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Steve Huynh
A11548085
4 November 2016
POLI113 Midterm Paper
Prompt #1
1. Explain the why and how of proper order. (sources: lectures, and Mencius or Xun-zi)

According to Chinese ideologies, proper order is analogous to politics. The Chinese

government has a slogan stating the phrase that order comes first before all, which means that
before even considering democracy there must be order. This is meant to be a means to an end
result. It is said that having a government that allows for its people to thrive and prosper, it can
have value, which can be justified in being a means to an end.
One value it has is End-Human value, which can lead to having a peaceful time or having
a time of war. Proper order is a means to which human nature can be realized; society is allowed
to blossom, and establishment of moral values. A booming society means that there is abundance
or at least a minimum sufficiency. Another aspect of having added value is through politics and
government. There is a methodology and management to this aspect. There are three levels at
which there are methodology and management: self, society which would be the family unit, and
central government. There is the mark that is indicative of a flourishing world. When families are
allowed to grow, it indicates that it is a center that is strong. The family is considered the root of
the tree that is the institution. If the root were to be killed, the tree would be killed. There is a
proper order where institutions are balanced and motivation of the self is possible.
When looking at proper order, there are two parts to look at in terms of proper order. One
way to look at it is what is fragile about it, and the other is the why, the reason for the fragility.

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There is fragility in the soon to come future because humans are humans and it is in their nature
to be destructive.
Something to consider is how proper order can be implemented. East Asian policy
makers, politicians, and thinkers all had to implement proper order in practice. The general idea
was that, in similarity to Americans, there are methods that are usually used that are similar to
East Asian ideas.
One way it is similar to American political methods is coercive minimization. The
argument is that coercion today has an obligation to be reduced as much as possible. A very
coercive government has no desire for proper order. This in turn will create resistance and has a
tendency to go through many laws and enforcers, such as police. To go along with coercion from
the government and resistance, a government that wants to rule with coercion will create a huge
amount of resistance while conflict in general is viewed as bad. Typically proper order is
undesirable through coercion. To achieve proper order, the government should be highly
involved through bureaucracy and fiscal economization. The idea is not laissez-faire. However,
there should be a moderate amount of intervention from the large government, which means not
too much or too little. Proper order has a requirement that bureaucracy be in place to guard the
country from invasion, provide sustainability, and infrastructure. For every policy, there is a
bureaucracy that is in place to allow proper order to be in place and function correctly. There are
multiple levels required in a bureaucracy. The very 1st level has a need for bureaucracy to enforce
taxes. There was a land tax for East Asia from 900 to 1800 AD. The bureaucracy was minimized
to the maximal extent and was still working. This called for balance, where the central
government is small while still sufficiently sized to remain effective. The basic tax was a land tax
and the majority of the population was comprised of farmers. The bigger question to ask is if the

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bureaucracy is effective or not, whether the tax was too high or too low, and whether the tax will
be fixed or not. Over and extended period of time, the land tax does become fixed, and while this
isnt a significant burden, it is also not a terribly heavy burden either. In the early 1600s to
1800s, the tax rates were forced to be lower. East Asian central governments did not have
sufficiently funds to fight off invasions. Another thing that is needed for proper order is a
benevolent hierarchy. Hierarchy practicality has to be taken into account, because costs and
benefits have to be ruled. A government that costs too much to maintain falls apart because it
cannot sustain itself. Confucians do not see the functional relationship, but they do see the need
and a common cause there. It has to be cost efficient; the rule can only survive if supporting the
government is so expensive that when people resist, the government is destroyed. At the same
time the respect of the people must also be had by the government. This is very close to a
transactional exchange, but in this case, it is a moral exchange.
Another way proper order is established is through maximizing merit. Granting powerful
positions should not be chosen due to bloodline or money, but through work of the individual.
The minimalist approach of acquiring power through actual achievements is one way proper
order can be had. Not in all cases did East Asian government gain power through merit, but since
the age of emperors, the government has run through a bureaucracy. An example of this would be
in civil service. This was an invention of the Asian East. One way that merit was earned was
through tough examinations to determine who would be recruited. There was no buying of
offices, but competitions pitting everyone against each other. This idea of earning merit has been
thought of being invented in the West. Passing this exam would usually mean they were allowed
to rule. To put this into perspective, the exam is like a very wide funnel with a very narrow
opening. There was a higher chance of someone getting the winning lottery number. The people

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who were successful in these exhausting exams became people who ran the empire. They get
tested on concepts of math, physics, classic Confucius teachings, writing, and philosophy. Each
sentence was required to have the same character number and every character of the sentence
needed to rhyme with the last character of the last sentence. The people testing were not looking
for someone skilled in taking tests, but someone who can recall classic quotes. Age is also
viewed as a basis of respect and the elderly are treated with a higher respect when comparing
Asia to the US. This belief is based on those that are older have earned their merit and thus
earned the respect. Through the course of history, they are thought to be people who know
something the younger generation does not, and this value that comes about is considered an
achievement. There is a methodology to creating proper order, and this did not arise as a whim.
This came from investigating society, nature, and the self. There is even a procedure for
comprehending where the characteristics originated.
Proper order is necessary, but not necessarily applicable everywhere. It is not used
impulsively. It requires effort, and it comes from the self, society, and central government. On
the lowest level, a leader-to-be must understand them to be a righteous leader or positive elder.
This puts the self in order. Society to human is a basic institution. Family is considered a
contained government that does not belong to the bureaucracy because it has autonomy. Finally,
there is the central government, which can be split into 3 different levels. The founders wanted to
see what people could help themselves with. First, they had to determine what regular people
needed. Theft prevention, security, and having enough food were all things to consider. Popular,
elite, international, and co-participation are all aspects of central government. Popularity is the
essential structure of moral security and material security. The elite aspect is for regulation of the
elite, who are definitely needed, but possibly dangerous because it is possible for them to

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become corrupt and this can lead to problems of differing interests. They must be kept in check,
and have stops in place to prevent them from becoming corrupt. The international aspect is a
required to allow for intellectual security. Failing to protect the borders puts the country at risk
for conflict with outside threats and proper order cannot be maintained. Co-participation is not
necessarily done centrally, and shares similarity to federalism, but there is no dogma of rights.
Regular families would watch neighborhoods and the central government took a backseat, but
was not completely laissez-faire. An example of the government convincing the people to coparticipate was to keep food prices steady and the food supply firm to alleviate the food famine
symptoms.
There are some core and supporting premises to having proper order. The core primes is
that knowing proper order and leadership are paramount to human life. The secondary premise is
needed for life and prosperity. An example of this is a granary. Anyone can eat, which allows
them to live on to be prosperous. There is a pivotal role of the ruler, where a rule is in place: if a
hierarchy is believed to be needed, then rulers are also believed to be needed. And to ensure that
those things remain in place where they cannot be deterred or moved, laws are put in place to
ensure they are enforced. In making of laws, there are two steps. These two steps are decision
making and enforcement. Another concept is the people and root policy, which means to put the
peoples interest first before anything else. A leader must ensure that their own interests and the
peoples interests are balanced. When looking from a third person perspective, this is common
sense in the practical aspect. Regardless of whether the rule is in state or rule is in family, in the
case that rulers do not carefully consider proper order, the peoples interest is at risk at the threat
of the rulers own interest. This could cause eventual overthrowing, as seen by an example such
as Chin Dyn being replaced by Han. Harmony is a key aspect of ensuring the interests of both

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parties are met. Gender and class are made to be balanced and reducing conflict is a common
goal to a prosperous world. Harmony can be compared to an orchestra, where harmony and not
uniformity is necessary to perform well. A mixing of the elements allows it to function properly.
Another comparison can be made to soup, where the ingredients come together to make an
awesome flavor where the best elements meet to make a tasty soup. Power is a corruption prone
thing. Power is viewed as terrible, but can also be empowering. There are two different ways to
look at power, and that is determined by how a person uses it. One way is that it is inherently
selfish and purported to giving the self an advantage. Another way to view it is to allow for
proper order to be established by ennobling a person. The ambivalence allows for East Asian
thought to not shy away from considering the possibly uncomfortable truth about power.

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Works Cited
By the Time of Mencius, the Concept of Tian Appears to Have Changed Slightly, Taking on
Aspects of. "Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy." Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy.
N.p., n.d. Web. 04 Nov. 2016.
"Civil Service Examinations - Princeton University." N.p., n.d. Web. 4 Nov. 2016.
Debary. Sources of Chinese Tradition. Volume I: From Earliest Time to 1600. New York, NY:
Columbia UP, 1999. Print.
"Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy." Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy. N.p., n.d. Web. 04
Nov. 2016.
Magagna. "10/10/16, 10/14/16, 10/19/16, 10/24/16." POLI113. UCSD, San Diego. Lecture.