We tend in the West to think of Chinese Confucianism as dominated by obedience, conformity and tradition. But this is a misleading caricature. As Hong Kong philosopher Justin Tiwald argues, many Confucian philosophers celebrate independent thinking and moral autonomy. Indeed, Zide–“getting it oneself”—is a core Confucian value, a call to think and act for oneself. Western observers have been blindsided by China’s tech boom, surprised by its reliance on decentralization and local initiative. But once we abandon the cliché of Chinese culture as inherently deferential, China’s entrepreneurial dynamism may be less of a surprise.

I was going to wear a t-shirt celebrating my favorite rock band to my grandfather’s funeral, but my aunt tells me that it’s inappropriate for the occasion, so I change to a dress shirt with a tie. My child is getting married, and after consulting a book about wedding etiquette, I volunteer to pay for the rehearsal dinner. I don’t know why my aunt and the etiquette book are right, but I know that they are much more likely to be right than I am, and I follow their advice. We generally believe it is good for people to “think for themselves,” but when is it right to have faith in the advice of other people and texts? These sorts of questions—questions about moral deference—have been at the heart of Confucian philosophical discourse for most of its history.

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Confucianism is often taken to be in favor of deference to tradition and authority (customs, teachers, elders, etc.). In fact, the truth is more complicated and more interesting. Historical views about moral deference among Confucian philosophers have varied enormously. Early (“classical”) Confucianism gave rise to the world’s strongest and most sophisticated pro-deference view, a view associated with Xunzi (3^rd century BCE, pronounced like “Shoon-zuh”). But his position came to be marginalized, and for the better part of the next two-and-a-half millennia the most notable thinkers were at least moderately pro-autonomy. Some were radically pro-autonomy. In fact, there was a term-of-art, roughly translated as “getting it oneself” (zide 自得), that figured prominently in later writings about ethics and moral knowledge. The story of how this came to pass is well worth telling.

We can start with Xunzi’s case for strong moral deference. As I read him, Xunzi thinks that nearly all of us, in nearly all domains of our ethical lives, are better off trusting a time-tested tradition and its expert interpreters than relying on our own judgment. For him, it’s just not realistic that anyone other than a sage would understand all the considerations that make an ethical practice better than its alternatives. And for most intents and purposes, none of us is a sage.

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Part of what makes ethical values good ones is how amenable they are to being grasped and adopted by us.

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Xunzi offers two succinct ways of grasping his basic argument for moral deference. One compares the Confucian ethical tradition to crafts like cooking and music. If you want to become a great musician, is it reasonable to expect that every step toward success would seem justified by your own lights? Or is it more reasonable to learn the traditional musical scales and classical compositions—well attested by teachers and by history’s great musicians—and come to see their advantages and values after a great deal of practice?