To many Western observers, Confucian-heritage societies, such as Mainland China, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Singapore, are characterized as collectivist-orientated in nature. Individuals live within the relationship with others, and the value of an individual is expressed by how the person relates to others. People in these societies are more concerned with confirmation, maintaining harmony with others rather than with individualization or becoming independent and being critical. These societies appear to be introverted, submissive, and close-minded. Such characteristics are negatively associated with creative personalities, as defined by Gough (1979). Therefore, it is suggested that these values of Asian societies are prohibitive to the development of individual creativity. This study examines an important philosophical root for the Chinese notion of creativity, that is, the Confucianism, and concludes that the Confucian ideology has shaped how Chinese have viewed creativity in the past, and may still have a great impact on how contemporary Chinese perceive creativity.