Confucius on Leadership and Virtue: What Makes a True Leader?

3·26 The Master said, “If those in authority are not generous, if they are not reverent in their observance of the rites, if they are not sorrowful at funerals, what shall I look upon in them?”

【Translation】

Confucius said, “If those in authority are not generous, if they are not reverent in their observance of the rites, if they are not sorrowful at funerals, how can I look upon them?”

[Analysis]

Confucius advocated the implementation of “rule by virtue” and “rule by ritual,” which first proposed moral requirements for those in power. If those in power fail to meet the requirements of “ritual,” and if they lack sufficient moral cultivation, then the country cannot be governed. The situation of the collapse of ritual and music in society at that time had already made Confucius feel intolerable.