Respect & Obedience are the cornerstone of Confucian doctrine, key to human relations in China. It is impossible to decode Chinese culture without understanding Confucian thought, which has dominated the Chinese world for 2,500 years. His ideas were largely inspired by the fierce wars that ravaged the country at the time. His teachings for the permanent preservation of tradition and order aroused keen interest. They have largely served generations of rulers in China ever since, regardless of the emperors or the Communist Party.
From the Chinese point of view, an individual only exists in relation to others. Confucius spoke of five human relationships: subject-sovereign, father-son, husband-wife, older brother-younger brother, and older friend-younger friend. These five relationships are central to the Confucian system and clearly encourage the creation of a hierarchical culture: veneration of age and deference to those who represent authority: the father of the family, the elder brother, the professor in class, the boss in a company or the government of a country.