Confucian virtues and Chinese adolescent development

Despite industrialization and urbanization in different Chinese communities, Confucian virtues are regarded as developmental ideals in the Chinese culture. Unfortunately, while Confucian virtues are commonly discussed under Chinese philosophies, they are rarely examined in the context of developmental research. In this paper, several key Confucian virtues including loyalty (“zhong”), filial piety (“xiao”), benevolence (“ren”), affection (“ai”), trustworthiness (“xin”), righteousness (“yi”), harmony (“he”), peace (“ping”), propriety (“li”), wisdom (“zhi”), integrity (“lian”), and shame (“chi”) are discussed. These Chinese traditional virtues are also linked to the concepts of character strengths and positive youth development constructs highlighted in Western culture. It is argued that Confucian virtues provide an indigenous conceptual framework to understand character strengths and positive youth development in the Chinese culture. Furthermore, when service leadership is considered in Chinese contexts, these virtues should be regarded as important cornerstones.