good so long as they are righteous.” “A superior man is keen on righteousness and an inferior man is keen on profits.” Confucius lauded Zi Chan for four virtues, one of which was his righteous approach to the people. “It would be worrisome for me if I found righteousness taught but not observed, and what was bad could not be improved.” “To be rich and distinguished without being righteous would be just like fleeting clouds to me.” “A superior man takes righteousness as a matter of quality.” “A superior man gives top priority to righteousness.” “It is virtuous to keep faith and honesty.” Meanwhile, “Righteousness” was a good way to rule. Confucius says, “When superiors favors righteousness, nobody dares disobey.”
From these expositions we can see the importance placed by Confucianism on righteousness. But what was then the proper relationship between righteousness and courage? Confucius says, “A superior man would cause confusion if he were courageous but not righteous. An inferior man would become a robber if he were courageous but not righteous.” From this we can see that righteousness should come first, being the commander and the fundamental element. We must not be courageous without being righteous. Only when we are courageous as well as righteous can we achieve perfection.
But what can we assimilate from righteousness and courage in international relations and diplomatic affairs?
1. A country should give top priority to the goal of righteousness and justice in handling diplomatic affairs and international relations.
To do so, it must be brave enough. Otherwise it may shun away from being righteous.
2. A country must never abandon righteousness in the face of profits, but must rather “think of righteousness at the sight of them.” It must acquire interests in a reasonable, legitimate and moral manner, just as the saying goes, “A superior man treasures wealth, but he is more mindful of the way how to get it.”
3.
While upholding justice, a country must be courageous to “meet
the challenges despite all dangers involved” .
4. A country of virtue should be brave in undertaking internal leading responsibility so as to better defend and develop virtues.
IV. Sincerity and Honesty: The Starting Point of Settling Down and Getting on to Work
Sincerity and honesty were Confucian political creeds and important codes for settling worldly affairs. They were the starting points and magic weapons for settling down and getting down to work.
Sincerity had many implications and interpretations in ancient Chinese. It meant “purity, no hypocrisy, truthfulness.” It also meant “respect, truthfulness and no falsehood.” “Sincerity” in Confucian works also basically carried such implications. “Honesty” in ancient Chinese implied “no suspicion, no fault and genuineness.” It was extended to mean “trustworthiness and credibility.”
There were many Confucian expositions on sincerity. The Doctrine of the Mean says, “Sincerity is the beginning and end of things. There would be nothing without sincerity. That is why a noble man treasures sincerity. Sincerity is not only a means to improve oneself, but a means to improve things.” So Confucianism regarded sincerity as the beginning and end of all things. Without sincerity, there would have been nothing. So according to Confucianism, a lofty-minded man thinks highly of sincerity. He would not only apply it to improve himself, but also to improve everything. Sincerity, i.e., truthfulness, is a feature bestowed to things by heaven. Cultivating truthfulness is within the framework of human activity.” “Those born sincere are sincere without any reluctance. They are sincere as a matter of course, without thinking about it. They naturally comply with the principle of heaven. These are sages. To achieve sincerity requires to set a good goal and strive for its realization unswervingly.” Confucianism also regards “sincerity” as the basis for rectifying the hearts, cultivating the persons, regulating the families, governing the states and bringing tranquillity and happiness to the empire. “Sincerity to the utmost” is the “supreme classics” for ruling an empire and the fundamental element for stabilizing it.
There were also many Confucian expositions on “honesty.” Confucius says, The ruler of a state armed with one thousand war chariots must be trustworthy in dealing with everything. He must economize human resources and use them only when necessary.” He admonished his disciples: “Be prudent and trustworthy, love the populace and be benevolent to all.” He propagated that “a superior man advocates faith and honesty.” On the contrary, a man without trust is beneath contempt. How can a big carriage or a small cart without shafts manage to move ahead? He taught his disciples mainly four different aspects, one of which was “honesty.” He advised them to “persist in studies with faith and uphold truth to the end of their lives.” Trustworthiness was considered as close to virtue, and so what was promised could be realized. “If promises are kept with faith and deeds are performed with respect, even a tribal state can be considered as good. If promises were not kept with faith and no deeds were performed with respect, what would be the use of being a prefecture organ?” “A superior man regards righteousness as the essence of quality… and supplements it with trustworthiness.”
Confucius not only emphasized trustworthiness in ordinary interpersonal relations, but also paid great attention to it in ruling the states. Zi Gong asked Confucius about the way to govern a state. Confucius replied, “ Adequate food, adequate soldiery and adequate trust from the populace. That will be enough.” Of these three, he said trust was the most important. “No ruler can establish himself without trust from the people.” He advised the rulers to “give higher remuneration to those who were faithful and trustworthy” when appointing scholars to official posts. And “this was what was known as scholar counselors.” “When the ruler is trustworthy, nobody dares disobey.” His disciple Zi Xia also said, “A superior man labors his subjects only when he has the credit of trust. He would rather labor himself before getting trust.” To admonish the ruler, one must become trustful to him first. Only in this way can one avoid bad results. “Admonish only when trusted. Otherwise, an admonition may be mistaken as a vilification.”
For all its stress on faith, Confucianism did not make it absolute. “What an inferior man one would be if he obstinately clung to keeping his minor promises and performing an insignificant deed!” Following this line of thinking, Mencius further elaborated the Confucian idea, saying: “A great man needs not keep every word of his, or stick to performing every deed. The gist lies in righteousness.” A noble man may not necessarily stick to minor faith and minor deed. The key is to treat “faith” from an overall situation of righteousness. Be faithful to what is righteous and don’t be faithful to what is not. Don’t let yourself jeopardize overall righteousness for the sake of being trustworthy on minor issues or sticking to minor trustworthiness.
From the “sincerity” and “honesty” concepts we can acquire the following revelations:
1.
We should push genuine and sincere diplomacy.
2.
We should set up international prestige.
3.
We should be trustworthy, but not become restrained by trustworthiness
on minor issues.
4.
We must comply with virtues in concluding international agreements
and treaties.
V. “Cherishing Peace”: An Ideal Relationship
Confucianism treasures peace and its idea of cherishing peace has been widespread. Such an idea has been almost universally accepted by the later generations. It has been widely applied in international relations and diplomatic fields as well. For example, in the 1950s China and India put forward the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence; Khruschev, head of the former Soviet Union, put forward the diplomatic line of peace, peaceful coexistence and peaceful transition. These were all manifestations of the extensive and far-reaching influence of Chinese Confucian “peaceful” spirit. “Peace” is an ideal realm pursued by Confucianism in handling interpersonal and state-to-state relations.
“Peace” in ancient Chinese meant “smoothness, harmony, or a state between tough and soft.” The Doctrine of the Mean says, “Unexpressed joy, anger, grief and happiness is described as “intermediate.” Intermediate expression of the moods is described as “peaceful expression.” “What is peace? It is the way leading to heavenly harmony. Provided that is properly positioned under heaven, all things will grow and flourish.” . The Doctrine of the Mean describes the ritual expression of human emotions as “peaceful expression” and regards it as the way leading to universal harmony. If intermediate and peaceful expression is achieved and well positioned in heaven and on earth, then all things will grow and prosper.
Confucius says, “In the application of Rites, peace is most valuable.” What he meant was in applying the rites we should be neither too rigid nor too soft. Appropriateness is most valuable. Mencius directly applied “peace” to interpersonal relationship. He says, “Climate and weather are not as important as geographical position. Geographic position is not as important as peaceful human relations.” The Rites applied “peace” to governance and rule of the state. It says, “ It is called peace if the people are happy with the state orders issued.” This was manifested in the “smooth and harmonious relationship between the ruler and the ruled, the superiors and the inferiors in a country. According to The Book of Rites, “ Righteousness and honesty, peace and benevolence are all means of domination. It will not be successful to rule without proper means.” It regarded “peace” as one of the four instruments for ruling the people. The Book of History directly applied “peace” to inter-state relationship. In praising Emperor Yao for his great achievements, it said, “His Majesty cited good people and harmonized all dukedoms.” Thus it praised him for citing and awarding the good people in an effort to coordinate and smooth out the relations among all dukedoms at the time. From this we can see the importance attached by Confucianism to “peace.” The ideology of “peace” was infiltrated into all spheres of life ranging from ordinary matters to interpersonal relations and to administrative governance, rule of dukedoms and inter-state relationships.
What are we to assimilate from the “peaceful spirit” in modern international relations then?
1. We should recognize that peace is the basis for all countries to survive and develop.
We should highlight “peace” as an ideal in international relations and cherish it as the basis for inter-state survival and development. As “peace” is the very basis for all things under heaven to multiply and thrive, so nothing could possibly be in place without “peace.” Nothing could possibly operate, evolve and develop regularly without it. Hence we should also emphasis peace in international relations. Without peace in international relations, countries could not possibly be in place either. They could not possibly operate and develop regularly either. We should not just give ordinary importance to “peace” in international relations. We should highlight the idea as the basis for state-to-state survival and development. In peace all nations can improve and develop themselves. In a world without peace countries will lose their proper positions, complaining against each other or even cherishing hatred for each other. This may lead to no way of survival and development and in some cases, may lead to national extinction.
2. We should make the spirit of “peace” as an important code for handling foreign relations.
We should infiltrate the spirit of peace into our foreign policy and diplomatic activities and coexist amicably with all countries that we can ever coexist amicably with. As to countries which it is difficult or it is still impossible for us to coexist amicably with, we should evaluate them according to moral principles and actively create conditions for amicable coexistence with those that comply with such principles. We should adopt an intermediate approach towards those that do not comply with them.
3. We should vigorously advocate the spirit of peace, initiate and carry it forward on international occasions as an ideal in international relations and diplomacy with Chinese characteristics.
“Peace” is an ideological culture with the strongest Chinese characteristic. It has not only profound implications, but also universal applicability and extensive application areas. Therefore it is necessary to push it among other countries so that they will understand and accept the essence of the “peaceful spirit” in Chinese ideology.
4. We should apply the spirit of peace on our initiative to overcome certain difficulties, realistic or left over by history, in diplomatic and international relations. We should in this way create more friendships and partnerships internationally and thus push internal peace to external peace and vice versa and solve the Taiwan issue at an earliest possible date.
VI. Ritual Doctrine: Control Mechanism for a Beneficial Cycle of Order
The Ritual Doctrine was an important component of Confucian thinking. During the “Cultural Revolution” it was one of the targets under fire in Confucianism. It was labeled as “harmful to the people,” “defending the feudal hierarchy.” Objectively speaking, there were certain dross elements in Confucian ritual thinking. It was not only extremely complicated and trifling, much to the advantage of the superiors and the rulers, but also very restrictive on man’s thinking and behavior. However, in terms of its rational internal core, the gist remains very positive even today. Among others, it offers the code for everybody in society (the ruler and minister, father and son, brothers, husband and wife, the elder and the young, friends) to perform his proper function, keep to his position and fulfil his duties. In this way under ritual restrictions interpersonal and social relations will develop in a well-coordinated manner and social order will follow a benevolent cycle.
The Book of Rites says, “What is the rites? It is the norm for determining the degree of intimacy, dispelling doubts, making distinction between differences and expounding the right and wrong.” It meant to say that the Rites was formulated to regulate intimacy and estrangement in human relations, to clarify doubts in the array of things, to make clear similarities and dissimilarities and to explain the right and wrong. The doctrine of rites implied the cultivation of ritual ceremonies. “Cultivating” rites was known as “indoctrinating.”
There were many Confucian expositions on ritual indoctrination. Apart from such monographs as The Rites of the Zhou Dynasty and the Book of Rites, Confucius and Mencius also made many expositions. Confucius says, “Rites prefer simplicity to luxury. A funeral ceremony prefers to be mournful than to be oversimplified.” “Nobody can establish himself without knowledge of rites.” “Establish yourself on the basis of rites.” “A superior man takes righteousness as the quality and behaves according to rites.” Confucius also explained the balancing effect of rites: “Reverence without rites is overdone. Prudence with rites is hesitant. Courage without rites means chaos. Straightforwardness without rites means killing.” Mencius says, “Those who act according to the rites are respectful of others.” “Those who respect others are always respected by others.” “ The sense of respect means rites.”
Speaking of governing the state, Confucius says, “The ruler should treat the ministers with rites and the ministers should serve the ruler with faith.” “How can I bear to see the superiors treating the inferiors without magnitude, assuming a presumptive air in the performance of rites and showing no grief in mourning ceremonies?” “Can we make the country more ritual and magnanimous? Why can we not? If the country is not ritual and magnanimous, what’s the use of the rites? “Nothing is more advisable than the rites in comforting the superiors and ruling the people.” If the ruler is ritual, nobody dares to be disrespectful.” Confucius elaborated extensively on the rule of rites. Mencius was even more straightforward in his elaboration of the topic. “The absence of rites and righteousness will lead to great confusion in superior-inferior relationship. The Book of Rites also emphasized the importance of rites in ruling the state. “Rites is a deadly means of the ruler.” “What rites is to state rectification is just like what scale is to the weight, what ink is to the curve or the straight line, and what rules are to performance.” It further pointed out that loyalty and honesty are the fundamental virtues of rites, and righteousness and rationale are the manifestations of rites. It is impossible to establish rites without the fundamentals, nor is it possible to push rites without forms of manifestation. “Rites is actually a means of governing everything as they comply with the weather, the wealth on earth, the ghosts and deities, and the will of the people.” “Rites can also remove evils, promote the rosy aspect of things, rectify matters and accomplish flexibility.
From this we can see rites are positive in many aspects. In terms of humans and society, they mainly aimed at restraining people’s will, defending the order between levels and balancing man’s other qualifications. Not only so, they also were highly restrictive of the relations among dukedoms. The Book of Rites says: the King System rated the dukedoms into three grades: the major ones, the secondary ones, and the minor ones. And ritual regulations were formulated accordingly.
In international relations we may assimilate the rational elements of the ritual doctrine in the following four aspects:
1. We must introduce “rites” for regulation if we are to have normal and harmonious international relations.
Some people may think it is enough to have the restraint of international law. Why introduce the obsolete “rites”? But this is not true. Law is an external forcible control system; it is rigid and inflexible in character. Rites, on the contrary, comply with the special features of human society. Deep-rooted in the hearts of the people, they are materialized into external behavior codes and standards. Falling within the framework of virtues, they are manifestations of inner-soul cultivation and external materialization. If we are able to popularize international virtues and international ritual doctrines and persuade all countries and their rulers into accepting them, then their international behaviors will come under the restraint of their own virtues and the ritual doctrines. Although ritual doctrines lack coercive restraint and exercise only soft restraint, yet they have exerted an imperceptible influence on human society and international relations indeed. Once deprived of rites, human society and international relations would lose the soft mediation agent, there would be an ill balance between rigidity and flexibility; hence the inevitable confusion in social relations and international order. Of course we must never think of the rites as a panacea, or as a substitution for all, but we may make use of rites as a rational attempt in the process of building a new international order.
2. We should combine the spiritual essence of rites with the current international behavior code and international protocol, work out, popularize and try hard to observe the principles of a new international ritual regulation.
3. We should encourage all countries to keep honesty and fulfill their respective responsibilities in the international arena.
Large countries should undertake their responsibilities as such; so should the small countries perform their duties as small countries. Large countries should have their rights as such; so should small countries share the international fruits due to them. The social significance of ritual teachings is mainly manifested in the fact that everybody in society is to perform his duty, or manifested in the benevolent cycle of social order. Therefore, according to spirit of ritual teachings all countries should be honest and fulfill their respective duties instead of blindly stressing the modern simplified ideal of equality as that in the West. As a matter of fact, no matter theoretically or practically, it is not only impossible, but also infeasible to place the large and small countries, the strong and weak countries, and the moral and immoral countries on the same bar and require of them to be equal without exception. This may even lead to the emergence of a new irrational, unjust, unrealistic approach and a new inequality. It would have been unjust to allow fascist Germany under Hitler rule to enjoy equality with anti-fascist democratic countries. It would be irrational and new inequality if a small country representing only a tiny population to have a veto right in the UN Security Council just like a country representing more than a huge population does. It would be unrealistic and impossible to require an extremely weak country to share the same security responsibility as a military power with tremendous armaments.
4. Introducing and pushing ritual doctrines into international relations is by no means a subjective Utopian idea that flies in the face of realities. On the contrary, it is intended, on the basis of respecting the objective laws governing international relations, to further strengthen the subjective awareness to handle things according to these objective laws.
Mencius says, “It is optional to take or not to take (an ill-gotten wealth). To take it will jeopardize honesty.” With this he admonishes others to be self-disciplined and observe honesty, warning them against acceptying ill-gotten wealth.
VII. “Honesty and Shame”: Coordinate of Self-discipline
Confucius made a classical elaboration on shame when he said, “If the people are restrained by orders and laws, they will shun them and feel no shame. If they are taught with virtues and rites, they will feel ashamed of their errors and correct them.”
That Iraq ventured to invade Kuwait in the 1990s and hanged on to that country despite advises from all sides to quit was because Husseine Saddam ignored international law and took the risk, trying to escape international interference through good luck. Therefore, although indispensable in modern society, laws remained of limited use in relation to man and society.
After committing an error, a lofty-minded or rites-conscious person or country will feel ashamed and remorseful according to the self-disciplining code of conduct instead of trying to escape legal sanctions by luck out of fears of legal sanction. Hence, morality, a sense of shame and law are a set of interior, middle and exterior relationships. Only those who are moral will feel ashamed, and only those who feel ashamed will correct their errors. “If you err, don’t hesitate to correct yourself.” Only in this way can we further enhance our moral cultivation. Law, on the other hand, can only offer a surgical type of solution. It can hardly impact the inner soul, and gives few if any chances to the erring party to correct himself. But when there is lack of morality and feeling of shame, we can only rely on law for settling emerging problems. Relative to the rule of virtue, Confucianism did not advocate the rule of law, but they did not exclude the application of law either. On the contrary, they did favor using certain legal means.
Confucius had made a great deal of elaboration on the feeling of shame. For example, he admonishes to be “keen on learning” and “not to feel ashamed to ask questions to one’s inferiors.” Confucius also raised a norm for judging shame. “It is a shame to be poor and held in disrespect in a moral society. It is a shame to be wealthy and luxurious in an immoral society.” “Take unhusked rice in a moral society, but it will be a shame if you do so in an immoral society.” “The ancients kept silence for fear of shame.” “A superior man gets ashamed of what he said and blames himself for his own deeds.” Confucius thinks highly of the sense of shame. “He who feels ashamed of his own deeds and never fails to fulfill his errand mission entrusted to him by the ruler can well be described as a successful official.” The Doctrine of the Mean quoted Confucius’s saying to give an even higher evaluation of the sense of shame: “Knowledge, benevolence and courage are the perfection of virtues.” … “ ‘To feel ashamed is close to courage.’ ” Although Confucius advocated that scholars should keep a sense of shame, he did not favor being humiliated passively. He proposed methods to avert humiliation: “Respectfulness is close to the rites and far away from shame and humiliation.”
Confucian “honesty and sense of shame” concept offers the following four revelations to international relations:
1. A moral country should be honest and self-disciplined and refrain from being self-seeking. Say for instance, to preserve their own ecological environment, some developed countries seldom fell their own trees, but import timber in large quantities from African countries, aggravating the ecological destruction and desertization there. Such immoral behavior should be criticized and held beneath contempt in the international community.
2. A moral country should be strictly self-disciplined. It should constantly examine its own foreign policy and behavior. It should feel ashamed of its misconduct and should correct it once it is found. This is just like what the saying goes, “The fault of a superior man is just like the eclipse of the sun or the moon. It is clear for everybody to see. When he corrects it, the people all admire him for it.” We should shape an international atmosphere where a country courageous in correcting its error should be given high evaluation.
3. A moral country should feel ashamed of its own fault. It should be modest and good at learning from the strong points of other countries to make up its own shortcomings. It should be ashamed of its own defects, but it should not consider it a matter of shame to learn or emulate from another country inferior to it.
4. A moral country should base itself on facts. It should be consistent in its words and deeds. It should think and act in one and the same way. It should be ashamed of boastful diplomatic styles such as talking big, fierce of mien, but faint of heart, or proneness to suppress its own resentment out of fear for external force.
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