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This open access book systematically applies the philosophy of the Golden Mean to interpret the public budgeting process, policies, and reforms in contemporary China, within the framework of Commentary on The Doctrine of the Mean by Zhu Xi, a Neo-Confucian scholar of the Song Dynasty. By constructing a classic perspective for understanding public budgeting in China, the book offers insights that are both innovative and grounded in traditional philosophy. With the rich experience in research and execution in public budgeting, the author provides Western readers with an easy access to understanding the Chinese perspective on budgeting, the budgeting process in China, and its underlying logic.
List of contents
The Doctrine of the Mean in Budgeting.- The Noble Man adheres to the mean; the petty.- The mean is the highest virtue. Few are those who can maintain it for long.- The Way is not practiced, and I understand why.- How unfortunate that the Way is not pursued.- Emperor Shun possessed great wisdom.- Etc.
About the author
Yannan Gou is the Chief Financial Officer (CFO), Professor, and Doctoral Supervisor at Shanghai University. He sits on the Ministry of Finance Expert Panel and serves as the Deputy Director of the Performance Management Committee of the China Society of Finance. He advises on major financial decision-making for the Shanghai municipal government and serves as the Director of the Public Budget and Financial Management Research Center. He has authored several monographs, including
The Mean in Budgeting,
Budget Decision: Modern Perspectives, and
Performance Budgeting: Models and Paths. He has translated over ten monographs in public budgeting and financial management, such as
Public Finance in Theory and Practice,
The Capacity to Budget,
Public Budgeting Systems,
Congress and Money,
The Federal Budget,
The New Politics of the Budgetary Process,
Fiscal Administration Analysis and Applications for The Public Sector, and
The Fiscal Revolution in America. Gou has long provided decision-making consultation and reform solutions in public budgeting and financial management for the Ministry of Finance and various government departments.
Beyond his professional scholarship, Professor Gou has cultivated significant expertise in traditional Chinese cultural arts. His four-decade practice of calligraphy has achieved professional recognition, with his representative work
Purity being exhibited at the prestigious “Invitational Exhibition of Centennial Calligraphy and Painting Masters”. As a scholar of classical Chinese literature, he served as editorial director for the republication of Zeng Guofan's
Selected Poems of Eighteen Masters, an important Qing dynasty poetic anthology. His scholarly contributions extend to tea culture studies, evidenced by his editorial roles in publishing
Tea Language and Songs and
The Book of Chinese Tea.
Summary
This open access book systematically applies the philosophy of the Golden Mean to interpret the public budgeting process, policies, and reforms in contemporary China, within the framework of Commentary on The Doctrine of the Mean by Zhu Xi, a Neo-Confucian scholar of the Song Dynasty. By constructing a classic perspective for understanding public budgeting in China, the book offers insights that are both innovative and grounded in traditional philosophy. With the rich experience in research and execution in public budgeting, the author provides Western readers with an easy access to understanding the Chinese perspective on budgeting, the budgeting process in China, and its underlying logic.
