Today, when "help or not" becomes a problem, evidence must be found before "save or not". People not only have no enthusiasm to help each other, but they may get into trouble if they are brave, and "everyone fears for himself" unfortunately becomes a reality. In China, a land of etiquette, the reconstruction of moral civilization has changed from the call of culture to the demand of reality. Facing the frustration and confusion of reality, we have to turn our eyes to tradition again, look for the original light of wisdom of Chinese civilization, draw strength from it and regain our confidence.
"three systems"
Technically, China has "four great inventions". In terms of cultural thought, China has "three systems", which have influenced and continue to influence the whole world.
first, the county system was established in the Qin dynasty, which is the originator of the current enterprise management system. Since the Qin Dynasty, the feudal system of the Zhou Dynasty was abolished and changed to the county system, thus establishing the management system of "emperor-prime minister", which is similar to the modern management system of "chairman-professional manager". This system has evolved into a board system adopted by multinational companies in Europe and America today, and property rights and management rights are separated.
Second, from the Han Dynasty's Emperor Wudi, "Confucianism was the only one". Confucianism has systematically standardized all classes, which not only stipulates how ordinary people behave, but also stipulates how emperors behave.
Third, the imperial examination system was established in the Sui Dynasty, which laid the foundation for the education system. In the past, the official selection system was mainly recommended by members of the royal family, so it was difficult for the people to enter the system, and there was no upward channel. Through the imperial examination selection, grassroots people can enter the "management team of the board of directors" and the prime minister can be done by non-governmental people. This led to the formation of a social atmosphere of "only reading is high" since the Sui Dynasty, and a large number of private schools appeared in society, which greatly promoted the culture and civilization of the Chinese nation.
These three aspects, including system, thought and culture, have formed China soft culture supported by civilization, order and values. Under this soft culture, a middle class, mainly gentry, has been created. There are both scholars who "don't bend their backs for five buckets of rice" and Confucian businessmen who "gentlemen love money and take it as a way". This cultural system has been exported to the whole world, and its influence on the world is no less than the "four great inventions".
new commercial civilization
in modern times, we have constantly denied ourselves in various sports, learned from the west, abandoned ourselves, and spilled dirty water with our children. The essence of our culture for thousands of years has been gradually abandoned, and there has been a phenomenon that "a gentleman loves money and has no way to take it".
Our generation of entrepreneurs should take the lead. First, we should abide by the legal system and act in accordance with the rules of the enterprise game, such as the provisions of the WTO. At the same time, we must inherit the values of "a gentleman loves money and takes it from the Tao". Our core is to rebuild Confucian businessmen and the values of commercial civilization in the new era.
for Confucian businessmen, "profit should be considered as the benefit of the world, and fame should be sought for the world", so as to truly achieve the level of "helping the world if it is achieved".
Japan's modern and developed commercial civilization is a combination of Confucian culture and modern rule of law. Shibusawa Eiichi, the father of Japanese enterprises, wrote The Analects of Confucius and Abacus, and creatively put forward the spiritual foundation of modern Confucian businessmen, which is "the unity of righteousness and benefit" and "the soul of scholars and businessmen". Kazuo inamori, who is admired by everyone now, is also a Confucian businessman, and most of his management thoughts come from Confucianism. In addition to Japan, South Korea, and our Taiwan Province, Confucianism and the rule of law are well combined, and a number of modern Confucian businessmen have emerged.
The Chinese Dream of Confucian Merchants
There is a famous saying in The Book of Rites University: "There is a road to making money: those who live are numerous, those who eat are few, those who are ill for it, and those who use it are comfortable, then wealth will be enough! The benevolent makes a fortune, and the unkind makes a fortune. " In the last two sentences, Zheng Xuan, a great scholar in the Eastern Han Dynasty, commented: "When a benevolent person has wealth, he should give it to others in order to make a name for himself;" Those who are unkind will devote themselves to collecting money in order to pursue the accumulation of wealth. "
China businessmen have the tradition of "benevolent". Zi Gong, a disciple of Confucius, is known as the originator of Confucian merchants. Sima Qian thought that the reason why Confucianism became a prominent school was largely due to Zi Gong's promotion. This tradition continued until the late Qing Dynasty and the Republic of China, and Zhang Jian was an outstanding representative. All his wealth was used to introduce new education, medical care and public facilities.
"Benevolence" is a loving heart, while "righteousness" is positive energy and courage to take responsibility; "Rite" is to obey the rules, "wisdom" is the spark of thought, and "faith" is the persistence of the heart.
In the modern sense, Confucian businessmen should first uphold honesty and create value for society, and meet people's needs from the public interest, which is "benevolence"; It is "righteousness" to carry forward positive energy and not take crooked ways; It is a "courtesy" to abide by the rules and be a defender of good business order; It is "wisdom" to have innovative thinking, be good at finding market gaps and seize opportunities; It is "faith" to have the bottom line of being a man and doing business, to be brave in defending one's inner conscience and to stick to honesty. Secondly, the courage to undertake social welfare and charitable responsibilities. It is the feelings of Confucian businessmen to "help the world at the same time". It is the responsibility of modern Confucian businessmen to gather the wealth of the world for the use of the world and feed the lack of it.