The Great Harmony (大同, Datong) is an ideal social order envisioned by classical Chinese Confucianism in the 6th century BCE. Receiving its first systematic exposition in The Book of Rites (禮記, Liji), specifically within the chapter 'The Conveyance of Rites,' its core philosophical bedrock is the principle that 'The World Belongs to the Public' (天下爲公, Tianxia Wei Gong).
» When the World Belongs to the Public. «
Central 天下為公 passage from The Book of Rites.
This concept advocates for the public ownership of power, rejects hereditary systems (世袭, Shixi), and promotes a strict meritocracy by selecting the "worthy and capable" (選賢與能, Xuǎn). Economically, it advocates the public ownership of goods and wealth, emphasizes that all members of society fulfill their respective duties, ensures that the elderly, the weak, orphans, and widows are cared for, and aims to construct a public order characterized by equality and mutual assistance for all.
Pre-Qin Confucians (before 221 BCE) regarded it as an institutional design opposing monarchical power and advocating that power be chosen by the people. Han Confucians (202 BCE to 220 CE) cited the Abdication of Yao and Shun as examples but still did not depart from the framework of monarchical designation. During the Sui and Tang dynasties (581 to 907 CE), the principle of "selecting the worthy and capable" gradually evolved into the Imperial Examination System, deviating from the initial concept of popular election. Neo-Confucianism elevated its ethical principles into the philosophical concept of "The Unity of All Things."
» Guide them by virtue, keep them in line by ritual, and they will have a sense of shame
and align themselves with good. Guide them by law, keep them in line by punishment,
and they will avoid wrongdoing, but have no sense of shame. « — The Analects 2.3
and align themselves with good. Guide them by law, keep them in line by punishment,
and they will avoid wrongdoing, but have no sense of shame. « — The Analects 2.3
» Of the people, by the people, for the people. «
Sun Yat-sen, quoting Abraham Lincoln's famous formula to
express the core of his "Three Principles of the People" to Westerners.
In modern times, Kang Youwei reinterpreted the traditional ideal of datong as a vision of an egalitarian future society in his Book of Great Harmony (Datong shu), which he began developing in the 1880s and revised over the following decades. In 1906, Sun Yat-sen integrated datong into his political thought and the Three Principles of the People, particularly his Principle of Livelihood, which he associated with socialism, communism, and the realization of a society based on social equality and common welfare.
» Promote the upright and place them above the crooked, and the people will submit. Promote the
crooked and place them above the upright, and the people will not submit. « — The Analects 2.19
crooked and place them above the upright, and the people will not submit. « — The Analects 2.19
However, this intellectual journey did not proceed directly from Kang's reformism to Chinese socialism. Rather, elements of the traditions were repeatedly reinterpreted by successive generations and reconciled with nationalism, Marxism, socialism, and the requirements of modernization. After the Mao era, this increasingly involved recovering traditional culture as a resource compatible with socialist modernization.
September 28, 2026, Qufu, Shandong Province: China
commemorates the 2,577th anniversary of Confucius' birth.
Deng Xiaoping's formulation of Socialism with Chinese Characteristics (SWCC) in the early 1980s established the basis for pursuing socialism according to China's particular conditions, preferences, and priorities. Under later leaders, especially Xi Jinping, this approach increasingly drew on historical and cultural traditions alongside Marxist principles, and Confucian ideals of social harmony, moral cultivation, collective responsibility, and datong became explicit components of the Communist Party's doctrine.
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