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Seventeen years on the streets, living and working with the people of China, Jeff
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Downloadable as a PDF
#1 Zhou Gong Noble Attributes of Chinese Civilization PDF2
Noble Attributes of Chinese Civilization
15 Great Philosophers Who Better Humanity with
Their Three Fundamental Sino-Concepts + Map, References & Cross-Cultural Timeline
A Radio Sinoland Cultural Cheat Sheet
By: 真子（Zhēnzǐ), aka Jeff J. Brown
www.radiosinoland.com
With Mandarin and Pinyin for language learners…
Including the transcript of my presentation to Samui Real for each one…
Philosopher Number 1 of 15 is Zhou Gong
Introduction
Jeff J. Brown wrote The China Trilogy (https://www.amazon.com/stores/author/B00TX0TDDI/allbooks) and is the creator of Radio Sinoland, which Cloudflare certifies as receiving over 50 million visitors a year. Radio Sinoland is noteworthy for its large collection of libraries, covering a wide spectrum of topics (https://radiosinoland.com/).
He is a co-founder and the curator of the Bioweapon Truth Commission (https://radiosinoland.com/2018/06/25/bioweapon-truth-commission-and-global-online-library-bwtc-gol-www-bioweapontruth-com/), founder of Seek Truth From Facts Foundation, and created the China Writers’ Group (https://seektruthfromfacts.org/).
Jeff has lived in China for over 17 years, is currently based in Taiwan Province; he and his wife will be moving back to the Mainland to Kunming, Yunnan in September.
Transcript from Samui Real Talk (samuireal.org AND https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lMnKUk9fYJw)
Hello everybody. Thank you for being here tonight. I am honored and humbled that you have taken the time out of your busy schedules and are interested in hearing what I have to say tonight.
I hope everybody got a copy of the presentation outline and has something to write with, if you want to take notes.
The title of the program is Noble Attributes of Chinese Civilization: 15 Great Philosophers Who Better Humanity. Notice that it is in the present, not past, because they still do. The subtitle is: & Their Three Fundamental Sino-Concepts – A Radio Sinoland Cultural Cheat Sheet.
Why do I call it a cultural cheat sheet? Instead of having to read volumes and volumes of books, I have basically summarized 5,000 years of Chinese/Eastern Thought into just a few pages. I also include Mandarin and Pinyin for language learners.
Tonight, we have time to cover the first 10 wise men. When Pat has an opening, I look forward to presenting Part II, with Numbers 11-15, plus their three foundational Sino-socio-cultural systems. But tonight, I include the References and A cross-cultural East-West timeline of philosophy, which are crucial.
So, let’s get started.
Zhou Gong (周公 = Zhōu Gōng, born 1,050 BC). Zhou is a common family name. Gong means Public & Authority.
Why he matters: He was a wise king who laid the philosophical foundations for People’s Democracy, Confucism and Chinese Thought.
Motto: No more divine leaders who conduct human sacrifices. Forevermore, the Heavenly Mandate is forevermore based on the citizens’ consent (People’s Democracy). The foundations of social harmony are Virtue, Ritual, Family Conduct/Obligations/Respect (Filial Piety) and Prosperity for All!
Core values: Revere virtue to protect the people; illuminate virtue and apply punishment cautiously.
Core values in Chinese: 敬德保民，明德慎罚 (Jìngdé bǎomín, míngdé shènfá).
Generation Z version: People Power, Citizens Come First and Last.
Level of optimism: the glass is almost full.
Transcript on Zhou Gong
The first great Chinese philosopher I want to talk about tonight is Zhou Gong.
The reason Zhou Gong is so important is that he was a wise king who laid the socio-political foundations for people’s democracy, Confucism and Chinese Thought. You’re probably scoffing when I say people’s democracy, but it really is true, as you will see.
Zhou’s motto is no more divine leaders who conduct human sacrifices. Before the Zhou dynasty, during the Shang Dynasty and before that, the Xia Dynasty, the kings of Chinese states often conducted human sacrifices to the gods, because they claimed divine representation. In other words, they were gods on earth, which is the same concept for much of monarchical Western history too.
The Shang Dynasty lasted for 750 years, the longest-running ever. Not a bad run. Nevertheless, it collapsed and the Zhous took over in 1,000BC. Thus, the Zhous had a problem. How could they say to the people, those Shang rulers were gods and failed. Who do we have to back us up?
Zhou Gong, the son of the king who actually founded the Zhou dynasty, decided that the Heavenly Mandate would forevermore be based on the citizens’ consent, i.e., people’s democracy. What this means is, if the king, emperor, duke, governor, mayor or village leader does not perform, the people have the right to demand a change in leadership.
Since then, there’s even an expression in Chinese, “Raise poles and start a rebellion” (揭竿而起 = jiegan’erqi), or another English version, “Grab a bamboo spear and storm the palace”. This has happened countless thousands of times at the national level, regional level, state, provincial, county, city and village levels, going back 3,000 years. Therefore, when you hear people talk about China’s Heavenly Mandate, the first thing you need to understand is that it has nothing to do with God, like in the monotheistic religions, with their angry, Jewish, jealous, vindictive, violent God forcing his severe will on humanity.
No, it’s the people’s mandate. Chinese expect an demand wise leaders, good governance, and for millennia, have mostly gotten it. As much as hubristic Judeo-Westerners don’t want to admit it, the Chinese have had real people’s democracy for 3,000 years, while the prior, other than a few blips of direct Ancient Greek democracy, have had little to none of it; or it being rendered corrupted, symbolic and useless.
Zhou Gong was all about the foundations of social harmony and virtue. Again, words have been twisted in English. Virtue in the Chinese sense is not the kind that we talk about in the Talmud-Tanakh West, like a woman’s virtue, when she says, “Get your hand off my thigh, I’m virtuous”!
It’s also been bastardized into “the virtues of eating vegetables and the virtues of getting exercise”. Virtue in Chinese is all about exemplary conduct and noble behavior, in the way that you treat other people ethically, living the Golden Rule in the Chinese negative form, which I will explain in Part II.
Of course to this day, ritual is extremely important in Chinese culture and is still a big part of exemplary conduct. Just look at Communist Party of China meetings and visit Chinese temples to see what I mean.
Zhou Gong was very big on family conduct, obligations and respect, usually called filial piety in other languages. Piety in the Judeo-West has become religious, yet filial piety really has nothing to do with religion. It all has to do with the three words just listed: family conduct, obligations and respect. It starts with ancestors, grandparents, then parents, down to children, brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, cousins, nephews, nieces and grandchildren. They are all held accountable and in Chinese family hierarchy, there is little to no distinction between parents and aunts and uncles, or siblings, nieces, nephews and cousins.
Nor is it not being slavishly obedient to family members in the hierarchy above you. We will get to remonstrance in Part II, which is absolutely a cornerstone of Chinese civilization.
It obviously worked, because the Zhous survived for 750 years. Zhou’s core values are revere virtue to protect the people. Again, virtue being exemplary conduct. Illuminate virtue, meaning promote noble conduct and lastly, apply punishment cautiously.
I also offer Generation Z versions for young people. For Zhou Gong, it is,
People power, citizens come first and last.
I’ve also added a barometer on how these philosophers view humanity, based on “the glass is half-empty-half-full” metaphor.
For Zhou Gong it is almost full.
References
Chinese Civilization, Thought and Philosophy Library, by Jeff J. Brown. Talmud-Tanakh West NOT! Lots and lots of FREE BOOKS! Radio Sinoland 260220
The Mao Encyclopedia for Dummies. Updated and it’s all here: books, articles, movies, visuals. China Rising Radio Sinoland 240103
My long, slow arc of spiritual awareness from childhood Presbyterianism to Eastern Thought today. With expanded and improved, printable “Noble Attributes of Chinese Civilization” summary + Library. Radio Sinoland 260213
Radio Sinoland’s Library on the Chinese Zodiac, Lunar, Agricultural and Civil Calendars. Want to understand the Chinese people? It all starts here! Radio Sinoland 260522
Myth of Judeo-Christian Culture, by China Writer T.P. Wilkinson and colleague Robert Merrill. Radio Sinoland 260310
A critique of the recent article in The New Yorker Magazine by Evan Osnos, “China’s Age of Malaise”
A cross-cultural East-West timeline of philosophy
(in round numbers)
5,000BC-2,000BC: foundations of written Chinese, the I-Ching, Daoist mysticism and philosophy, ruled by The Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors.
2,250BC: Chinese explorers survey what is today Western USA (search Charlotte Harris Rees).
2,000BC: Abraham.
2,000BC-1,750BC: Xia Dynasty- Considered the first dynasty in traditional Chinese historiography.
1,750BC-1,000BC: Shang Dynasty- Known for its advanced bronze casting and writing system.
1,500BC: Moses.
0AD: Jesus Christ.
1,000BC-250BC: Zhou Dynasty- The longest-lasting dynasty, divided into Western and Eastern Zhou periods.
470BC: Socrates.
428BC: Plato.
384BC: Aristotle.
120AD: Marcus Aurelius- Stoic movement.
250BC-200BC: Qin Dynasty- Famous for unifying China and the construction of the Great Wall.
200BC-200AD: Han Dynasty- A golden age of Chinese culture, science, and technology.
500AD: Jewish Talmud first gathered in book form.
570AD: Mohammed.
580-620AD: Sui Dynasty- Known for the Grand Canal and reunification of China.
600-900AD: Tang Dynasty- A high point in Chinese civilization, known for poetry and trade.
900-1,260AD: Song Dynasty- Notable for economic development and cultural achievements.
1,260-1,360AD: Yuan Dynasty- Established by the Mongols, marked by significant cultural exchange.
1590AD: Jewish Tanakh tacked on top of the Bible as the Old Testament, on top of the Christian New Testament! “Judeo-Christian” is an oxymoron.
1,360-1,640AD: Ming Dynasty- Known for its trade expansion and cultural achievements.
1,640-1910AD: Qing Dynasty- The last imperial dynasty, known for its territorial expansion and cultural diversity.
1917AD: Christian Bible rewritten by Jews into the Scofield version, becoming the dominant version. Same year as the Balfour Declaration.
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Further study
The China Trilogy is an honorary degree in Chinese Studies. Don’t miss out!
https://www.amazon.com/stores/author/B00TX0TDDI/allbooks and
Jeff J. Brown’s libraries and catalogues A-Z: 1,000s of hours of research, writing, editing and podcasting.
https://radiosinoland.com/2025/11/30/jeff-j-browns-ever-expanding-collection-of-living-libraries-and-catalogues-many-years-and-1000s-of-hours-of-writingpodcasting-take-advantage-of-them-radio-sinoland-2025-year-of-the-wood-snake/
Do yourself, your friends, family and colleagues a favor, to make sure all of you are Sino-smart:
Google ebooks (Epub) and audiobooks:
44 Days Backpacking in China: The Middle Kingdom in the 21st Century, with the United States, Europe and the Fate of the World in Its Looking Glass https://play.google.com/store/books/details?id=YBKHEAAAQBAJ
https://play.google.com/store/audiobooks/details?id=AQAAAECCkQXRlM
China Rising: Capitalist Roads, Socialist Destinations https://play.google.com/store/books/details?id=YNmLEAAAQBAJ
https://play.google.com/store/audiobooks/details?id=AQAAAECCfHo86M
BIG Red Book on China: Chinese History, Culture and Revolution
https://play.google.com/store/books/details?id=6Wl4EAAAQBAJ
https://play.google.com/store/audiobooks/details?id=AQAAAECCfHo86M
Amazon print and ebooks (Kindle):
44 Days Backpacking in China: The Middle Kingdom in the 21st Century, with the United States, Europe and the Fate of the World in Its Looking Glass
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1484939999/
China Rising: Capitalist Roads, Socialist Destinations
https://www.amazon.com/China-Rising-Capitalist-Socialist-Destinations/dp/0996487042
BIG Red Book on China: Chinese History, Culture and Revolution
https://www.amazon.com/BIG-Red-Book-China/dp/1673322719/
Author page:
https://www.amazon.com/Mr.-Jeff-J.-Brown/e/B00TX0TDDI
Praise for The China Trilogy:
Why and How China works: With a Mirror to Our Own History
JEFF J. BROWN, Editor, China Rising, and Senior Editor & China Correspondent, Dispatch from Beijing, The Greanville Post
Jeff J. Brown is a geopolitical analyst, journalist, lecturer and the author of The China Trilogy. It consists of 44 Days Backpacking in China – The Middle Kingdom in the 21st Century, with the United States, Europe and the Fate of the World in Its Looking Glass (2013); Punto Press released China Rising – Capitalist Roads, Socialist Destinations (2016); and BIG Red Book on China (2020). As well, he published a textbook, Doctor WriteRead’s Treasure Trove to Great English (2015). Jeff is a Senior Editor & China Correspondent for The Greanville Post, where he keeps a column, Dispatch from Beijing and is a Global Opinion Leader at 21st Century. He also writes a column for The Saker, called the Moscow-Beijing Express. Jeff writes, interviews and podcasts on his own program, China Rising Radio Sinoland, which is also available on YouTube, Stitcher Radio, iTunes, Ivoox and RUvid. Guests have included Ramsey Clark, James Bradley, Moti Nissani, Godfree Roberts, Hiroyuki Hamada, The Saker and many others. [/su_spoiler]
Jeff can be reached at China Rising, [email protected], Facebook, Twitter, Wechat (+86-19806711824/Mr_Professor_Brown, and Line/Telegram/Whatsapp: +33-612458821.
Read it in your language • Lealo en su idioma • Lisez-le dans votre langue • Lies es in deniner Sprache • Прочитайте это на вашем языке • 用你的语言阅读
[google-translator]
Wechat group: search the phone number +8619806711824 or my ID, Mr_Professor_Brown, friend request and ask Jeff to join the China Rising Radio Sinoland Wechat group. He will add you as a member, so you can join in the ongoing discussion.
I contribute to