Sonderdrucke aus der Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg
HARRO VON SENGER
Reconsideration of Confucius in the People’s
Republic of China
Originalbeitrag erschienen in:
Cheu Hock-Tong: Confucianism in Chinese culture
Selangor: Subang Jaya, Selangor Darul Ehsan, 2000, S. 93-112
5
Reconsideration of Confucius in the
People's Republic of China?'
Harro von Senger
" (r s it not delightful to have friends coming from afar?"
This quotation from Analects (Lun-yu) 1:1, I heard more
often than any other Confucian saying during my period
of study in Taiwan (1971-1973). I heard it for instance from
JiangJingguo, the son and successor to Jiang Jieshi, when in
early 1973 he opened a one-day conference in the Sun Rixin
centre in Taipei.
"Is it not delightful to have friends coming from afar?" An irreplaceable, harmless statement by Confucius, one might imagine. That is how I experienced it in Taiwan. That one could see
something wrong in it, I would not have thought possible. That
is until 1 started my two-year-study residence in Beijing in the
Fall of 1975, a year before Mao's death. At the Beijing University,
where I studied philosophy and Chinese history, I found myself—as it was later called in the Chinese mass media—right in
a so-called "dark support base of the Gang of Four" and in a
nerve centre of various campaigns, among others an anti-Confucius campaign.
In November 1974 an internal booklet (therefore not available in public bookstores) written by student workers, farmers,
I
This article was first published in German under the title "Ruckbesinnung auf
Konfuzius in der Volksrepublik China?", in Zeitschriift der Deutschen
Morgenlandischen Gesellschaft, band 133, heft 2, 1983, pp.377-392. It was
translated into English by Julian F. Pas.
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HARRO VON SENGER
and soldiers of the faculty of philosophy at Beijing University
was published. The booklet was entitled Critical Commentary
on the Analects of Confucius (Lunyu pizhu). In it, among others,
the saying of Confucius quoted above was critically commented upon:
The Confucian trend of learning founded by Confucius was
not only a reactionary ideological sect, but above all a reactionary political clique... The verse "Is it not delightful to have
friends from afar?" means that this clique draws to them
counter-revolutionary accomplices and want to expand their
counter-revolutionary organization.'
In their preface, these worker-, farmer- and soldier-students
asserted that Confucius' teaching in general it consisted of
nothing but chaff, that it did not contain a single grain of wheat,
and hence must be radically criticized and eradicated from the
roots upwards.'
The campaign of official condemnation against Confucius
in the People's Republic of China continued until the fall of the
so-called "Gang of Four" in the late Fall of 1976.
Since then almost six years have elapsed. They have been
characterized by the complete change of the political line of the
Chinese Communist Party in December 1978. 4 Instead of the
z. Lunyu pizhu (Beijing, 1974), p.2.
3. Ibid., V.
4. For the concept of "political line of the Chinese Communist Party, see Harro
von Senger, Partei und Staat: Parteinormen und staatliches Gesetzesrecht in der
Volksrepublic China [Party and State: Party Norms and Legal Norms in the People's Republic of China] (Basel, 1981), Social Strategies, 14, pp.10ff. Id. Partei,
Ideologie und Gesetz in der Volksrepublik China (Party, Ideology and Law in the
People's Republic of China], (Bern, 1982), pp.8ff. Id. "Recent Developments in
the Relations between State and Party Norms in the People's Republic of China"
in The Scope of State Power in China, ed. Stuart R. Schram (London, 1985),
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5-RECONSIDERATION OF CONFUCIUS
major task, prescribed until then by the Chinese Communist
Party to the Chinese people, viz. the class struggle between the
proletariat and the bourgeoisie, however, one may understand
that in concrete terms, a new task was proposed. It was in fact
the "four modernizations" of: agriculture, industry, science and
technology, as well as national defence. As a sign of the new direction, official China directed its attention not only outward
across its boundaries, but also inward to the cultural heritage of
the past millenia. One should keep in mind here that the appeal
to the population's pride in the Chinese Communist Party as the
standard-bearer of the true, pure socialism, perhaps still active
at the time of the "Cultural Revolution", has since the complete
change of ideological bathwater, sounded rather hollow. Consequently, the Chinese Communist Party attempts to appeal more
and more to patriotic feelings and to base its legitimation of
power even further on the change of being a faithful—be it also
critical—heir of traditional Chinese culture.
Thus are today in China officially rediscovered ancient
monumental buildings and burial places, myths and legends,
literary works, and musical compositions; ancient customs and
festivals—for instance, the Lantern Festival was once again
celebrated in 1979 until the present;' traditional Chinese medicine; ancient hygiene; almost forgotten sports such as certain
schools of gongfu or self-defence; and finally statesmen, war and
popular heroes, scientists, poets and thinkers from ancient
times, amongst whom figure next to Laozi, Mencius, Han Feizi
and many others, above all, Confucius.
p.183.
5. "The Lantern Festival", Beijing Review (German edition), February 27, 1979,
p.31.
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HARRO VON SENNER
The November 1974 booklet, Critical Commentary on the
Analects of Confucius, composed by worker-, farmer-, and soldier-students, sank into oblivion. Today, one finds recommended for the study of Confucius the December 1980 new
edition of a work by Yang Bojun, The Conversations of Confucius
Translated into Modern Chinese and Annotated (Lunyuyizhu)
first published in 1958. 6 The verse about friends coming from
afar is here presented purely philologically and historically explained without any criticism or emotion. Two different ways of
writing the first Chinese character of the saying according to
different textual traditions are pointed out. Yang Bojun, supported by ancient commentaries, replaces the character peng,
which is usually translated as "friends", with another word,
meaning "disciples" referring to those who came from afar, to be
educated by Confucius in poetry, history, music, and ritual.'
Just this one example, which shows the way in which this
Confucian saying is now being treated, throws a spotlight on the
complete change in the view of Confucius in the People's Republic
of China. Generally speaking, one can perceive three tendencies.
They arose consecutively in the years 1977-1978, but since that
time have coexisted.
The first tendency turns out to be a form of retaliation
against the anti-Confucius campaign of the "Cultural Revolution". The second tendency is the academic preoccupation with
Confucius liberated from its "Cultural Revolutionary" ban. The
third tendency is reflected in the efforts to have selected Confucian ideas exert an influence upon political and daily life, as
6
Liang Kun, Jian lun du 'Lunyu'", Beijing Wanbao (April 6, 1981); Wang Li,
7
Yang Bojun, Lunyu yizhu, 2nd edition (Beijing, 1980), pp.1-2.
Gudai Hanyu, vol.1, 2nd ed. (Beijing, 1981), p.177.
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5-RECONSIDERATION OF CONFUCIUS
well as upon the so-called new socialist ethics. The building of a
new socialist ethics as the nucleus of a so-called "spiritual" civilization must accompany the building of a material civilization
in the course of the four selected modernizations.
The first tendency, the reaction against the anti-Confucius
campaign of the "Cultural Revolution", has two aspects: the
critical analysis of the arguments levelled against Confucius,
and the exposure of the anti-Confucius campaign as a political
intrigue devoid of any worthwhile statement about Confucius
himself.
Only a minor fraction of the "Cultural-revolutionary" critique against Confucius is now conceived as having any serious
value and as meriting examination. In fact, it is currently only
used in order to be contradicted. Thus, for instance, the worker
Liu Jianxun, in the Beijing Evening Daily of March 1981, rejects
the accusation that Confucius as sihou—official in charge of
criminal offences, or as its modern, perhaps too modern equivalent: Minister of Justice—in the state of Lu would have instituted the Shaocheng Mao.' Zhang Shen in the Scientific Announcements of the Educational College of North-East China, no.2
(1981) presents as false the assertion that Confucius during his
life had been ridiculed by an old man with the words that he did
not perform any work with his four limbs and was unable to distinguish the five grains.' In fact, this saying relates to one of
8. "Lin Biao and the Doctrine of Confucius and Mencius", Beijing Review (German
edition), February 19, 1974, p.7; Liu Jianxun, "Kongzi mei sha Shaozheng
Mao", Beijing Wanbao, March 31, 1981. For a summary of this article, see Tianjin ribao, April 18, 1981.
9. Lunyu 18:7, translated into modern Chinese in Lunyu pizhu (Beijing, 1974),
p.417; James Legge, The Four Books: Confucian Analects (Taipei, 1973), p.335;
and Richard Wilhelm, Kungfutse. Gesprache. Lun Yu (Dusseldorf & Koln,
1979), p.180. For the numbering of chapters and verses in the Analects, I follow
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HARRO VON SENGER
Confucius' disciple, not Confucius himself. Confucius, whose
father had died early, is said to have worked manually throughout a miserable youth. 10 Moreover, one cannot deny the fact that
there are people who do not work with their limbs and are unable to distinguish the five cereals. The rise of such a social class
is, in fact, the result of the unavoidable, progress-directed social
labour division. It is wrong to misinterpret the old man's statement as being a condemnation of intellectuals as idle parasites,
as happened at the time of the "Cultural Revolution ". 11
The major part of the "Cultural Revoluton" accusations
against Confucius is dismissed by Chinese historians and commentators now as purely political intrigue. Ultimately it was not
the intention to attack Confucius but the party and the state
leadership of the People's Republic of China, according to the
motto, "to beat the back, but to mean the donkey". 12 Confucius,
who lived from 551 (or as another tradition says 552) till 479BC,
was accused in the Guangming Daily in March 1976 of wanting
to restore the ancient regime of the Western Zhou (which ruled
from the 11th till the 8th century BC) t '. As a tit-for-tat answer,
an analysis appeared in the same newspaper in January 1978
with the very promising title, "An Example of the Devilish
Yang Bojun; in the case of divergence with the numbering in Legge, l add those
within parentheses. For the translation of quotations from the Analects, 1
mostly follow the new Chinese translation by Yang Bojun, which is presently
the authoritative version of the Lunyu in the People's Republic of China.
to Lunyu 9:6, Legge, p.218; Wilhelm, p.99. (The master said: "... 1 had a difficult
youth, so that 1 learnt quite a number of humble skills.")
11. Summary of the reports by Zhang Shen. "Zhaodiao Kongzi 'Siti buqin, wugu
bufen' de maozi", fiefang ribao, May 15, 1981; "Laoxinzhe bing bu shi jishengchong", Guangming ribao, May 22, 1981.
t2 Z hang Hengshou,' Kong Qiu", in Zhongguogudai zhuming zhexuejia pingzhuan,
vol.1 (Shandong, 1980), p.14.
13 Liang Xiao, "Ke ji fuli zaipipan", Guangming ribao, March 6, 1976.
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Strategies of the Gang of Four". 14 The article complained that,
through the regular use of the character Zhou in negative contexts, an arrow had been shot not against Confucius and his
wishes for reform, but against Zhou Enlai and his allegedly "revisionist line". In similar Cultural Revolution pamphlets, Confucius was not the apparent target, but in fact party and state
leaders should have been discredited. To restore the desired parallels with the actual political struggle, the historical material
was rekneaded as a dough; that is the present view of the situation. 15
With the abating of the grim fight against the so-called
"Gang of Four", about the beginning of 1978, Confucius disappeared from the scene of daily political conflict. That cleared
the way for the second tendency in Confucius analysis during
the last six years: the comparatively non-political, academic examination of Confucius since early 1978. Naturally, the framework for study defined by the officially propagated ideology of
the People's Republic of China, cannot be avoided in this context. However, within this framework, one can discover in more
than one hundred essays about Confucius, published since
l6
1979, an exceedingly broad range of opinions.
What is the ultimate goal of all these publications? This
question has been answered perhaps most clearly by Yan Beim14 Hong Bo, "Sirenbang guiyu jilia de yige biaoben: Pipan Liang Xiao `Ke ji full'
zaipipa", Guangming ribao,January 6, 1978.
I s Fu Yunlong, "Jianguo yilai de Kong Qiu yanjiu", Zhexue yanjiu, no.9, 1979,
p.76. About the technique of this as "History of Shadow Shooting" designed manipulation of history, see Harro von Senger, "On Yu, the River Demon — From
the Shadow Shooter in the Shih Ching to Shadow-shooting Literature in the
People's Republic of China", in Papers Presented to the 27th Congress of Chinese
Studies (Zurich, 1982), p.281ff.
16. Pang Pu, "Ping san nian laide Kongzi pingjia", Renmin ribao, January 29, 1980.
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HARRO VON SENGER
ing in Social Science Publications, no.1 (1981) of Liao'ning. He
believes that the true Confucius has been distorted three times
by a false Confucius. The first time happened during the years
of imperal China (221BC-AD1911) when he was idealized to
such a high degree that his true face became more and more unrecognizable. The second time occurred in the time span of the
May 4 Movement of 1919 until the eve of the Cultural Revolution which erupted in 1966. The May 4 Movement was a patriotic protest movement of students and workers against the
transfer of sovereignty of the once German leased territories in
Shandong to Japan, approved in the Peace Treaty of Versailles. It
was at the same time also a movement towards the renewal of
Chinese culture with a nationalist and anti-imperialist orientation. Although a fresh wind was now blowing in Confucius research, the existence of both excessively positive as well as
negative viewpoints hindered a balanced factual analysis of
Confucius."
The third distortion of Confucius' face was caused by the
so-called Cultural Revolution. Today the main objective is, as
Yan Beiming says, to rehabilitate Confucius. In concrete terms,
that means the separation of historical Confucius from socalled Confucianism, which was only put together a long time
after his death by imperial court scholars with an admixture of
ingredients from various other systems of thought, and which
became, for over 2000 years, the "state ideology" of the Chinese
empire. Yan Beiming feels that since the empire belongs to the
past, Confucianism deserves the same fate.'
R.P. Kramers, KonJucius. Chinas entthronter Heiliger? [Confucius: China's dethroned Saint? l (Bern, 1979), p.50.
18 For summaries of the reports, see Yan Beiming, "Kongjiadian yao dadao:
Kongzi yao pingfan", Wenhui bao, March 20, 1981; "Kongzi yao zhengque
17.
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Back to Confucius: the main direction of the second tendency is to investigate the historical conditions in which Confucius actually lived and taught. In this there is a partial link
with Confucius-study of the period between 1949 and 1966, especially with regard to the following basic themes:
1. The environment in which Confucius worked, and his
"class viewpoint".
2. The basic philosophical concepts of Confucius.
3. The political and socio-ethical contents of his teaching.
4. His ideas about education.' 9
Greater attention has been given to the method of Confucius research as well as to the available source materials than before 1966. The bamboo slips from about 8 BC which were excavated in 1973 in the Ding area of Hebei had a stimulating effect.
They contain the better half of the text which is the most important source work for Confucius study: the Conversations of Confucius already cited at the beginning. This version is about 200
years older than the text otherwise available. Between the two
versions, there are a few differences with regard to vocabulary
and organization. 20
There was then a loud call to utilize systematically in Confucius research not just the Conversations, but also the six classics: the Book of Odes (Shijing), Book of Documents (Shujing),
Book of Changes (Yijing), Canon of Rites (Liji), Spring and
19
20.
pingjia: Kongjiadian yao dadao", Nanfang ribao, March 18, 1981; "Kongjiadian
yao dadao, Kongzi yao ppingian", Zhongguo jianshe, no.4 (April 1982), p.16.
For details, see Fu Yunlong, "Jianguo yilai de Kong Qiu yanjiu", Zhexue yanjiu,
no.9 (September 1979), pp.70-79.
"Ding xian 40 hao Hanmu chutu zhujian jianjie", Wenwu, no.9 (September
1981), p.11; Wihelm, p.30.
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HARRO VON SENGER
Autumn Annals (Chunqiu) and the Annotations on Music (Yuehu),
as well as the writings of thinkers from the hundred schools between the sixth and the third century BC. Confucius research
must, moreover, be expanded so as to include Confucius' atit21
tudes toward music, history, economics, sport, etc.
A third tendency in the attitude toward Confucius which
became noticeable in early 1979 is the attempt to interpret certain sayings of Confucius and his disciples in a way which
would serve the current political line of the Chinese Communist Party, and to utilize them in coping with problems of political and daily life. This rediscovery of Confucius manifests itself
in commentaries, essays, editorial answers to readers' letters,
even cartoons in the Chinese press, both in a serious and humorous fashion.
Of the humour, I think of a cartoon by Qin Zhe in Renmin
ribao ("People's Daily"), the mouthpiece of the central committee of the Chinese Communist Party in September 1979. It relates to one of the sessions of negotiations between the Soviet
Union and the United States concerning one of their mutual
conflicts. The cartoon shows a jovially smiling Brezhnev, holding in his hand a cocktail glass with the inscription "Detente",
rushing toward a door on which is attached the sign "America"
(Meiguo). As accompanying legend serves the saying of Confucius already discussed "how delightful to have friends coming
from afar". Only a minor correction of the quotation has been
22
made: the word "friends" is put within quotation marks.
21 "Kongzi xueshu taolunhui taolunde yixie wenti", Guangming ribao, January 20,
1981.
22 "You 'peng' zi yuanfang lai", Renmin ribao, September 13, 1979.
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If one looks at all the quotations from Confucius, which are
seriously related to the present, one can notice in the present
Confucius wave the shining of several whitecaps.
There is, first of all, the problem area of self-education in
the sense of today's willingness to engage in critical self-examination, of openness to criticism from others, and of the restless,
eager aspiration to obtain new knowledge and continued education. In this context, the following sayings of Confucius or
his disciples are frequently quoted:
23
"Every day 1 examine myself several times."
"The superior man makes demands on himself; the inferior man
puts demands on others." 24
"The superior man's mistakes are like a solar or lunar eclipse; if
he commits a mistake, then everybody notices it; if he cor25
rects it, then everybody will again look up at him."
"To be talented, yet to learn from those who are not talented."
26
"To ask questions about everything."
"Not to be ashamed to ask the humble." 27
"To learn and to put it constantly in practice." 28
"By renewing old knowledge, to reach new insights.n 29
23. From Lunyu 1:4, Legge, p.139; Wilhelm, p.38. Approved among others by
Shou Duanren, "Qingnian yao jiang xiuyang", Wenhui bao, August 20, 1979.
24. Lunyu 15:21 (15:20), Legge, p.300; Wilhelm, p.158. Approved by Wang
Chengzhu, "Junzi qiu zhuji", Guangming ribao, January 22, 1981.
25. Lunyu 19:21, Legge, p.346; Wilhelm, p.188. Approved by Zhang Wen, "Yong
yu gai guo", Nanfang ribao, April 26, 1980; Mao Shuzheng, "Geng ye, renjie
yang zhi", Guangming ribao, October 25, 1981.
26 From Lunyu 3:15, Legge, p.160; Wilhelm, p.54. Recommended by Zhao
Zhongxin, "Xue bi'hao wen'", Beijing ribao, February 11, 1982.
27. From Lunyu 5:15 (5:14), Legge, p.178. Wilhelm, p.68. Recommended by Zhao
Zhongxin, op. cit. One should also pay attention to the title, "Bu chi xia wen
nengzhe wei shi", Jiefang ribao, February 26, 1980.
28. From Lunyu 1:1, Legge, p.137; Wilhelm, p37. Recommended by Liang
Chang'e, "Yao'xue er shi xi zhi ", Beijing ribao, January 18, 1980.
29 Lunyu 2:11, Legge, p.149; Wilhelm, p.45. Recommended by Ze Bian, "Zenyang
xuexi cai neng jidezhu?" Renmin ribao, May 16, 1978; Huang Yuhuang, "Shuo
'you'", Guangening ribao, October 9, 1979; further benevolently mentioned in
"Wo guo gudai jiaoyujia lun zhili fazhan", Nanfang ribao, October 16, 1981.
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HARRO VON SENGER
A further problem area is the relationship with one's fellow
men. Here a saying of Confucius has attained new respect: "Do
not do to others what you do not want them to do to you". 30 This
kind of treating one's fellow men has been praised as one of the
"finest of the old transmitted virtues of the Chinese people" by
Qing Yang in the Chinese Youth Daily, the official organ of the
Chinese Communist Youth Association.' [ The reversal of this
maxim and its use to serve the so-called class struggle of the period at the time of the Cultural Revolution: "Do to others what
you do not want them to do to you!" has been denounced.'' Already Liu Shaoqi, the last president of state of the People's Republic of China who lost his life during the "Cultural Revolution", pointed in 1939 to this original saying of Confucius in a
writing addressed to his fellow members of the Chinese Communist Party. Today this maxim is entrusted as a guiding principle not only to party members, but also to marriage partners." It
does not apply to one's enemies: against them one must be merciless and fight a resolute battle, Yang Liuxie emphasizes in the
Beijing Daily in early 1980." Likewise the saying borrowed
from Confucius' Conversations but not approved by himself "To
answer hatred with goodness" (Yi de bao yuan) 35 should only ap-
30.
31
32
33
34
35
This Confucian saying is often used as a standard quotation, for instance by
Zhang Yunfang, "Wen gu zhi xin — Du 'Ohira Masayoshi huiyilü ", Renmin
ribao, June 13, 1982.
Lunyu 12:2, Legge, p.251; Wilhelm, p.122; and Lunyu 15:24 (15:23), Legge,
p.301; Wilhelm, p.159. Recommended by Yang Liuxie, "Tongzhi jian ying
tichang suo bu yu, wu shi yu ren'", Beijing ribao, March 10, 1980; "Ji suo bu
yu, wu shih yu ren", Zhongguo qingnian bao, June 18, 1981; Pu Zhenyuan,
"Quan jun bu yao chan'shuifen'", Zhong chingnian, no.6, June 11, 1982, p.63.
Qing Yang, "Dai ren shou guo". Zhongguo qingnian bao, March 1, 1981.
For instance by Yang Liuxie, op. cit.
Qing Ming, "Fufu zhi dao", Minzhu yu Tashi", no.8, August 25, 1981, p.38.
Yang Liuxie, op. cit.
From Lunyu 14:34 (14:36), Legge, p.288; Wilhelm, p.149. Recommended by
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ply to fellow party members. Directed to party members as well
as to families is the appeal: "Harmony is precious" (Yi he wei
gui). This refers to a series of words, taken out of context; in the
original text they have a different meaning. 36 Moreover, almost
all the parts of the Conversations of Confucius benevolently requoted today give the impression that they have been picked out
without great consideration of the context. Whether quotations
from Confucius in earlier times have been treated more carefully
remains an open question here.
Likewise, in the spirit of the so-called new socialist ethics
tied to the prevailing ideology of the People's Republic of China,
Confucius' call for "self-discipline" (he ji), 37 his warnings:
"Without tolerance in small matters, one endangers great projects,i38 "When considering profit, think of duty," 39 and his censure of "Whoever sees his duty and does not act upon it, is not
courageousi90 are once again summoned up. The last mentioned quotation responds in a most positive formulation to the
expression: "To see one's duty and to act courageously according to it," and also to newspaper reports which regularly appear
Jiang Yuanming, with an appeal to Liu Shaoqi, "He wei gui", Beijing ribao, May
28, 1981.
36. According to Yang Bojun, op. cit, p.8, "during the performance of rites, correctness is precious"; Legge, p.143; Wilhelm, p.40; Jiang Yuanming, op. cit,; Li Jia,
'Jiating ye yao tichang he wei gui", Gongren ribao, October 7, 1981; "Jiating he
wei gui, linli mu xin feng", Wenhui bao, February 1, 1982.
37. From Lunyu 12:1, Legge, p.250; Wilhelm, p.121; Huang Guoyin, Mao Zhenhua
& Fu Wanmei, "Keji feng gong de hao ganbu Xiao Zhaoran", Gongren ribao,
March 19, 1980.
38. From Lunyu 15:27 (15:26), Legge, p.302; Wilhelm, p.159. Cited by Ren Bing &
Huai Yi, "Tongzhi jian yao xunqiu", Beijing ribao, December 20, 1981.
39. From Lunyu 14:12 (14:13), Legge, pp.279-280; Wilhelm, p.143. Enjoined by
Liu Daiiwen, "Jian Ii si yi", Guangming ribao, May 28, 1982.
40. From Lunyu 2:24, Legge, p.154; Wilhelm, p.48. Cited by Shui Jing, "Daode de
'meili ", Renmin ribao, March 21, 1982.
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HARRO VON SENGER
about passers-by who intervene in mishaps or crimes which
they happen to witness and thereby try to avoid catastrophies. 41
Concerning contact with friends, Liu Xuewu, 42 in October
1981 serving as spokesman of the Beijing committee of the Chinese Communist Party, focused on the following sayings of
Confucius:
There are three kinds of friendship which are beneficial and
three kinds which are harmful. Friendship with the upright,
with the truthful, and with the well-informed is beneficial.
Friendship with those who flatter, with those who are meek and
who compromise with principles, and with those who talk cleverly is harmful. 43
As a "friend who is beneficial" denoted by the use of the expression yiyou coined by Ba Jin, the chairman of the Chinese
Writers Guild, points as an example to Xiao Qian, an author
born in 1909, in the Chinese Youth Daily of March 28, 1982. «
of Confucius, which OtherquoainsfmCverto
are today recalled in the People's Republic of China in this context, are: "In contact with friends speak in such a way that one
stands by one's words", 45 and "If one does not agree about the
fundamentals, one cannot give each other advice.s 41
41. "Liang qing gong fenyong buzhuo lanlu qiangjiefan", Beijing ribao, January 21,
1980; "Luren jian yi yong wei daoqie fenzi bei qin", Beijing ribao,July 16, 1981;
Rong Qi, "Gan tingshen er chu", Beijing ribao, April 13, 1982.
42. Liu Xuewu, Jiao yyou, bu jiao sunyou , Beijing ribao, October 14, 1981.
43. Lunyu 16:4, Legge, p.311; Wilhelm, p.166. [English translation quoted from
Wing-tsit Chan, A Source Book in Chinese Philosophy, p.45.
44. Xiao Qian, "Ta de wei ren", Zhongguo qingnian bao, March 28, 1982; id., "Zhiyou, yiyou he weiyou Ba Jin", Xinhua wenzhai, no.3, 1982, p.192.
45. From Lunyu 1:7, Legge, p.141; Wilhelm, p.39.
46. From Lunyu 15:40 (15:39), Legge, p.305; Wilhelm, p.162. Ye Yun appeals to
this in his response to a reader's letter by Xie Yifan from Anhui province, "Zheyang de youyi gai bu gai baozhi" Zhongguo qingnian bao, April 23, 1981.
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Furthermore, there is an open turning to Confucius' "middle way philosophy" (zhongyong zhi dao). It is, for example,
praised by Yue Yunlong in the nationwide Guangming Daily in
January 1980." He quotes from Confucius' Conversations as follows:
"Faithfully keep this middle!" (yun chi qi zhong), 48 and "To
overshoot the target is tantamount to not reaching it." 49The middle
way philosophy of Confucius has, according to Yue Yunlong, its
good sides as a thought and work method. Interpreted without
prejudice, it means that in all things one should consider the right
measure. As medicine has to be administered to a patient in the exact amount, so also must centralization and decentralization of the
political and economic decision-making powers in the state be appropriately balanced. An exaggerated concentration of power
would tie the hands of the lower echelons and too much decentralization would have an adverse effect on the necessary standardization and central coordination.
The following Confucian saying is not unfrequently quoted
in this context: "He who rushes too much, does not reach the
goal" (yu su zhe bu da). 50 With this Zhang Zhou introduces a
gloss likewise in the Guangming Daily of Feburary 1981. 51 This
sentence is believed to have been extremely salutary for the disciple Zi Lu who was suffering from exaggerated haste. But, if
correctly understood, it has to do with a maxim, useful for the
construction of socialism, especially during the present phase
47. Yue Yunlong, "'Guo you buy ji qua", Guangming ribao, January 17, 1980.
48. From Lunyu 20:1, Legge, p.350; Wilhelm, p.191.
49. From Lunyu 11:16 (11:15), Legge, p.242; Wilhelm, p.116.
so. From Lunyu 13:17, Legge, p.270; Wilhelm, p.135.
51. Zhang Zhou, "Mo dao bu wu kanchaigong", Guangming ribao, February 1,
1981.
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HARRO VON SENGER
of economic adjustment: "Shattered is already the thick layer of
ice and a shipping channel has been opened up". The possibly
rapid realization of the four modernizations is the common
wish of us all. But, so cries Zhang Zhou, if we rush too fast, `eve
shall miss the target"!
A further point of connection with Confucius concerns his
belief in the moral power of example, in the exemplary noble
person's influence on his environment. The almost overwhelming and environment-moulding effect of the model, has never
been doubted by the official authorities in the People's Republic
of China, not even during the "Cultural Revolution". "To set an
example is better than giving a lecture" (shenjiao shengyu yanjiao)" is a familiar saying, though not stemming from Confucius, which shimmers through a certain distrust of abstract
norms. A much stronger impact is expected from personal example, one has only to think of the numerous national and local
model workers and collective models in any number of professional and daily activities. According to the opinion prevailing
in the People's Republic of China, they exert silently an educative influence on the masses, who, with concrete and robust
cases of exemplary behaviour presented to them voluntarily,
without intervention from above and without the need for
threatening disciplinary action and punishment, keep themselves on the right path.
The importance of the model has recently been philosophically supported by Wang Chengzhu in the Guangming Daily of
January 22,1981" with a quotation from Confucius:
52. Chosen as an example in Anzhao jiaoyu jiaoxue guilu peiyang de zhi ti quanmian fazhan de xinren", Guangming ribao, June 14, 1979.
53 Wang Zhengzhu, op. cit.
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5-RECONSIDERATION OF CONFUCIUS
If a ruler sets himself right, he will be followed without his
command. If he does not set himself right, even his commands
will not be obeyed.`
In the same context, one can mention the saying of Confucius which is now and then repeated. ss
A ruler who governs his state by virtue is like the north pole
star which remains in its place while all the other stars revolve
around it. 56
In the area of education, just to give one example, Confucius, in facing the very different levels of the labour force, which
are necessary for the four modernizations, is called as a chief
witness for a labour division based on talent, and not on overall
equalization: S7
To those who are above average, one may talk of the higher
things, but one may not do so to those who are below average."
In the area of art, Confucius is praised for his demand not
only for beautiful form, but also for good content in works of
art,' and even more so for his insight into the political or society-guiding ("soziagogical") function of art, especially of mu6°
stc.
54. Lunyu 13:6, Legge, p.266; Wilhelm, p.132. [Chan, A Source Book, p.41.1
5s. For instance by Wei Keming, "Kongxue zhong you pusu de bianzhengfa", Jiefang ribao, December 3, 1980.
56. Lunyu 2:1, Legge, p.145; Wilhelm, p.42. [Chan, A Source Book, p.22.).
57. "Kongzi de jiaoyu fangfa", Beijing wanbao, August 7, 1981.
se. Lunyu 6:21 (6:19), Legge, p.191; Wilhelm, p.78.
59. Here reference is made to Lunyu 3.25, Legge, p.164; Wilhelm, p.57; Cheng
Yun, "Lue lun Kongzi de yingueguan", Renmin yiyue, no.9, 1980, pp.37-38.
60. Cheng Yun, op. cit.
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NARRO VON SENGER
And, finally, Confucius is recognized in today's People's Republic of China as the forebear of etiquette and the forms of politeness. A book recently published in Shanghai, entitled Common Knowledge about Nobility of Heart and Propriety calls up
right on the first page, traditions traced back to Confucius.' A
sentence from chapter six of the Analects of Confucius is
thereby explained in modern Chinese:
Unadulterated character alone, without good manners, is
barbaric; purely good manners with the simultaneous loss of unadulterated character is just dross; only he who combines good
manners with unadulterated character, is an educated person. 62
Referring to a place in Lunyu, 63 Wang Daqi complains not
only in Beijing Evening Daily of March 20, 1982, but also in the
Chinese Youth Daily of March 20, 1982, that the art of bowing,
which Confucius had mastered, and is widespread even today
in Japan, has been forgotten in China, the birthplace of this
form of politeness.` Also requested is a return to the way in
which Confucius, according to a description by his disciple Zi
Gong, behaved himself when in contact with this fellow men,
namely "mild, generous, courteous, moderate and modest". 65
61. Lunyu 6:18 (6:16), Legge, p.190; Wilhelm, p.77.
62. Wenming limao changshi (Shanghai, 1981), p.l.
63. Lunyu 10:4, Legge, pp.228-229; Wilhelm, p.106.
64. Wang Daqi, "Jugong", Beijing wanbao, March 8, 1982; id. "Wenming limaoyue
zhong hua jugong", Zhongguo qingnian bao, March 28, 1982.
65. From Lunyu 1:10, Legge, p.142; Wilhelm, p.40. Without any reference to Confucius, this is characterized as "an important element of the ethical tradition of
the Chinese people", in "Tantan wen Jiang gong jian rang", Zhongguo qingnian
bao, April 4, 1982. Criticism was made by Mao Zedong, "Hunan nongmin yundong kaocha baogao", Mao Zedong xuanji, vol.]. (Beijing, 1969), p.17; Mao Zedong, Selected Works (German edition), vol.1 (Beijing, 1978), p.27.
110
5—RECONSIDERATION OF CONFUCIUS
After this survey, which has been short and incomplete, the
question arises: is a reevaluation of Confucius taking place in
the People's Republic of China? The answer certainly is `yes".
The "Cultural Revolution" abuses of Confucius have ceased.
Academic circles of the People's Republic of China now look for
inspiration directly from Confucius, the greatest thinker in
China's past, as the historian Pang Pu says in the Journal of Historical Research of August 1978. 66
The widespread interest in Confucius is being mirrored in
politics and daily life, where quotations from Confucius are being brought back to life. The demand for renewed criticism of
Confucius as the spiritual founder of so-called feudal despotism of the old Empire, which is still strongly criticized in the
People's Repbulic of China, has now grown very weak. Yet this
demand, raised during a Confucius symposium in Qufu, Confucius' birthplace, has so far remained without response. b7 Furthermore, the birthplace of Confucius, about 650 kilometres to
the south of Beijing in the province of Shandong, has since 1979
been open once again to foreign visitors and is under special
care. 1 saw this for myself during my visit in October 1980.
Why answer with a conditional `yes" to the question "Reconsideration of Confucius in the People's Republic of China?"
On the one hand, certain parts of the doctrinal system represented by Confucius, for example, his retrogressivity, bs his so66 Pang Pu, "Kongzi sixiang de zaipingjia", Lishi yanjiu, no.8, 1978, p.48; id.
Kongzi ji Kongzi sixiang zaiping^^ia (Jilin, 1980), p.99.
67 "Kongzi xueshu taolunhui taolun de yixie wenti", Guangming ribao, January 20,
1981.
68 For example by Pang Pu, op. cit., where he refers to Lunyu 3:14, "The master
said: ... I follow the Zhou dynasty." (which, according to the present in the People's Republic of China officially accepted view of history, is beyond salvation
and doomed to ruin!), Legge, p.160; Wilhelm, p.54.
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HARRO VON SENGER
called philosophical idealism,69 his fatalism 70 and also his rigid
understanding of the place of each individual in the social
structure," are still criticized. Only parts of his body of thought,
and only those parts which fit in with the concept of the presently prevailing political line of the Chinese Communist Party,
are being accepted or, as it is called in the People's Republic of
China, "critically adopted".
Does the eclectic-selective way of proceeding perhaps show
in some ways a special faithfulness to Confucius? Did Confucius himself not learn from others in this eclectic-selective
manner, as one of his sayings indicates:
I look for the good in [others] and follow it... 72
69.
70
71
72
Denounced for example by Lin Wei, "Xianxing zhengce he gongchangzhuyi
daode jiaoyu", Guangming ribao, November 8, 1981, with reference to Lunyu
7:23 (7:22), "The master said, Heaven has produced the virtue in me..."; Legge,
p.202; Wilhelm, p.86, "God has generated the spirit in me..."; Kramers, op. cit.,
p.36, "Heaven has generated the culture in me..."
For instance is attacked the saying of Zi Xia, one of Confucius' disciples,
"Riches and rank depend on Heaven" (fugui zai tian), Lunyu 12:5, Legge, p.253;
Wilhelm, p.122; Niu Geng, "Fengjian mixin sixiang shi zenyang chansheng
de?" Gongren ribao, May 3, 1979; Wu Shenyuan, "Kongzi fouding zongjiao tianmingguan ma?" Wenhui bao, August 17, 1981.
In this context is criticized among others Confucius' saying, "Let the ruler be a
ruler, the minister be a minister, the father be a father, and the son be a son"
[Chan, A Source Book, p.39]. Lunyu 12:11, Legge, p.256; Wilhelm, p.125;
Chuan Lie, "Yingdang zhongshi dui wuchangjieji lunlixue de yanjiu", Wen hui
bao, July 31, 1979.
From Lunyu 7:22 (7:21), Legge, p.202; Wilhelm, p.86. This locus is selected
and praised by Zhang Zhixin, op. cit.
112