Thus, while the locus of Confucian rights lies within the community rather than the individual who
could be considered in some abstract sense as existing independent of, or logically prior to, his or
her membership in the community, the individual's rights nevertheless do clearly exist.
This clearer understanding of Confucianism's understanding of the relation of the individual to
human rights may require a revision of some of our assumptions about related concepts, such as
equality and autonomy. In place of equality Confucianism would speak of equity. As de Bary
observes,