Chinese traditional culture as the spiritual and ideological foundation of Chinese corporate culture

In Chinese concept of corporate culture, the spiritual culture as a derivative of the ethnic culture plays a central role in the whole system of corporate culture. The spiritual culture is based on the traditional culture with its three teachings: Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism. Confucianism has been successfully applied to the economy in the long history of Chinese traditional culture. The values and moral principles of Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism reflect the way of thinking and life principles of Chinese Confucian merchants; they have formed a unique cultural model. The study focuses on the main principles of traditional Confucian merchant culture: principles of profit, kindness and love, honesty, harmony, ‘Entrepreneurial spirit of the entrepreneur (merchant)’, a Confucian principle of loyalty and patriotism, moral standards of Taoism, a Buddhist principle ‘Do not do bad things, commit all good deeds’. Therefore, the cultural model of Chinese corporate culture can be understood by recognizing the Chinese culture as an important factor and component of the corporate culture.