Page "Great Unity" Paragraph 1

The notion of the " Great Unity " had been recorded in the Liyun ( 禮運 ) chapter of the Liji, one of the canon Confucian classics.

According to the Confucian classic, the society in Great Unity was ruled by the public, where the people chose men of virtue and ability, and valued trust and harmony.

People did not only love their own parents and children, but also secured the living of the elderly until their ends, let the adults be of use to the society, and helped the young grow.

Those who were widowed, orphaned, childless, handicapped and diseased were all taken care of.

Males took their responsibilities and females had their homes.

People disliked seeing resources being dumped on ground but did not seek to process them ; they wanted to exert their strength but did not do it for their own benefit.

Therefore, the selfish thoughts were dismissed, thieves and robbers refrained themselves and the outer doors remained open.

This sort of society was found in the Xia, Shang and early Zhou dynasties, when the great Tao was operating, through the outstanding leaders of those times.

Confucius described himself as being incapable of achieving the Great Unity and aspired to do so ; he was living in a Small Tranquility ( 小康 ) society, where the great Tao had been hidden, the states were ruled by different families and the people loved their own parents and children only.