Development of the Confucianists Thinking on "Righteousness"

The thinking on righteousness and benefit emerged in Western Zhou,but as a theoretical notion it really appeared in the Spring and Autumn Period.Since then,the relationship between righteousness and benefit has become a couple of important realms in Chinese philosophy,and the debates about them have run through the development of Chinese philosophy.The exposition of Confucius,Mencius and Xun Tzu on the relationship between righteousness and benefit is right.Their basic idea is to stress righteousness and bypass benefit;however,righteousness and benefit are co-existing,so we cannot merely mention one of them.Yet Dong Zhongshu held the attitude of neglecting benefit;Zhu Xi,a famous Confucian in Song Dynasty,placed righteousness under the heavenly principles and human desires,with which he explains the relationship between righteousness and benefit.