The Modern Reference Of Confucian Administrative Ethics

In recent years, with the noticeable emergence of bureaucracy and corruption in administration, researches and practice on administrative ethics are receiving increasing attention. Based on an analysis of the historical connotation and present position of Confucian administrative ethics, the researcher explores the concrete ways to the modern reference of Confucian administrative ethics for the needs of present China's administrative ethics construction.With a long history and rich connotations, Confucian administrative ethics, following the rising of "ruling with morality" , has set up a theoretical system consisting of the following ideas: If one is the best qualified to be king, he must have righteousness in his mind, be able to put the people in the first position, and equally value the ethical codes and laws in ruling his kingdom. As a product of traditional China in a specific historical period, Confucian administrative ethics is featured with both a valueless reasonable core and some historical limitation that can't be ignored.Social morality is always concrete and historical. With the ecological transition of administrative ethics, Confucian administrative ethics has doubtlessly lost its dominant position in ideology in a modern society characterized by market economy, democratic policy and citizenship. However, as a traditional ethics resource, it is still highly valued for its modern reference.The modern reference of Confucian administrative ethics should center on the objective needs of the administrative ethics construction at present China. Based on critical inheriting, the theoretical exceeding and creative applying of Confucian administrative ethics can be described in the following four aspects: (1) by developing what is useful and discarding what is not reasonable in the doctrine of "assume power for the people", we need to stick to the principle of "to serve the people" ; (2) by refining the Confucian doctrine of "ruling with laws and ethical codes" , we need to make a possible combination of ruling with laws and ruling with ethics; (3) by overcoming the Confucian shortcoming of ignoring systematic construction, we need to improve the system restrictions and encouragement mechanism for the administrative ethics construction; (4)by resorting to the rich resource of Confucian ethics, we need to enhance the cultivation of the ethical qualities of China's administrators.