"Its curled eaves and drifting incense offer a quiet counterpoint to the digital tickers flashing above trading floors. As a finance professor, I interpret corporate decisions like dividend payments through the lenses of incentives, governance and regulation. But, in that moment, I wondered: could the moral rhythms of the temple - with its teachings of harmony, reciprocity and impermanence - be quietly shaping the boardroom across the street?"
"That question led me to think more broadly: how do values persist across time, even as belief systems shift? China's spiritual and philosophical traditions - especially Buddhism, Taoism and Confucianism - have long shaped attitudes toward wealth, obligation and fairness. These influences may seem distant from today's stock markets, yet their traces remain visible in how people understand legitimacy and virtue, even in the realm of commerce."
A Buddhist shrine near Shanghai office towers juxtaposes ancient rituals and modern financial activity, its incense and bell contrasting digital market tickers. Moral rhythms from Buddhism, Taoism and Confucianism continue to shape attitudes toward wealth, obligation and legitimacy in contemporary commerce. Historically, merchants were socially low but cultivated civic reputation through generosity and support for temples and public goods, balancing profit with virtue. State policies in the early People's Republic labeled traditional religions as 'feudal superstition' and closed many temples during the Cultural Revolution, but underlying moral traditions persisted and experienced revival after economic reforms from the 1980s onward.
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