A Survey Of Pre-qin Confucian Concept Of Justice And Interest And Its Modern Value

What matters in the world is nothing but justice and interest. Justice and interest has eternal significance to human society. All human social activities are inseparable from interest. Whatever depth of knowledge people has, one should first correct their attitudes to justice and interest. Justice and interest, as the spiritual and material pursuit of human being, also play an important part in the relationship between ethical behavior and material interests. It's an "evergreen" Ethical Issue as well as a persistent topic in the history of Chinese Thought. Value of justice and interest is the fundamental views on their concept and relationship. Though the extensive and profound, heavy concisely Confucian concept of justice and interests belongs to traditional areas of Righteousness and Profit, It is not equivalent to the traditional concept of justice and interests. It is the core of Confucian ethical values and the basis of the contents of the Pre-Qin Confucian culture. It have laid a solid theoretical foundation, established the conceptual framework, casting a way of thinking, opens a source of ideas for the traditional concept of justice and interests and even standardize the look and character of traditional Chinese ethics from the perspective of values and value-oriented angle. It's the direction of Ancient Chinese moral values of social life and also is one of the guarantees that related to the success of China's modernization construction.This paper comprises three parts. The first part mainly discusses the Rationale of Confucian concept of justice and interest. Pre-Qin Confucian concept of justice and interests was formed and developed under the specific social and historical conditions of the spring and Autumn Period and the evolution of contending ideas of its one hundred schools. The author comprehensively expounded the social and historical conditions under which the Confucian concept of justice and interests was formed in Economic change, political change, and cultural change areas. Inheriting the Thinking zhou on justice and interests, Confucius, Mencius and Xun Zi's understanding of human nature is also its theoretical sources. The second part expounded and analyzed the profound content which implies in Pre-Qin Confucian concept of justice and interests by the application of dialectical materialism and historical materialism methods. It occupies a rich connotation and a profound theoretical basis, it adheres to the values of profit-based, justice-commanded system, residing interests in justice and controlling interests by justice. In particular, Confucius advocated the doctrine of Virtue values; Mencius insisted the moral concept which promotes justice while rejects interests, Xunzi implemented the moral value of owning both in the premise of justice having advantage over interests. It is based on respecting harmonious interpersonal relationships, focusing on self-moderate and justice-bond moral character, sticking to the idea that desire should be moderated rather than removed and contains the basic character of complying with the laws of nature. This part discusses the special value direction that implied in Pre-Qin Confucian concept of justice and interests on basis of these. The third part mainly discusses the significant historical and practical value of Pre-Qin Confucian concept of justice and interests. In accordance with the principles of integrating appropriate categories and severing present with past, this part gives a reasonable abandon of Pre-Qin Confucian concept of justice and interests, absorbing its essence and abandoning the dross, in order to achieve the purpose of serving the contemporary society. Therefore this paper adheres to the "justice controls interest" moral principle, establishes the correct values of justice and interests of individuals, affirms the legitimacy of individuals' pursuit of material interests, and advocates one's attaining interests concerns justice and focuses on personal spiritual pursuit, against the worship of money, to establish reasonable social value direction, emphases on the interests of society as a whole, against the self-serving parochialism to promote the market economy and establish the moral value of taking justice over interests and advocate the value of cherishing justice as well as putting interests seriously.