With regard to the virtues of the individual, Confucius emphasized righteousness. Righteousness means the "oughtness" of a situation. It is a categorical imperative.

Every one in society has certain things which he ought to do, and which must be done for their own sake, because they are the morally right things to do. If, however, he does them only because of other non-moral considerations, then even though he does what he ought to do, his action is no longer a righteous one. To use a word often disparaged by Confucius and later Confucianists, he is then acting for "profit". Righteousness(yi) and profit(li) are in Confucianism diametrically opposed terms. Confucius himself says:"The superior man comprehends yi; the small man comprehends li."