04/10/2026
儒道 RuDao.org Chapter One — Business Begins: The Commercial Roots of China's Tradition -- Shang 商 Dynasty (c. 1600–1046 BCE) TonyTong.cc RuDao.org
"天下熙熙，皆为利来；天下攘攘，皆为利往。" — Sima Qian, Records of the Grand Historian "All under heaven bustle and hustle, coming and going, for profit." — Shiji 史记・货殖列传
More than three millennia ago, before the Great Wall rose or Confucius was born, the first Chinese merchants had already taken to the roads and rivers of the Yellow River valley, carrying goods, coin, and ideas that would quietly help shape a civilization. Commerce was never merely a footnote to Chinese history — it helped write it.
China possesses one of the world's oldest and most enduring commercial traditions. Its origins reach back more than three millennia to the Shang 商 Dynasty (c. 1600–1046 BCE) — the earliest Chinese dynasty to have left behind written records. Significantly, the very character shāng 商 — which in modern Chinese denotes business, commerce, and merchants — is inseparable from this dynasty's legacy. According to a long-held tradition, the ancestors of the Shang people were celebrated for their skill in trade and commerce, a reputation so pronounced that the dynasty bore their name, and the term shāngrén 商人 ("merchant") passed into the language to describe those who conduct trade.
Over two thousand years later, Sima Qian's Records of the Grand Historian (Shiji 史记) — the first work to systematically chronicle Chinese history — devoted a dedicated chapter, "Biographies of the Money-makers" (Huòzhì Lièzhuàn 史记・货殖列传), to the pursuit of wealth and the managerial wisdom of history's most accomplished merchants.
Alongside this commercial heritage stand the two philosophical traditions that most profoundly shaped Chinese culture — Confucianism 儒 and Daoism 道 — which have consistently exalted fundamental human principles and a philosophy of principled living. Chapter Two of this book, "The Eight Virtues" (Bā dé 八德), examines the essential ethical values familiar to every Chinese person. Within traditional Chinese values, an entrepreneur who earns both respect and success while conducting business with integrity is honored as a "Confucian Entrepreneur" (Rúshāng 儒商). Such a person is not merely one who excels at generating profit, but an individual who firmly upholds the core values of the Confucian tradition in every aspect of enterprise.
I am delighted that the author has articulated this concept of the Confucian Entrepreneur with such clarity.
Acknowledgment
My deepest gratitude goes to my dear friend and wise teacher, Professor Kuang-Shih Yeh 葉匡時教授 for his invaluable contribution to the opening chapter of RuDao 儒道. Professor Yeh holds a Bachelor's degree in Political Science from National Taiwan University, a Master's degree in Public Administration from the University of Delaware, and a Doctorate in Organization Theory from Carnegie Mellon University.
https://RuDao.org new book by TonyTong.cc
Dr. Zhu, Professor 朱嘉明 Zhu JiaMing,
非常感谢您给我 新书 RuDao.org 的推荐语 Thank you for your recommendation. TonyTong.cc www.RuDao.org
商业的长期发展，需要处理好利润与道义、竞争与合作、策略与信任的关系。唐仪的《儒道》将儒家思想与自身跨境商业实践相结合，为企业决策与伙伴关系提供兼顾伦理和竞争力的思考框架。
本书从“义以生利”与儒商德性出发，讨论谈判、同盟和危机中的战略选择，并将“内圣”与“外王”联系起来。书中对人工智能治理、Web3与Token经济的讨论，将传统思想置于新的技术环境之中，启发读者思考：如何把仁、义、礼、智、信转化为经营原则，在追求利润的同时，建立持久的合作关系。
朱嘉明 Zhu JiaMing 2026.10.2
Long-term business success depends on balancing profit and moral responsibility, competition and cooperation, strategy and trust. In RuDao, Tony Tong brings Confucian thought together with his experience in cross-border business, offering a framework for corporate decision-making and partnerships that combines ethics with competitiveness.
Beginning with the principle of generating profit through righteousness and the virtues of the Confucian entrepreneur, the book explores strategic choices in negotiations, alliances and crises, linking inner moral cultivation with leadership in the wider world. The book’s discussion of AI governance, Web3 and the token economy places traditional thought in a new technological context. It invites readers to consider how benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom and trustworthiness can become practical business principles, enabling the pursuit of profit alongside the development of enduring partnerships.
Dr Jiaming ZHU
2nd October 2026
