Zhou Gong and the Cultural Tradition of Harmony

Ever since ancient times,China has been called land of courtesy and propriety. It is Zhou Gong,an aristocrat in the Zhou Dynasty about three thousand years ago,who first developed the ethics in politics and the cultural harmony among Chinese people.The ethic system represented by De,morality,and Xiao,piety;the sociality system represented by Li,courtesy,and Yue, music;and the political system represented by Dezhi,governing the nation with kindness,and Renzheng,loving the people,have formed the basic framework of the harmonious culture of the Chinese nation.These systems have been inherited by the Confucians,who have developed them into the deep foundation for the formation of the cultural character and historical development of Chinese people.