ABSTRACT
This chapter presents the “intermediate course” for executives who want or need more depth about traditional Chinese culture by pulling aside the curtain to reveal what is going on behind the Ethical Triad, Ethical Agility, face, and guānxi. The chapter discusses five normative concepts that distinguish ethical from unethical behavior within relationships: Xiào (孝)/Piety or Hierarchy, Lĭ (禮)/Propriety, Zhì (智)/Wisdom, Yì (義)/Uprightness, and Rén (仁)/Humaneness. It discusses the status of gender and LGBTQ+ rights in Confucian ethics. Finally, it discusses three foundational values—harmony, strategic competition, and collectivism over individualism—that undergird not just relationships, but Chinese ethics, etiquette, society, and culture more broadly.
