ABSTRACT
The Chinese term for politics, 政治 (zheng zhi), consists of two characters. The first character 政 (zheng) in ancient times was a synonym for 正 (zheng), which had a very broad range of moral connotations and could be used as a noun, a verb and an adjective: the obverse side, to rectify, to correct, to mete out punishment to a criminal, straightforward, unbending, honest, virtuous, original, just, unbiased, and formal. The second character 治 (zhi) is mainly a verb, and occasionally a noun. The basic meaning of this character is to administer, to control, to rule, to regulate, to harness (a river), and to treat (a disease). As a noun, it denotes stability, peace and order. From the lexicological perspective, the combination of 政 (zheng) and 治 (zhi) strongly denotes the use of what is righteous and just to govern, to rule and to administer.
