Rén, as the fundamental virtue of Confucianism, means benevolence, love, kindness, charity, compassion, altruism, goodness, or perfect virtue. Although rén has appeared as many as 105 times in the Analects³, Confucius never gave a formal definition on the concept of rén (Tao, 2000). However, from the sayings of Confucius, the underlying notion of rén is love (Tao, 2000).

[Rén]is to “love all men [and women]” (Confucius, trans, 1971, p. 260).

Filial piety and brotherly [and sisterly] submission are “the root of all benevolent actions” (Confucius, trans, 1971, p. 139).

Five things constitute perfect virtue of rén: “Gravity, generosity of soul, sincerity, earnestness, and kindness” (Confucius, trans, 1971, p. 320).

According to Tao (2000), the concept of rén has two meanings: “As a particular virtue, rén refers to the virtues of benevolence and altruistic concern for others. As a general virtue, rén stands for perfect virtue, goodness or moral perfection” (Tao, 2000, p. 12). Thus, rén encompasses every virtue in a perfect human being, from virtue of benevolence to righteousness, propriety, loyalty, forgiveness, filial piety, and courage. Chan (2008) explained rén from both personal and interpersonal aspects. According to Chan, rén starts in an individual self, extends to the family and others, and ultimately to the whole world. As Mencius stated (as cited in Chan, 2008),

Yì has been translated as righteousness, which may be an equivalent to justice in words and actions (Yearley, 2003). Confucius defined yì as doing the right thing for the right reason. He said, “The superior man [and woman], in the world, does not set his [her] mind either for anything, or against anything; what is right he [she] will follow” (Confucius, trans, 1971, p.168). Thus, yì is “‘oughtness’ of a situation” (Feng, 1948, p. 42). Researchers suggested that yì concerns whether an action is morally right or wrong, and tells people what the right thing is to do in right situations (Cua, 2003; Feng, 1948). In the Analects, Confucius (trans, 1971) stated “The mind of the superior man is conversant with righteousness [yì]; the mind of the mean man is conversant with gain [lì or profit]” (p.170). That yì is placed in opposition to lì implies that a virtuous person acts according to what ought to be done rather than what he or she may profit.

Lǐ originally meant to sacrifice in a religious ceremony. In Confucianism, lǐ is an all-embracing system of norms (Hershock & Ames, 2006) including the traditions, social customs, propriety, etiquette, politeness, and legal rules. According to Schwartz (1985), lǐ is “the cement of the entire normative sociopolitical order” because it “involves the behavior of persons related to each other in terms of role, status, rank, and position within a [hierarchically] structured society” (p. 67). In Confucian society, social order and political stability were maintained through the system of lǐ and the observance of lǐ.

For Confucius, to practice lǐ and establish a well-ordered society, the key issue was the rectification of names (Confucius, trans, 1971). For example, each thing has a name. “Every name contains certain implications which constitute the essence of that class of things to which this name applies” (Feng, 1948, p. 41). Things in actuality should be made to agree with the implications attached to the names or the essence of the things (Feng, 1948). According to Confucius (trans, 1971),

Confucius proposed that a commonly shared set of names and the ethical meaning of names be established to help people to understand and the norms be formed to follow according to their roles and positions in social relationships (Chan, 2008). For example, in social relationships, such names as ruler, minister, father, mother, son, and daughter entail different responsibilities and duties. The individuals who bear these names must fulfill their responsibilities and duties accordingly (Feng, 1948). When everyone knows his or her place in the social order and play his or her part well, namely, “when the prince is prince, and the minister is minister; when the father is father, and the son is son, there is government (Confucius, trans, 1971, p. 256).

Zhì, translated as knowing, understanding, and wisdom, is one of the Confucius cardinal virtues possessed by a superior person. Thus, it is one essential quality that virtuous leaders should have. Confucius defined a person with zhì (i.e., a wise man or woman) as being knowledgeable and free from doubts. When Fan Chi, a Confucius’ disciple, asked about zhì, Confucius (trans, 1971) remarked, “To give oneself earnestly to the duties due to men, and while respecting spiritual beings, to keep aloof from them, may be called wisdom” (p.191). To become a person with zhì, that person should learn from various possible sources and enjoy the acquisition of a variety of knowledge. Confucius believed (trans, 2002), “There must be a teacher for a person in a group of three” (p. 202).

A superior person or a true leader is a person with zhì and yì. He or she should not only have expertise, talent, and ability and diligently pursue the enrichment of the knowing, understanding, and wisdom through arduous learning and investigation, but he or she should also care about people, know and do what is appropriate for them, and be willing to serve the common good (“To Zhi is to understand,” 2006; Xu, 2011). Confucius endowed zhì with a moral connotation and demanded that talented individuals with moral integrity be placed in leadership position (Hsiao, 1979; Xu, 2011). As noted in the Great Learning (Confucius, trans, 1971),

Xìn (honesty, truthfulness or faithfulness) is another cardinal virtue in Confucianism, which emphasizes being honest, telling the truth, and keeping up with what one has promised. Truthfulness or faithfulness is regarded by Confucius as the basis in interpersonal communication and for governing people and administrating a state. Confucius (trans, 1971) taught to his disciples, “[You should] hold faithfulness and sincerity as first principles [and] have no friends not equal to yourself. When you have faults, do not fear to abandon them” (p. 141). He compared the truthfulness to the cross-bar to which oxen are yoked. Without it, the cart cannot be moved. He doubted that a person without truthfulness could succeed in doing anything. Honesty and truthfulness are very important leadership qualities. Rulers (or leaders) should be honest and faithful with their words being consistent with their actions and by taking the responsibility for and learning from their mistakes. In this way, they would win the faith of the people, for example, “if the people have no faith in their ruler [leader], there is no standing for the State” (Confucius, trans, 1971, p. 254).

Zhōng and shù are two ways of practicing rén. Zhōng (loyalty, doing one’s utmost) reflects the positive aspect of the practice of rén. It demands people to have a conscience for others (Feng, 1948) and to be considerate of others (Li, 2008). That is, do to others what you wish for yourself. Shù (reciprocity and altruism) represents the negative aspect of the practice of rén. Shù tells people to follow Confucius’ golden rule of never imposing on others what they themselves do not desire (Feng, 1948). In other words, true leaders allow others to maintain different opinions and never infringe upon others’ rights. They value otherness and differences and embrace pluralism and diversity (Sackney, Walker, & Mitchell, 1999).

According to Confucius, xiào (filial piety) is the root of all virtues and thus is regarded as the greatest of virtues. Xiào refers to showing the respect and obedience towards both the living parents and the dead ancestors. According to Confucius, a well-established government of the state begins with regulating the family and moral teachings should be first of all practiced in the family. As Confucius (trans, 1971) said in the Great Learning⁴,

Confucian humane and benevolent leadership has its deep root in the Confucian virtue, rén (benevolence), which is a perfect virtue encompassing all other virtues (e.g., lǐ, zhì, xìn, zhōng, shù, and xiào). Confucianism regards rén as the highest moral principle or the virtue of virtues (Bell & Chaibong, 2003). When Chi Kang asked how a ruler should practice rén and help people to attain rén, Confucius (trans, 1971) said, “Let him [her] preside over them with gravity; then they will reverence him [her]. Let him [her] be filial and kind to all; then they will be faithful to him [her]. Let him [her] advance the good and teach the incompetent; then they will eagerly seek to be virtuous” (p. 152). In Confucianism, the ultimate goal of human life is to cultivate oneself to be a fully human being to become a jūn zǐ (i.e., a superior man or woman) (Rosemont, 2008). A jūn zǐ is a person of rén who loves and cares for his [her] people, understands their needs as human beings, lives and acts according to righteousness, and observes appropriate rites and rituals. If the ruler lacks benevolence and acts inhumanely towards his subjects, he runs the risk of losing the Mandate of Heaven, the right to rule (Bass & Steidlmeier, 1998).

Humane and benevolent elements have long been found to exist and currently prevail in Confucian East Asian organizations (Dore, 1973; Farh & Cheng, 2000; Redding, 1990; Wang & Cheng, 2010; Westwood & Chan, 1992). As early as the 1970s, Dore (1973), in British Factory, Japanese Factory, suggested that Confucianism may have brought a more humane element to labor-management relations in Japan’s industrial development than was observed in the West. He stated,

Benevolence is identified as one of the common elements in paternalistic leadership that fit in Chinese management and organizations based on the study of business organizations in the People’s Republic of China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong (Farh & Cheng, 2000; Pun, Chin, & Lau, 2000; Redding, 1990; Silin, 1976; Westwood & Chan, 1992). According to Farh and Cheng (2000), authority is combined with “fatherly benevolence and moral integrity” (p. 84) in paternalistic leadership. On one hand, a leader takes the responsibility of protecting and caring the followers; on the other hand, the subordinates have the obligation of paying respect, loyalty, and commitment towards the leaders.

Recently researchers have shown that humane and benevolent elements permeate the actions of Confucian leaders and their leadership (Farh & Cheng, 2000; Redding, 1990; Wang & Cheng, 2010). For example, Cheung and Chan (2005) examined the relationships of Chinese philosophies with managerial practices based on dialogues with five eminent corporate executive officers (CEOs) in Hong Kong. They found that these CEOs conducted benevolent leadership, which has been manifested in terms of sympathy, friendliness, forgiveness, trust, need fulfillment, and paternalism. In addition, Farh, Liang, Chou, and Cheng (2008) reported that benevolent leadership behaviors can be demonstrated both within and beyond professional relationships, such as providing mentoring, giving support in subordinates’ professional development, face-saving in public, treating subordinates as family members, assisting subordinates in their personal crisis, and even showing concerns over subordinates’ personal issues.

Confucius believed that humane governance can be established, social harmony thus being achieved through implementation of rén, observance of lǐ, and people’s natural morality, rather than by using force and coercion (Richard, 2007). Confucius (trans, 1971) noted,

The governance through people’s natural morality was similarly stated by Sergiovanni and Starratt (2002), “moral authority [or leadership] is derived from the obligations and duties that [followers] feel as a result of their connection to widely shared community values, ideas, and ideals” (p.35). When moral authority is in place, leaders will rely less on external controls because these norms and values substitute direct supervision as followers feel duties and obligations by becoming self-managing.

The CEO of Haier Group, Zhang Ruimin, exemplified Confucian virtues of rén (benevolence),yì (righteousness), lǐ (rules of propriety), zhì (wisdom), and xìn (honesty and trustworthiness). Zhang’s leadership philosophy is employee-centric and people-oriented. At the beginning of his leadership, he guaranteed the payment of salaries to workers, but demanded the rules and regulations be obeyed. Far from being intimidated by the disciplines, employees obtained a sense of security and thus had faith in him. When employees’ natural morality was aroused, their morale was greatly boosted. In a word, he believes that employees should be provided with sufficient room “to create value and to achieve self-realization” (Zhang, 2007, p.144).

Confucian ethical and moral leadership can be traced to Confucian virtues of rén (benevolence and humaneness), yì (righteousness and justice), and lǐ (rules of propriety, rites and rituals), which “provide the basic architecture of the Confucian moral edifice” (Ip, 2011, p. 686). According to Ip (2011), in Confucianism, rén and yì are ordained to ground morality, while lǐ is deemed as “the shaper and binder of morality” (p. 686). Therefore, rén, yì, and lǐ constitute a basic system of moral virtues that define human morality and guide human actions and relations (Ip, 2011). Rén and yì can be established through the observance of lǐ. In addition, zhì (wisdom) and xìn (trustworthiness) guarantee the practice of Confucius’ moral principles of benevolence and righteousness, faithful observance of rules of propriety, and fulfillment of moral and social responsibility. Xiào (filial piety) is the first step towards the moral excellence in Confucianism. For Confucius, “nurturing respect and obedience through daily family transactions was critical in creating and maintaining the moral order” (Cummins, 1983).

In Confucianism, jūn zǐ as a moral perfection has a commitment to the moral virtues of rén, yì, and lǐ. Confucius (as cited in Bass & Steidlmeier, 1998) once said

In Confucianism, the concept of moral leadership entails three connotations: (a) zhèng míng (rectification of names); (b) self-cultivation; and (c) leading by example. The process of rectifying names is in essence that of performing and observing lǐ (rules of propriety). Confucian leaders practice moral leadership not only through observing rules and regulations themselves but also by helping people to understand and follow the norms according to the rules of propriety (Chan, 2008). In addition, Confucian leaders build character and moral leadership through self-discipline and self-cultivation and exemplary teaching. Exemplary teaching, “as a standard of inspiration, invites voluntary participation” (Tu, 1999, p. 2). Confucius (trans, 2002) once said “Government is being correct. If you give a lead in being correct, who would dare to be incorrect” (pp. 114-115)? Confucius (trans, 2002) also stressed, “If a man [woman] manages to make himself [herself] correct, what [difficulty] is there to taking office for him [her]? If he [she] cannot make himself [herself] correct, what business has he [she] with making others correct” (pp. 124-125)?

Moral character has been viewed and used as an important benchmark for leadership selection and evaluation in Chinese cultural contexts. For example, when Misumi’s PM (i.e., performance and maintenance) leadership theory was adapted for use in mainland China, the researcher found it necessary to add an additional leadership factor, character, to adequately characterize Chinese leadership (Xu, 1989). Another example is when examining Chinese implicit leadership, Ling, Chia, and Fang (2000) revealed that 622 participants from five different social groups gave high ratings to four dimensions including personal morality, goal effectiveness, interpersonal competency, and versatility. Personal morality explained the largest amount (35.79%) of the variance, suggesting that Chinese participants considered moral character as the most important feature of leadership.

Yì pertains to ethical and moral leadership, which demands that leaders have a sense of social responsibility by putting yì (righteousness) before lì (profit) and considering what is best for most of people. By interviewing 47 Confucian entrepreneurs during 1997-2000, Cheung and King (2004) examined the practice of righteousness with profitability by Chinese entrepreneurs. The researchers found that Confucian entrepreneurs observed the Confucian virtue of yì and never pursued lì at the expense of yì. They commented,

Rén is “the central concept of Confucian ethics, and the concept of care” (Li, 2008, p.175). According to Confucius, a person of rén understands the needs of others and cares for the development of others (Chan, 2008; Li, 2008). Confucianism advocates reciprocal humanitarian leadership and “encourages leaders to enhance positive moral values and higher order needs of followers” (Lee, 2001, p. 6).

According to Confucius (trans, 1971),

In Confucianism, moral leaders “engage virtue in self, others and society through example and virtuous conducts” (Bass & Steidlmeier, 1998, p. 9) and in so doing, they transform themselves, others, and society accordingly.

The leadership concept based on Confucian virtues and ethics (benevolence and righteousness) has congruence with the transformational leadership. Burns (1978) noted that transformational leadership,

More recently, researchers have indicated that effective leaders in contemporary Chinese organizations possess the qualities of transformational leadership and implement transnational leadership (Bozionelos & Leung, 2004). For example, Yang (2010) examined 18 Chinese higher educational leaders’ leadership. She found that the majority of these leaders demonstrated benevolent, moral, and transformational leadership behaviors. They described their leadership behaviors as a function of (a) caring for, respecting, supporting, and facilitating colleagues and students; (b) providing public services to them; (c) helping them to make accomplishment; (d) leading by example; (e) doing whatever is the best for their organizational units; and (f) having a sense of responsibility to communities and the society. Moreover, based on a sample of 186 family businesses in China, Gao, Bai, and Shi (2011) explored the practice of transformational leadership style (i.e., moral modeling, vision articulation, individualized consideration, and leader charisma) in these businesses and examined its impact on employees’ commitment. The study results identified that a high level of transformational leadership has been adopted by the owners of these family businesses and the exercise of transformational leadership has a positive effect on promoting the family employees’ organizational commitment.

Professional and expert leadershipis congruent with the Confucian virtue of zhì (wisdom). Confucianism by itself means scholarism in Chinese (Feng, 1948), which advocates learning. In Confucianism, learning is regarded as the primary means by which a person acquires knowledge, wisdom, virtues, and moral rectitude (Cheung & Chan, 2005). Confucius advised people to learn not only by thinking and experiencing, but also through self-reflection. He said, “Learning without thought is labor lost; thought without learning is perilous” (Confucius, trans, 1971, p.150) and “When we see men of worth, we should think of equaling them; when we see men of a contrary character, we should turn inwards and examine ourselves” (Confucius, 1971, trans, p.170).

Merit-based selection rests within Confucian values and traditions (Aufrecht & Li, 1995). In Confucian societies, learned people or scholars are considered to be the ideal leaders due to their learning, wisdom, competence, and moral virtues to govern the country (Bell, 1999). This is evidenced by civil service examinations that have been used to select talented and virtuous, learned scholars for the position of management and governance throughout the history of China (Aufrecht & Li, 1995).

According to Sergiovanni and Starratt (2002), professional authority or leadership is based on “the informed knowledge of the craft of [leading] and on the personal expertise of [leaders]” (p. 34) and the leader’s ability to make judgments based on the situations. The study by Cheung and Chan (2005) on Hong Kong business CEOs revealed that those CEOs emphasized the importance of continuing learning from others and of acquiring a variety of knowledge and even new knowledge. These CEOs’ leadership that is endowed with knowledge and wisdom greatly benefits their leadership effectiveness and business success.

Paternalistic, bureaucratic, and authoritarian leadership approaches have the roots in Confucian virtues of lǐ (rites and rituals, rules of propriety), zhōng (loyalty), and xiào (filial piety or filial devotion), The essence of observance of lǐ, zhōng, and xiào is to implement the Confucian ideology of respecting authority and accepting hierarchy based upon which these three leadership approaches can be established and practiced.

Confucianism regards the state and the family as a unity, called Guó Jiā, with the family as a microcosm of the state and the state an enlargement of the family (Tu, 1999). In such a “state-family, the ruler’s relation to the subjects is like that of a father to his children” (Li, 2008, p. 176). Xiào (filial piety or filial devotion) and zhōng (loyalty) play important roles in maintaining and balancing various social relationships between parents and children and rulers and subordinates. Within the familiar society, the rulers act like parents who take care of the subordinates’ well-beings, forgive their mistakes, and help enhance their virtues, while the subordinates should show obedience and pledge loyalty toward the rulers.

In a Confucian society, social order and political stability are maintained through a system of lǐ (rites and rituals) and observance of lǐ (rules of propriety). Confucius emphasized the importance of observing lǐ in achieving self-fulfillment and social harmony. To attain perfect virtues and self-fulfillment, Confucius (trans, 1971) advised people, “To subdue one’s self and return to propriety.... Look not at what is contrary to propriety, listen not to what is contrary to propriety; speak not what is contrary to propriety; make no movement which is contrary to propriety” (p. 250). To achieve social harmony, Confucius (trans, 1971) noted, “Respectfulness, without the rules of propriety, becomes laborious bustle; carefulness, without the rules of propriety, becomes timidity; boldness, without the rules of propriety, becomes insubordination; straightforwardness, without the rules of propriety, becomes rudeness” (p. 208). The establishment and implementation of rules, regulations, and policies is indispensable for the effective leadership in organizations. However, the rigidity of policy implementation can only result in bureaucratic leadership practice which “relies heavily on hierarchy, rules and regulations, mandates, and clearly communicated role expectations as a way to provide [people] with a script to follow” (Sergiovanni & Starratt, 2002, p. 29).

Despite the essentiality of lǐ, lǐ has its negative implications of hierarchical relations for authoritarian leadership practice. Lǐ designated the hierarchy of social relationships and the differentiation of roles and duties (Chan, 2008). The hierarchical social relationships were reflected in the five cardinal relationships called Wǔ Lún, i.e., ruler and minister, father and son, husband and wife, elder brother and younger brother, and friend and friend. With Wǔ Lún regulating the human relationships, the ruler has absolute authority over the subjects and demands absolute loyalty from the subjects (Lin, 2008).

Confucian cultural tradition of respect to authority and acceptance of hierarchy was largely inherited and carried on by modern East Asian cultures. Pun, Chin, and Lau (2000) observed that Chinese management and organizations are shaped by collective orientation, social relations, paternalistic approach, and acceptance of hierarchy. In addition, Farh and Cheng (2000), in their cultural analysis of paternalistic leadership in Chinese business organizations, identified benevolence, moral leadership, and authoritarianism as three common elements that constitute paternalistic leadership.

Authoritarian leadership is no longer preferably accepted in contemporary East Asian organizations due to the universalization of liberal ideology and the democratization process of East Asian societies (Inoguchi & Newman, 1997). However, Lin (2008) summarized that authoritarianism or authoritarian leadership is manifested in at least the three aspects: giving directives for the subordinates to follow, centralized decision making, and large power distance. Also, studying the generalizability of leader behaviors (i.e. leader supportiveness, contingent reward, charismatic, participativeness, directiveness, and contingent punishment), among a total of 1,598 managers and professionals of large multinational or national companies located in the United States, Mexico, Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan, Dorfman et al. (1997) indicated that leader directiveness has positive effects in Taiwan, which help clarify performance expectations and task assignment and thus increase subordinates’ satisfaction with supervision and reduce role ambiguity (Dorfman et al., 1997; Lin, 2008). In addition, Chen (1995) observed that due to a large power distance in Chinese organizations, leaders have more authority to make centralized decision making and expect subordinates’ implementation of decisions and they also have more authority to access and use organizational resources.

In 2001, Lee examined Confucian thought affecting leadership and organizational culture in South Korean higher education. His study showed that hierarchically authoritative leadership behaviors were practiced with a highly centralized closed system, age-ranking system, and masculine dominant culture being established throughout all Korean higher education institutions.