The structure of traditional Chinese politics originates from ethical re-lationships.Ethics emanating from human nature,which serve as guidance and regulation for specific political practices,constitute the internal basis of traditional political order.The relationship between father and son is the essence of kinship ethics,and the relationship between monarch and subject is the core of political ethics.According to the Confucian understanding of human nature,filial piety(xiao)is the fundamental display of benevolence(ren),while loyalty(zhong)is,to a large extent,the requirement of filial piety.However,loyalty has its own emotional basis independent of filial piety.The way a son treats his father differs from the way a subject treats his monarch,so there might be tension between filial piety and loyalty in certain circumstances.Confucian rites dissolve the tension by properly dealing with inner emotions such as affection for kin(qinqin),respect for the honorable(zunzun),love,and piety.However,in history,when a monarch or a senior official is obsessed with power,the political operation will degenerate into a game of in-terests that is against human nature,thus often leading to the spoiling and even the collapse of political order.
filial piety and loyaltymonarch and subjectfather and sonpoliti-cal orderethics
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