For a long time in Communist China, Confucius and his
ideas were scorned and rejected. There are a number of reasons for
this.
First of all, Confucianism is a very traditional way
of thinking. It strongly emphasized the idea of filial piety in which people revered
those set above them. The Communists saw this as an ideology that encouraged feudalism
and archaic ways. For this reason, they rejected
Confucianism.
Second, a major aspect of Confucianism was
the idea that the government owed a duty to the people. Confucianism stressed that the
people had to obey their rulers, but only when the rulers did right by the people. As
the "salem-history" link says,
readability="8">Confucius’s approach to government stressed that
the ruler should be benevolent and sincerely concerned about the well-being of his
subjects. In Confucius’s hierarchical conception of the social order, the ruler’s
concern for his subjects would be repaid by obedience and
support.This did not fit
with the Communists' demands for unconditional obedience from their
subjects.For these reasons, the Communists tried to play
down the traditional Chinese reverence for Confucius and his
ideas.
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