III. People-oriented Thinking

In ancient China, the status and strength of the people were recognized long ago. The Book of Historical Documents says, “The people are the root of a country; the root firm, the country is tranquil.” People-oriented thinking is a political doctrine that regards the people as the root of peace and governance, stressing the people’s interests. This doctrine recognizes and values the position of the people in the economic, political, and moral life of society, reflects the aspirations of the people at large, and is well received by the people.

The people-oriented thinking, which can be traced back to the system of “abdicating and passing down the throne to another person (shan rang zhi),” was fully embodied in the Zhou Dynasty’s idea of “worshiping Heaven and respecting the people (jing tian bao min).” Later, Confucianism inherited this idea and made it an important concept for rulers to govern the country. The word “min，民” (people) in Origin of Chinese Characters means “the sprouting of crops.” In early times, the people were directly related to agriculture as laborers and producers, but later they came to refer to producers in different fields, i.e., the manual laborers referred to by Mencius (372-289 BC), which were ruled by the “mental laborers.” In traditional Chinese society, the king was the supreme ruler, while the ministers and the officials who exercised political power were appointed and ennobled by the king. The people, on the other hand, were at the bottom of the hierarchy and belonged to the working class, mainly consisting of peasants, as well as some craftsmen, merchants, and landlords, who created wealth through their own labor but had to bear heavy taxation and did not have the right to participate in politics and governance. People-based thinking means that the people are the foundation of the state.

People-oriented thinking is the opposite of god-centered and monarch-centered ideas. The ancients were unable to make a correct interpretation of the objective world, so they developed the concept of “God.” According to the oracle bone script, “Emperor” and “Heaven,” the highest religious symbols of faith, were already present in the early consciousness and concepts of the Chinese ancestors. Before the Shang and Zhou dynasties, myths and legends, such as Shennong Discovering the Curative Virtues of Plants and Yu the Great Taming the Flood, reflected the instinctive sense of responsibility expressed by tribal leaders toward their tribal members during the primitive period. The accounts of the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors also reflect the initial people-oriented thinking.

During the Spring and Autumn and the Warring States Periods, when society was in turmoil and social deterioration was worsened, the people’s power was manifested in overthrowing the old regime and establishing a new one, and traditional people-oriented thinking began to take shape systematically and theoretically. The Tso Chuan reads, “The people are the masters of the gods.” Guliang Annals says, “The people are the basis of the king.” Mencius said, “The people are the most important element in a state; the spirits of the land and the grain are secondary; and the sovereign is the least.” Hsun-Tzu (313-238 BC) put forward his statement that “the water that bears the boat is the same that swallows it up.” People-oriented thinking is also reflected in the decision-making concerning the interests of the people. The Book of Historical Documents says, “Heaven sees as my people see; Heaven hears as my people hear.” The Kuan Tzu says, “Good governance pleases people’s heart; bad governance thwarts people’s will.” The Lü’s Commentaries of History says, “There has never been a case where the black-haired people were free from cold and hunger, where the king was not well regarded.” Mencius said, “When one rejoices in the joy of his people, they will also rejoice in his joy; when one grieves at the sorrow of his people, they do the same. He who rules his country occupies himself with concerns for the pleasure and sorrow of all his people. No ruler can accomplish anything without the support of the people.”

The people-oriented thinking advocates that officials should provide security and wealth for the people. Mo Tzu cherished the people’s hard work and advocated practicing economy. Mencius pointed out that “if the people are well fed and clothed, it is easy to be crowned.” To feed and clothe the people, it is necessary to create industries for the people. The open-minded rulers believed that they should “regard the people’s opinions and feelings as their own.” Confucianism mainly advocates the implementation of the virtuous rule, such as “no one can stop the unification of the country by the virtuous rule” and “the people would come to you like water running downhill.” In this way, the status of God was weakened while that of the people was elevated. The concepts of “a monarch is selected for the people” and “the people are above the ruler” became the guideline of the rudimentary code of the relations between the monarch and the people.

During the Han and Tang dynasties, people-oriented thinking was systematically established and put into practice. In Tung Chung-shu’s view, the ruler, in lieu of heavenly justice, must exercise virtuous governance to appease the people, while the people must follow the will of God. Jia Yi, (200-168 BC) a political critic, believed that the people were the basis of the state and that the monarch should be people-oriented in the process of governance by benefiting the people, loving the people, and being prudent in punishment. During the early stages of their governance, since all the new monarchs experienced the cruel truth of the old governments being overthrown due to tyranny, they paid more attention to the policy of leniency, love, and care for the people in their governance strategy. For example, after the fall of the Qin government, Chao Cuo (200-154 BC), the Prime Minister of the Western Han Dynasty (202 BC- 8 AD), advocated the implementation of policies such as “encouraging agricultural production and grain storage,” “land reclamation and rent reduction, handing over grain to the government in exchange for titles,” and “paying a tax of one-thirtieth of the annual harvest.” During Emperor Wen (202-157 BC) and Emperor Jing (188-141 BC) of Han, the emperors took the lead in farming, lightened the corvée and tax, and encouraged agriculture production and silkworm breeding. Emperor Wen of Han issued three edicts: “to reduce the land rental rate by half,”“to reduce the agricultural taxes by half,” and “to completely exempt field rent.” Emperor Taizong of Tang (598-649), often discussed with his ministers the experience and lessons of the rise and fall of successive dynasties, especially that of the Sui Dynasty (581-619). They came to a conclusion that “the person who practices the virtuous rule shall be made king, and the one who does not shall be uncrowned by the people.” (Political Commentaries of the Zhenguan Reign) “The king is subject to the state, and the state is subject to the people.” (History as a Mirror) “People are the root of the state.” (Political Commentaries of the Zhenguan Reign) Emperor Taizong took the initiative to adopt the advice of Wei Zheng (580-643)and other ministers on “the virtuous governance to give a rest to people and the country.” In his administration, he followed the farming season, put the people first, encouraged land reclamation, built water conservancy, and reduced the corvée and taxes, thus creating the Prosperous Era of Zhenguan Reign.

During the Ming and Qing dynasties, the capitalist mode of production sprouted, and accordingly, the sprout of democratic ideas emerged. Huang Zongyi (1610-1695) advocated that “the stability or turmoil of a country do not lie in the prosperity or decline of a particular dynasty, but in the comfort or sorrow of its people.” Tang Zhen (1630-1704)of the same period argued from the perspective of human equality that“people are the foundation of the state,” and even fiercely accused all emperors and kings since the Qin Dynasty of being robbers and thieves, emphasizing that those who governed the country must not betray and abuse the people, but benefit them. Wang Fuzhi (1619-1692), a thinker in the late Ming and early Qing dynasties, emphasized the importance of “treating the civilians with leniency,” “harsh discipline on officials,” and “going deep among the masses,” and argued for the people-oriented ideology from the perspective of the materialistic view of nature. In practice, when the Qing government was founded, the rulers adopted many appeasement measures and rehabilitation policies to consolidate the new regime’s rule. In 1710, the provinces in the south of the Yangtze River had a deficit of a large sum of money. Someone suggested reducing the salaries of the lower officials and servicemen for three years to make up the deficit. Emperor Kangxi (1654-1722) refused the suggestion flatly for fear of harming the interests of the people. For several times, the emperor also said “no” to the proposals of increasing the mining tax.

To sum up, the traditional Chinese people-oriented thinking can be roughly summarized as follows:

1. To benefit the people and make them prosperous. The enlightened politicians in ancient China attached importance to improving people’s livelihood. Zhang Juzheng (1525-1582), a prime minister of the Ming Dynasty, believed that the people were the country’s foundation and rulers must concern their livelihood. He had repeatedly advised Emperor Wanli (1563-1620) to put the practicing economy and caring for the people as a matter of priority. He urged to punish the local tyrants and the corrupted officials and implement the unified taxation system. According to The History of Ming Dynasty, the Ming government integrated the field tax, corvée, and irregular taxes of all prefectures and counties and used silver taels as the target for collection according to the actual acreage of land. This approach effectively simplified the taxation procedures and reduced the tax burden of farmers, which played a positive role in promoting agricultural development and commercial booming at that time.

2. To cater to the people and rally public support politically. It was emphasized that the foundation of the state lies in the people, and that the ruler must serve the people and take the worries and happiness of the people as the criterion of governance. The Confucian doctrine guides the ruler’s way of governance and restrains thoughts and behaviors that go against public opinion to win the support of the people and achieve stable governance and sustainable development of the country.

3. To cultivate and moralize the people in culture. Traditional people-oriented thinking reflects an obvious moralization, such as advocating patriotism, virtue, loyalty, an optimistic attitude toward life, etc. It also includes a diversity of other educational methods. In The Analects of Confucius, Confucius put forward that education should be offered to all people without discrimination (you jiao wu lei), and everybody could enjoy the opportunity to be educated. Confucius always used different teaching strategies for each disciple according to their character traits and abilities(yin cai shi jiao). In addition, this process of education also attaches great importance to the character-forming moralization, such as “self-discipline when being alone,” “self-reflection,” and “amending one’s ways.”

4. Officials should care about and serve the people. Jia Yi summed up the lessons of the fall of the Qin government and emphasized the importance of loving the people, being virtuous and righteous, and conducting good governance. The king could change his policies and remove the officials, but he could not afford any choice of changing his people. Su Shi, a famous Chinese poet and an upright official in the Song Dynasty, wrote in Sighing for the Lychees: “I wish the country a favorable climate and the people living in peace and prosperity.” Su Shi’s achievements in flood control in Xuzhou and disaster relief, epidemic control, and water conservancy in Hangzhou were wholeheartedly appreciated by the people. Wang Fuzhi believed that the heavy taxes and corvée were the root cause of the people’s poverty and advocated that “the civilians should be treated with leniency” to reduce the people’s burden economically. On this basis, he proposed to “grant the people estate, recuperate and build up the strength of the people, and modify the relief policies.” Zheng Banqiao (1693-1765), a famous painter and writer in the Qing Dynasty who had served as a county magistrate for 12 years in Fan County and Weichen County (now Weifang City, Shandong Province), was deeply concerned about the people’s hardships. “While lying down in the study, I heard the sound of wind blowing the bamboo and immediately thought of the grievances of the people.” He often went deep into the countryside and markets and visited the poor to learn the truth of their livelihood. During his tenure as a magistrate, he actively took measures to reduce the tax, make the lawsuit simple, and be prudent with the punishment. He also recuperated and built up the strength of the people so that the people could live and work in peace and happiness.

5. The monarch should be “prudent with punishment” and “compassionate people” in governance. Some of the legal systems introduced in ancient China reflect people-oriented thinking to some extent. In the judicial system, “prudent punishment” is a case in point. The Rites of Chow records the system of “Five Judgments” (to learn the psychological activity of the suspected from the words, facial expressions, respiration, emotions, and spirit) for trials, the earliest record of prudent punishment in China. The Law on Trial and Imprisonment of the Tang Dynasty also provides that “all adjudication of crimes must be conducted according to the law, and the violators will be flogged 30 times.” In The Book of Historical Documents, it says, “Let compassion rule in punishment.” In addition, the trial system of direct trials conducted by emperors or senior officials, petitions, reviews of the death penalty, court trials, autumn final trials, etc., reflect the idea of “prudent punishment” and “compassion for the people.”

Traditional Chinese people-oriented thinking is the essence of ancient Chinese culture and has profoundly impacted China’s political and economic development. Many elements of people-oriented thinking promote the country’s wealth and strength and contribute to social harmony and stability. These ideas have also become the key ideas of the mass line of the Communist Party of China (CPC), and the concepts of “serving the people” and “people-centered” governance all originated from the traditional Chinese people-oriented thinking.