"Exaltation of the virtuous is fundamental to governance." Party committees and governments at all levels must earnestly implement Party and government policies concerning students and scholars studying abroad, and train more effectively and on a larger scale all kinds of talented people badly needed by our reform, opening up and modernization.
— Speech given by Xi Jinping at the centenary celebration of the Western Returned Scholars Association, October 21, 2013
Exaltation of the Virtuous Is Fundamental to Governance
—Creating a good environment for raising the talents the country badly needs
In his speech at the centenary celebration of the Western Returned Scholars Association, Xi Jinping emphasized the importance of having a team of top-quality people for realizing the dream of national rejuvenation. He said that China must "let those who return have the opportunity to make use of their abilities, and let those who stay overseas have a way to give back to their country." He demanded that all levels of Party committees and government departments truly recognize that "exaltation of the virtuous is fundamental to governance," and create a good environment for developing the talents the country badly needs.
The phrase "Exaltation of the virtuous is fundamental to governance" originated in Mozi: Exalting Virtue I: "In good times, virtuous officers must be promoted. When times are not good, virtuous officers likewise must be promoted. If the wish is to follow the Way of Yao, Shun, Yu and Tang, it is impossible not to exalt the virtuous. Indeed, 'exalting the virtuous' is the foundation of governance." This means respecting and praising talented individuals and employing them to work for the country.
Among pre-Qin (prior to 221 BC) thinkers, Mozi (c. 468-376 BC) had a special talent as he excelled in both civil and military affairs. He was not only a philosopher, thinker, and educator, but also a scientist and military strategist. Among all of the philosophers of the time, his Mohist school of thought stood alongside Confucianism, as both were said to be "eminent learning," which was reflected in the saying "if not a Confucian, then a Mohist." The book Mozi was not composed by just one person at one time, but rather compiled by generations of Mozi's adherents as a record of his words and deeds. Its content ranges from politics and military affairs to philosophy, ethics, logic, and science.
Mozi came up with ten theses of governance. If we say that "universal love" is the core of Mohist thought, then "moderation in use" and "exalting the virtuous" are two of its other main focuses. Exalting Virtue I explores the relationship between governance and exalting virtue, arguing that "exalting the virtuous" is the foundation of governance. Mozi believed that the reason that rulers were unable to govern their countries well at the time was, at the root, because they did not make good use of capable people. Therefore, he proposed overthrowing the clan concept that was based on blood relations. Instead, he argued, truly virtuous people from each class rather than the ruler's own relatives should be chosen and employed. Mozi's philosophy of exalting the virtuous was a clear attack on the Confucian concept of "In treating relatives as relatives, there are gradations. In respecting the virtuous, there are gradations." This was critical of the system of levels of feudal office established on the foundation of blood relations.
Mozi's notion of exalting the virtuous represented the tradition of "employing only the virtuous" in Chinese culture, and it had a great impact on subsequent generations. Essentials of Government of the Zhenguan Era says, "Choosing the right person is essential for governance," and Comprehensive Mirror in Aid of Governance states, "The key to good government lies in employing the right men." These all speak to the ever-unchanging principle that employing virtuous people is critical to ruling a country. Early leaders of the CPC, including Chen Duxiu, Cai Hesen, Deng Zhongxia, and Zhang Wentian, also advocated this Mohist idea, and Mao Zedong was a full supporter of the Mohist principle of only employing virtuous people. The CPC successfully traversing nearly a century of hard-fought history and sixty years of building the People's Republic of China is proof that employing the right people is key to success in governing a rising country.
Since the launch of the reform and opening-up policy, the Party and government have focused much on building a talented team, and have continually improved its recruiting mechanism. The Communiqué of the 17th CPC National Congress in 2007 listed "the strategy of strengthening the nation with trained personnel," "the strategy of rejuvenating the country through science and education," and "the strategy of sustainable development" as the three main strategies for further developing socialism with Chinese characteristics. It emphasized that we must work hard to develop world-leading scientists and top-rate innovators, in order to spark innovation and intelligent competition throughout society and raise great numbers of innovative talents.
Xi Jinping told all levels of Party and government authorities, "Exaltation of the virtuous is fundamental to governance," to show them that they must recognize that talents are the foundation to a strong country. It is not enough for individuals to have an eye for spotting talent like the legendary Bo Le, pursue talent doggedly just like Liu Bei who sought out Zhuge Liang, and show sincere respect to talent as the king of Qin did to Fan Ju. We must also more widely and effectively cultivate all types of talents that are urgently needed for reform, opening up, and modernization, and create a healthy environment in which they can grow. To allow the "sea turtles" who studied abroad and "local turtles" who studied in China become the talents needed for China's modernization, we not only need to attract more and better people, we also need to keep reforming the education system and innovate in our ways of cultivating talent. Throughout this entire process, we must discover and employ talents, train and refine talents, and attract and empower talents. This will give us an unending source of momentum for building an innovative country.
(An excerpt from XI JINPING: WIT AND VISION -- SELECTED QUOTATIONS AND COMMENTARY, published by FOREIGN LANGUAGES PRESS in 2015)
