Governance Based on Virtue

Wei Zheng Yi De compared "governance based on virtue to the North Star holding its fixed position in the sky while all the other stars revolve around it (The Analects of Confucius)." According to Confucius, the people will orbit around the ruler like stars around the North Star if he governs based on virtue. This idea is the foundation of Confucius' views on governance. He emphasized that rallying support from the people is central to governing a country, and that virtue significantly helps bring people's aspirations together. "Virtue-based governance" can be broken down into governing style and personality traits. Good style involves heeding the public and responding to their concerns, exercising benevolence, protecting the people's interests, and promoting their wellbeing. Ideal personality traits include the ability to cultivate good moral qualities, set good examples, and gain trust from the subject people. "Governance based on virtue" became the mainstay of ancient Chinese political thought, and its influence remains profound and enduring.

Contemporary China also accentuates the importance of virtue in state governance, emphasizing the combination of law-based and virtue-based governance. Besides, government officials are required to have political integrity, observe the code of conduct in public office, apply high moral standards in their private lives, and maintain political commitment.

為政以德

為政以德出自《論語·為政》，原文是“為政以德，譬如北辰，居其所而眾星拱之”。孔子認為，如果從政者能夠依據道德原則治理國家，那么他就會像北極星一樣安居于中央，百姓則像其他星辰一樣心悅誠服地環繞著他運行。這是孔子對于治國理政基本原則的具體論述。孔子強調，人心向背是國家治理的基礎，而道德能夠發揮持久的凝聚人心的作用。具體而言，“德治”思想包括兩方面內容：在治理方式上，強調從政者應該順應民意，施行仁政，維護人民利益， 增進人民福祉；在個人修養上，強調從政者應該注重培養自身道德品質，以身作則，形成道德感召力，從而被人民所信服。此后，“德治”成為中國古代政治思想的主流，對中國政治和文化的發展產生了深遠的影響。

當代中國治國理政的基本理念中，同樣重視以德治國，強調依法治國和以德治國相結合，并且高度重視政府官員的道德操守，將“明大德、守公德、嚴私德、立政德”作為對政府官員的基本要求。