ABSTRACT
Based on the Confucian ethic, there has been established a code of conduct which permeated Chinese society since at least the Han Dynasty. Each person was to know his place and act accordingly. The rules governing social intercourse were to be leavened by compassion and concern for others. Thus, human attributes made the established norms less rigid. Any deviation from these norms was attributed first to failure of the family to instill them properly; second, to failure of the education system to produce a properly motivated person; or third, to illness, which might be either the causative agent or the result of improper behavior. Anyone whose actions or attitudes could not be so understood was simply outside of the system. These attitudes were prevalent in traditional China, and are still found, with some modifications, in the People’s Republic. In the latter, people’s attitudes were to be guided by Marxism-Leninism, Mao Zedong Thought. The most noticeable difference is that traditionally one was to put the interests of the family first. As recent events have demonstrated, however, the former attitude has not disappeared.
