Abstract: The Confucian ethics,centered on benevolence (Ren),manifests at the political level as people-centered governance (Minben),aiming to achieve good governanceof the community through benevolent rule to ensure and promote the welfare of the people.However,the norms and order of a community inevitably require a personalized representation,which is political authority.From this perspective,the monarch is merely an intermediary and functional existence,whose legitimacy must be justified through their function.Rooted in people-centered governance,Confucianism seeks to“Yi Dao Shi Jun (以道事君)”and guiding sovereign power toward benefiting the populace,thereby taming authority for the public good.Consequently,it highly cherishes moral subjectivity,emphasizing resisting position with virtue and prioritizing obedience to “Dao” over the ruler.Simultaneously,Confucianism seeks to transform the ruler through“Dao”,aspiring to unify political and moral authority,culminating in the concept of “Shengwang(圣王)”.However,the concept of “Shengwang” risks undermining serving“Yi Dao Shi Jun”,revealing the tension between Confucianism and absolutist monarchy.In this sense,the context of modernity provides the possibility and theoretical space for Confucianism to transcend the tension of “dual subjectivity”.

Key words: Confucianism, ruler-subject ethics, value foundation, justification, critique