"Great Man" (Chün-tzu) and "Small Man"(Hsiao-jen) in the Confucian Analects:A Transformation Approach

Abstract

To clarify the understanding of human behavior presented in ancient Chinese texts and to investigate the relationship between these texts and modern theories of human behavior, this study analyzes the concepts of "great man" and "small man" in the Confucian Analects. It presents and justifies a transformation approach to these concepts, under which specific descriptors found in the Confucian text are grouped. Two dimensions-whether or not a descriptor involves interaction with others and whether a descriptor refers to a characteristic that is directly observable or only indirectly inferable -are used to group descriptors of the great man and the small man. Descriptors unrelated to behavior or otherwise unidentifiable are excluded Remaining descriptors are classified into four groups: interactive/directly observable, interactive/indirectly inferred, noninteractive/directly observable, and noninteractive/indirectly inferred. Implications for organizational management in general and for the analysis of Chinese organizations in particular are explored

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