Journal of Literature and Art Studies, ISSN 2159-5836
December 2014, Vol. 4, No. 12, 1129-1133
The Influence of Confucius’ Moral Standards on Wellbeing of
Academics in Higher Education in China in the Context of the
Chinese Dream*
MA Wen-ying, LIU Xi
Changchun Univesity, Changchun, China
The Chinese Dream, adopted by General Secretary Xi Jinping, was used and spread in China. It is about Chinese
prosperity, collective effort, socialism and national glory. It is also about the welfare, wellbeing, and quality of life
of every Chinese. Academics in higher education in China are facing changes both across the globe and in China,
they must take the challenges. This paper does research on wellbeing of the academics from the aspects of the
definition of wellbeing, the situation both in the world and in China, the Chinese concept of happiness, the possible
influence of Confucius moral standards on wellbeing of Chinese. This paper may help school leaders implement
policies that foster effective work environment in the new era in China.
Keywords: wellbeing, Confucius’ moral standards, the Chinese dream, academics, higher education, China
All Rights Reserved.
Introduction
In general use the term wellbeing describes a person’s state of happiness (Diener, 2009). Current research on wellbeing has been derived from two general perspectives: hedonism (Kahneman, Diener, & Schwarz, 1999) and
eudaimonism (Waterman, 1993). Hedonism posits that wellbeing is pleasure attainment and pain avoidance.
Eudaimonism focuses on self-realisation and emphasises that wellbeing is the personal fully functioning. The
happiness and pleasure of hedonism are obtained from the successful pursuit of human goals, while the happiness
and pleasure of eudaimonism arise from integrity to one’s true self, which is understood to be natural and
universal. Thus people’s wellbeing is seen as a psychological state, and it is interpreted as a fulfilment of a natural
human potentiality, needs to be nurtured by society and culture in order for individuals to feel happy. Therefore,
people’s wellbeing is dependent on their adjustment to the values and norms of their culture. Diener and Suh
worship
(2000) formulated this cultural relativistic position in the following way: “If societies have different sets of values,
people in them are likely to consider different criteria relevant when judging the success of the society” (p. 3). By
the success of the society they mean the ability by which the society provides for conditions for people to
* This paper is a part of the results of the academic project “Research on psychological rights of lecturers in higher education in
China”.
MA Wen-ying, Ph.D., associate professor, School of Foreign Languages, Changchun Univesity.
LIU Xi, M.A., lecturer, School of Foreign Languages, Changchun Univesity.
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THE INFLUENCE OF CONFUCIUS’ MORAL STANDARDS
accomplish their own values and goals. As the values and goals are predetermined by their society, the better
people are adjusted to their social environment, the better their sense of wellbeing.
This paper aims to do research on wellbeing of academics in higher education in China. China is in a new era with the development in economy and international relations. The Chinese Dream, adopted by President Xi,
Jinping as a slogan began to be used and spread in the whole China. In this case, how do the academics in the
universities work and how do they perceive their wellbeing under this context? Let’s begin to discuss the issue
with the situation of academics in higher education in China.
The Chinese Dream and the Situation of Academics in Higher Education in China
The “Chinese Dream” has been a popular topic of recent days. It embodies the aspiration of all Chinese people for a beautiful country and better life. The Chinese Dream was elaborated by General Secretary Xi Jinping
at the closing ceremony of the 1st session of the 12th NPC, 2013. President Xi has described the dream as
“national rejuvenation, improvement of people’s livelihoods, prosperity, construction of a better society and
military strengthening”. Xi Jinping has also claimed that the Chinese dream is about Chinese prosperity,
collective effort, socialism and national glory. In short, the Chinese dream is about the welfare, well-being, and
quality of life of every Chinese today and in future.
To the academics in higher education in China, their work is complex, and located in contexts that are both demanding (of knowledge, classroom management, and teaching skills) and emotionally and intellectually
challenging” (Day, 2005, p. 13). They are facing new changes both across the globe and in China. In the world, in
the 21st century, change is a constant in institutions of higher education across the globe and no less so in China. All Rights Reserved.
According to Lee (2008), the changes are changes in the university students (e.g., greater diversity, higher
proportion of women, and greater concern for future employment); changes in the professoriate (e.g., greater
diversity and increase in vulnerability due to increases in part-time and sessional appointments); changes in
academic administration (e.g., administrators increasingly professionally trained as administrators rath
er than as
academics); and internationalisation (increase in the number of foreign students as well as closer links among
universities).
In China, the Fourth National Education Conference, which was held in July 2010, presented an outline of China’s education reform and development with mid-term and long-term projections. The aim is to build a
modern education system and to become a strong society through increasing the quality of education (Han, 2010).
To achieve the required quality of education, policies have been introduced that have two primary foci:
enhancing the teaching capability of lecturers and further implementing educational reform. That is, on the one
hand, personnel, lecturers, and administrators must change their methods of teaching and conducting
administration. On the other hand, from the perspective of the institutions, the management system must be
transformed to be consistent with educational reforms. Following the institution of the new national policies,
educational leaders and administrators have been encouraged to adopt management policies in which traditional
Chinese culture, socialist values, and modern entrepreneurial values are integrated.
The changes across the globe and in China create a pervasive sense of unfamiliarity for academics who have lived their lives in those context. They are facing new challenges. As the academics’ values and goals are shaped
THE INFLUENCE OF CONFUCIUS’ MORAL STANDARDS1131
by the Chinese culture. It might be expected that the better the academics are adjusted to their social environment,
the better their sense of wellbeing.
The Concept of Confucius on Wellbeing and Happiness
Concepts are moulded by culture. Chinese culture has its own cultural perspectives on wellbeing. 福or福气(fu or fu qi) is the happiness in Chinese ancient thoughts (Lu, 2001). Fu appeared as early as the bone
inscriptions of the Shang Dynasty. It meant “presenting the filled wine container at the altar” (Bauer, 1976). The
original meaning of Fu was the desires expressed by humans when they worshiped a god.
Later, in the Shang Shu (a book of documents) in Zhangguo phase (475-221 BC) in the history of China, the word “fu” meant “longevity, prosperity, health, peace, virtue, and a comfortable death” (Wu, 1991). In another
important ancient work, Classic of Ritual, “fu” meant “fortunate, lucky, smooth and free of obstacles”. This
suggests that the Chinese people’s conception of happiness seems to include material abundance, physical health,
virtuosity and peaceful life.
In the history of folk philosophies of China, there were three philosophies which influenced Chinese concepts of happiness: Confucianism, Taoism and Buddhism (Lu, 2001). These are now addressed in turn.
Confucius was the first Chinese philosopher to formulate a thought system (Lu, 2001). In The Book of Conversations, which records dialogues with his disciples, Confucius did not talk about 福(fu), rather, he
proposed 礼(li), meaning ritual, as the most important concept of his system. Confucians valued ritual more
than mundane happiness. Confucius spent his life touring countries, introducing his thoughts on Chinese
humanism to each ruler. He suggested that a wise ruler should rule with “virtue” and treat people equally by using
礼(li). People can then regard virtue and礼(li) as matters of personal concern in their social categories.
All Rights Reserved.
Confucian philosophy postulates that happiness is integral in accomplishing life goals; accumulating material
resources by hard work and frugality; obtaining respectable social status by intellectual labour; having a virtuous
life by suppression of selfish and earthly desires; and ultimately, fulfilling one’s social duties. In summary,
“Confucians regarded happiness as spiritual, not material; as moral, not circumstantial; as self-identified, not
other-judged” (Lu, 2001, p. 411). This discussion turns now to Taoism—another of the three major systems of
Chinese thought.
Taoism rejects the philosophy that material happiness leads to satisfaction and the Confucian idea of h
appiness as constant self-cultivation to achieve moral greatness. Taoists advocate that everything in the universe
must follow道(tao), which was interpreted as a great natural force that made everything start in the first place.
Taoism posits无为(wu wei)，which means not-doing, and asserts that perfect happiness is the absence of
happiness, and perfect glory is the absence of glory. Happiness in Taoism is to liberate human beings from all
desires, through following the natural force of not doing anything, accepting fate calmly and facing life with a
peaceful mind. They called this state天人合一(tian ren he yi). Taoists have a lifestyle of withdrawal, isolation,
and quietness. Happiness in Taoism, therefore, “is not an emotional feeling of joy, rather, it is a cognitive insight
and transcendence” (Lu, 2001, p. 411).
In contrast with Confucianism and Taoism, Buddhism is not an indigenous Chinese philosophy. However, it influenced Chinese beliefs for over a thousand years after it was introduced from India in Tang Dynasty.
Buddhism argued that “there is no such thing as absolute, lasting happiness in life, all existence on earth was
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poisoned by unhappiness from the very start, and only ‘nirvana’ can offer salvation” (Lu, 2001, P. 412). After
nirvana, humans can not only turn away from the world, but also from happiness itself. Buddhism posits that
humans lift their souls to reach nirvana and eternal happiness through physical exercises, meditation, doing
charitable deeds and eliminating all human desires (Lu, 2001).
According to Lockett (1988), Chinese traditional cultural heritage—Confucian of moral standards regulate Chinese behaviour in the greatest extent. It influenced Chinese wellbeing in the following six aspects: harmony;
group orientation; guanxi (relationships); self-learning and diligence. How these Confucian moral standards
influence the wellbeing of academics in the context of the Chinese Dream will be discussed in the following
paragraphs.
Harmony
Confucianism emphasises harmony as a social standard (Ginsberg, 1975). This can be traced in some old sayings in China. For example, 国泰民安(guotaiminan), refers to the country being prosperous and people
living in peace. 安居乐业(anjuleye) refers to people who live and work in peace and contentment. 家和万事兴
(jiahewanshixing) refers to harmony between family members and how this makes everything prosper. These
sayings express social harmony in Chinese society. In the university, academics view their schools as a big family
and try to build and maintain harmonious relationships (Liu, 2003). Chinese believe that harmony contributes to
unity in resolving problems. 同舟共济(tongzhougongji) refers to working together with harmony and
faithfulness in times of difficulty in the school. Academics are expected to go through “thick and thin” with their
university (Han, 2010).
Group Orientation
All Rights Reserved.
Collective outcome or group orientation is another Confucian social moral standard (Earley, 1989).
Confucianism emphasises that a human being is not an individual, but rather a member of a family; people in the
society are interdependent. The family in Chinese can be translated into家(jia). A group is a big family, which in
Chinese means大家(dajia). Country refers to national family, which in Chinese means国家(guojia). Therefore,
being a member of a family, one is expected to contribute to the betterment of the family (Liu, 2003). Conformity
to group orientation means individuals are subordinate in their personal interests with respect to the goals of the
group (Earley, 1989). In the university, high levels of group orientation can enhance academics’ collective
identity; thus increase the group potency and performance (Han, 2010).
Guanxi
Guanxi means “relationships”. It can be found in伦(lun), which “are moral principles regarding interactive behaviours of related parties” (X. Chen & C. C. Chen, 2004, p. 308). Guanxi involves positive relationships at the
interpersonal level and at the level of the group. By belonging to a community and being aware of what is going
on, academics feel secure and develop a sense of harmony with the lecturers’ group.
Diligence
The next social moral standard in the Analects of Confucius (Yuan, 2001), which is a record of the words and behaviours of Confucius and his students, is a diligent work ethic. Confucian thought postulates that “when a
person is given a great responsibility, heaven may test him with hardship and frustrated efforts in order to toughen
his nature and show up his inadequacies” (Han, 2010, p. 40). Consequently, a sense of diligence transcends the
THE INFLUENCE OF CONFUCIUS’ MORAL STANDARDS1133
whole life of the Chinese individual. Confucian thought states that diligence brings fortune. Therefore, those
people who are diligent and endure the hardship of favourable or unfavourable conditions are respected. In the
school, lecturers are likely to be diligent and persistent in work so that they may contribute to the betterment of
the school.
Self-learning
Self-learning or education is another social moral standard emphasised by Confucian thought (Yuan, 2001).
Influenced by Confucians, Chinese employees develop themselves in order to achieve their educational goals.
Academics learn knowledge and skills to adapt changes in the external environment. Thus, self-learning plays an
important role at work in acquiring, reflecting, contributing, and carrying out knowledge to reach spiritual and
moral development.
Conclusion
The wellbeing in higher education in China can be regarded as a mental state of satisfaction and contentment: as positive feelings/emotions; as a harmonious homeostasis; as achievement and hope; and as freedom from ill
being. The happiness is also a state of being where one maintains a harmonious relationship with oneself, and
with the environment. This harmonious relationship is of fundamental importance to one’s survival and
wellbeing. The academics in higher education can achieve wellbeing through: the wisdom of harmony; the
wisdom of group orientation; the the wisdom of guanxi; wisdom of diligence; and the wisdom of self-learning.
References
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