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“Self-Cultivation as the Root of All” 79

collectives cannot take any concrete action because there are no such things as
abstract actors; they must all be real individuals. That is why, in the ascending order
of “self-family-state-all under heaven,” the “self-cultivated” individual is, in phil-
osophical terms, the elementary particle.
This being the case, where is the incision point in the eight principles for
mining their significance in the modern world? First of all, to truly value this major
traditional heritage of Confucian thought, it is essential to reaffirm its universality.
The logical sequence to reach moral cultivation as expressed in Confucian phi-
losophy is not something rigidly set in the traditional society of the past. Instead, it
is a universal pattern for humans everywhere, following Lu Jiuyuan’s statement
that “people with similar natures and emotions will have similar understandings.”
This significance is universal, transcending both space and time. Therefore, based
on such an understanding there can be no doubt about the meaning and value of
the “eight essential principles” for the modern age.
Secondly, each step in these principles is significant for our times, because
together they deal with all the aspects of human moral practice, both the indi-
vidual factors and their interconnections. Human existence and development
start from the individual, involving the self, the relationship with other people
and things, the internal and the external, the family, the state, and finally all
under heaven. Thus, with such an understanding it is possible to follow the lines
of thought in the “three guides” and “eight principles,” and to find similar ideas
and inspiration from them.
Thirdly, it is possible to observe this effectiveness in the actual modernization
of China and of the world. The recent widespread discourse on the differences
between Chinese and Western thinking does not sufficiently examine or explain
the meanings or purposes or practice of the “guides” and “principles” for the
modern world. The discussion of differences is a superficial way to compare cul-
tures, whereas examining their similarities goes much deeper. More importantly,
comparing similarities helps preserve tolerance, peace, and human ideals,
whereas comparing differences is more likely to lead to confrontation, zero-sum
gaming, and tragedy. It must be pointed out that it is not the classical interpre-
tation of these ancient precepts but modern practice itself that has made their
effectiveness so obvious today.

Collective Action, Trans. Chen Yu et al., SDX Joint Publishing Company, the 1995 edition, p. 2). The
common interests make sense from an individual perspective, while self interest still makes sense
from the perspective of an abstract collective. Only in a compatible common-interest mechanism,
can individuals be driven to act in the common interest. However, an exclusive common-interest
mechanism will never drive individuals to act in the common interest.