The Structural Function of “Virtue” in Zhenguan Zhengyao
1. Question
Can virtue be understood only as an ethical concept, or can it also be understood as a control variable that stabilizes a governance system?
2. Abstract
In Zhenguan Zhengyao, Emperor Taizong considered virtue to be as necessary as talent for governance in the preservation phase. However, if virtue is understood only as “being a good person,” it cannot be abstracted into organizational theory, nor can it become reproducible knowledge.
This study examines the dialogues between Taizong and his ministers in Zhenguan Zhengyao in order to clarify what virtue means and what structural function it has. In particular, it shows that virtue is not merely a moral ideal, but a governing requirement that supports self-control, information acceptance, and cognitive correction. It then abstracts this structure in a form applicable to modern organizations.
3. Method
This study extracts, as Layer 1 facts, passages in Zhenguan Zhengyao in which Taizong and his ministers discuss virtue.
It then reconstructs, in Layer 2, what Taizong and major ministers such as Wei Zheng meant by “virtue,” and how it is connected to the structure of governance. Finally, in Layer 3, it derives insights that remain applicable to modern organizations.
4. Layer 1: Fact
1) For the ruler, “virtue” is spoken of as a governing attitude that places the people first
In Chapter 1 of the Ruler and Minister section of Zhenguan Zhengyao, Taizong says that the way of the ruler is first to pity the people and grant them benevolence. He also says that imposing heavy taxes, making the people suffer, and using that to support one’s own luxury is like cutting flesh from one’s own leg to feed one’s own stomach, and that in the end this destroys the ruler himself. He further says that if one wishes to make the realm peaceful, one must first correct one’s own conduct.
What is shown here is that virtue is not an abstract moral beauty. It is understood as the restraint of desire, self-correction, and a governing attitude that places the people first.
2) Taizong spoke of rule by benevolence, righteousness, sincerity, and trustworthiness as a principle of state survival
In Chapter 1 of the On Benevolence and Righteousness section, Taizong says that among the emperors of the past, those who governed through benevolence, righteousness, and morality arising from a loving heart enjoyed a long national fortune. By contrast, those who relied on harsh laws and state power to control the people could temporarily suppress disorder, but their states also quickly fell. Taizong further says that he himself intends to govern the state entirely by benevolence, righteousness, sincerity, and trustworthiness.
This shows that the content of virtue is not merely personal ethics, but is understood as a principle of governance centered on benevolence, righteousness, sincerity, and trustworthiness.
3) Wei Zheng opposed the view that benevolence and morality could not govern the realm
In Chapter 9 of the Political Order section, Taizong says that in the early years of Zhenguan, many people argued that the realm could not be governed through a politics that valued morality and character, such as the rule of sage kings, and that people had to be strictly controlled through laws and power. Among them, only Wei Zheng advised governance centered on benevolence, righteousness, and morality, trusting in human goodness. Taizong says that after following this advice, the country became peaceful within only a few years, and even distant non-Chinese peoples came and submitted of their own accord. He highly praises this as Wei Zheng’s achievement.
What is important here is that while many people regarded rule by virtue as unrealistic, Wei Zheng alone insisted that benevolence and morality should be the basis of governance, and this was later evaluated as having produced real peace and stability.
4) The “enlightened ruler” is defined as a ruler who listens broadly
In Chapter 2 of the Ruler and Minister section, Taizong asks Wei Zheng what distinguishes an enlightened ruler from a dark ruler. Wei Zheng answers that a ruler is enlightened because he listens to many opinions and uses what is good among them, while he is dark because he trusts only what one side says. He also says that if the ruler listens broadly to many voices and accepts the voices from below, the realities of the realm will reach him, and powerful ministers will not be able to block his eyes and ears.
By contrast, the dark ruler is described as one who trusts only a small number of close attendants and therefore becomes unable to receive the real condition of the realm. What is shown here is that the enlightened ruler is not simply a man of good character, but one who accepts dissent and prevents information blockage.
Taken together, these passages suggest that in Zhenguan Zhengyao, virtue should be read not as a personality evaluation, but as a functional concept that prevents malfunction in governance.
5. Layer 2: Order
From these facts, “virtue” in Zhenguan Zhengyao can be understood not as a mere ethical beauty, but as a control function that stabilizes a governance system.
At minimum, the virtue described by Taizong includes three major elements.
1) Self-control
Virtue is first a function that restrains the ruler’s own desires and arrogance.
The discussion in Chapter 1 of the Ruler and Minister section, which warns against heavy taxation and luxury and says that the ruler must correct his own conduct, clearly shows that virtue is a principle of self-restraint. If the ruler cannot control private desire, governance ceases to serve the people and is transformed into a tool for his own satisfaction.
2) Information acceptance
Virtue is also the capacity to accept dissent and remonstrance.
The condition of the enlightened ruler shown in Chapter 2 of the Ruler and Minister section is that he listens broadly, does not become biased, and receives the realities from below. This means that virtue is not merely goodness of heart. It is a structural condition that prevents information blockage and allows corrective information to be accepted.
3) Cognitive correction
Virtue is also a function that prevents distortion in recognition through self-control and information acceptance.
By not being ruled by desire, by accepting dissent, and by maintaining a governing attitude that places the people first, the ruler avoids arbitrary judgment and prejudice and can preserve the accuracy of governance decisions. Virtue is therefore also a principle of governance that makes cognitive correction possible.
If these three elements are integrated, the functions of virtue can be organized as follows:
- self-control
- information acceptance
- cognitive correction
- an altruistic governing orientation
Conversely, the conditions under which virtue collapses are also clear:
- arrogance
- the dominance of desire
- the exclusion of dissent
- arbitrary rule and prejudice
Thus, virtue is not a word for personality evaluation. It is a control variable within the governance system that allows the ruler to restrain desire and arrogance, accept dissent, prevent distortion in recognition, and preserve the accuracy of decision-making.
And the altruistic governing orientation means the direction that answers the question: for whose sake are self-control, information acceptance, and cognitive correction being used in the end?
6. Layer 3: Insight
A structural reading of Zhenguan Zhengyao shows that virtue should be understood not merely as a religious or ethical concept, but as a control variable that supports the stability of a governance system.
If we follow the definition of the ruler’s way presented in the Ruler and Minister section, virtue in the ruler can be summarized in three points:
- self-control
- information acceptance
- cognitive correction
And the enlightened ruler is one who does not fall into arbitrary rule and prejudice, who listens broadly, and who makes decisions that place the people first.
If this is reorganized from the perspective of OS Organizational Design Theory, the elements that constitute the health of the OS, namely A × IA × H × V, can each be understood as concrete expressions of virtue.
A (Strategic Awareness)
This asks whether the top accepts real information without excluding dissent, and whether he can prevent distortion in recognition. This corresponds to the virtue-functions of information acceptance and cognitive correction.
IA (Information Flow Architecture)
This asks whether two-way information exchange is properly established, so that diverse people can report information upward and decisions from the top can also reach each department. It also includes the condition in which dissent and corrective criticism can be voiced under psychological safety. This is virtue embodied in institutional design.
H (Human Resource Governance)
To obtain diverse opinions, it is necessary that appropriate people are placed in appropriate positions, that subordinates trust their superiors, and that capable people are appointed. This is virtue as it appears in personnel appointment and the validity of rewards and punishments.
V (Validity of the OS’s Decision Criteria)
This asks whether the OS’s decisions are not only consistent with its survival purpose, but also grounded in an altruistic action principle, namely the “governing attitude that places the people first” described in Zhenguan Zhengyao. This is the most fundamental requirement of virtue.
Therefore, virtue is not “simply being a good person.”
It is a control variable that supports the accuracy and continuity of governance by restraining the top’s desire and arrogance, accepting dissent, correcting recognition, and connecting judgment to an altruistic principle.
7. Implications for the Present
The same applies to modern organizations. No matter how capable the top may be, if personnel appointments are driven by favoritism, subordinates will lose trust, fall silent, and stop sending information upward. As a result, the top’s decisions become disconnected from reality, and policies lose practical effect.
Likewise, even if information, recognition, and personnel treatment appear proper on the surface, the organization will eventually collapse if the top is in fact driven by private desire. This is the case, for example, when a leader says “for everyone” while actually enriching himself.
What this shows is that virtue is not merely personal goodness. It is an element that establishes the minimum trust and the very preconditions of governance within an organization.
And if this is abstracted into organizational theory, virtue can be made visible in the form of A × IA × H × V. In other words, virtue is an unwritten principle, but it can still become the object of structural analysis.
8. Conclusion
Virtue should not be understood only as religion or abstract morality. Virtue is a function that has altruism at its core, while also suppressing distortion in governance judgment. It is therefore a technology of governance within the OS.
The “rule by virtue” shown in Zhenguan Zhengyao is not a vague ideal in which a person of good character governs through goodwill. It is a technique that sustains the accuracy and continuity of the governance system by restraining desire, listening broadly, correcting recognition, and preserving judgments that place the people first.
If A × IA × H × V in OS Organizational Design Theory can be made visible as a structural checklist, and if deterioration in each element can be analyzed, then the ideal of “rule by virtue” presented in Zhenguan Zhengyao can be reconstructed not as a mere ideal, but as a reproducible theory of governance.
Therefore, virtue is not an ornament of organizational culture. It is a governance infrastructure for maintaining realistic recognition and the accuracy of judgment.
9. Source Text
Harada Tanenari, Shinshaku Kanbun Taikei: Zhenguan Zhengyao (Vol. 1), Meiji Shoin, 1978.