Editing Enlightened absolutism (section)

== In other cultures ==
=== China ===
Xuezhi Guo contrasts the [[Confucianism|Confucian]] ideal of a "humane ruler" (''[[renjun]]'') with the ideal of [[Legalism (Chinese philosophy)|Chinese legalists]], who he says "intended to create a truly 'enlightened ruler' (''[[mingjun]]'') who is able to effectively rule the masses and control his bureaucracy"; this ruler would be a "skillful manipulator and successful politician who uses means or 'technique' in achieving self-protection and political control". Guo quotes [[Benjamin I. Schwartz]] as describing the features of "a truly Legalist 'enlightened ruler{{Single double}}:<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6vG-MROnr7IC&pg=PA141|title=The Ideal Chinese Political Leader: A Historical and Cultural Perspective|last=Guo|first=Xuezhi|publisher=Praeger Publishers|year=2002|isbn=9780275972592|location=Westport, CT|pages=141}}</ref><blockquote>He must be anything but an arbitrary despot if one means by a despot a tyrant who follows all his impulses, whims and passions. Once the systems which maintain the entire structure are in place, he must not interfere with their operation. He may use the entire system as a means to the achievement of his national and international ambitions, but to do so he must not disrupt its impersonal workings. He must at all times be able to maintain an iron wall between his private life and public role. Concubines, friends, flatterers and charismatic saints must have no influence whatsoever on the course of policy, and he must never relax his suspicions of the motives of those who surround him.<ref>Benjanmin I. Schwartz p. 345, The World of Thought in Ancient China</ref><ref name=":0" /></blockquote>