Confucius’s thoughts still part of China

Press, Volume CXIV, Issue 33425, 5 January 1974, Page 12

Confucius’s thoughts still part of China

t By

LACHIE SHAW,

N.Z.P.A. China correspondent)

PEKING. Twenty-four years after liberation, the Chinese Communists appear to have set out on perhaps their most important break with the past—the final destruction of Confucianism.

Confucius, philosopher and sage, lived 2500 years ago. But in spite of the upheavals of the liberation, and the later struggles within the Communist Party, such as the Cultural Revolution, the ancient seer has proved to be a hardy fellow.

It is only now. as China looks forward to the twentyfifth anniversary of the People’s Republic this year,

that some tough minds in the party hierarchy appear determined to settle Confucius’s reputation once and for all. The argument about Confucius is difficult to follow for ! non-Chinese. But it is worth noting at the outset that the dispute is probably well above the head of the man in the street ; or paddy field in China. I NO WRITINGS Confucius left no writings! and his thoughts were pre-! served for posterity in the!, famous Analects —a codec-■ tion of Confucian thoughts:, written down by his disciples. " These are not sold to the., public in China, although , copies exist in university libraries. Confucius has not been widely studied since liberation, even at university level,! although it is assumed that! a good deal of study is going on now amongst academics and party thinkers. There have been previous! ; disputes about Confucius! during the period of libera-, ition, notably just before the! Cultural Revolution of 1966! to 1969. ATTACK PUBLISHED The recent flurry began last! !August when Professor Yang! ’Jung-kuo, head of the depart-j ment of philosophy in Chung'shan University, in Canton,: published an attack on Con-, fucius in the national organ, of the Communist Party, the “People’s Daily.” “Confucius—a thinker who stubbornly upheld the slave system,” was the headline over Professor Yang’s article. He proceeded to list various crimes by Confucius, including upholding slavery, despising productive labour, supporting the aristocracy, resisting change and even of bumping off a rival philosopher of his time, Shaocheng Mou, described by Professor Yang as a “noted reformer.’” CONFESSION Professor Yang’s article!:

has been followed by a succession of writings, including,! a confession by China’s noted,l philosopher, Feng Yu-lan, ' iaged 79, that he had been a 1 '“Confucius-worshipper.” The articles have also accused Lin Pao, Liu Shao-chi ! and others who fell from power during the Cultural Revolution, of having been supporters of Confucius. Professor Yang’s article I [ended bv saying that critiIcism of Confucius’s reactionary thought was especially j helpful in “grasping the class [ 'struggle in the ideological sphere of the superstructure - (of the Communist Party).” ' [ This last remark and other (indications in his article, aroused speculation in Peking,, that the attack on Confucius ' .represented some kind of| major struggle amongst j China’s leaders.

NO FOUNDATION However, most diplomats and other observers admit that they cannot find any foundation for this kind of speculation and some have been assured bv Chinese officials that such thinking is inaccurate. . Recent thinking is inclined towards the view that the Confucius argument may be an imoortant part of a continuing intellectual dispute about the administration of .China. . . It could affect all importiant aspects of party policy, particularly in education and the application of science and (technology to China’s great problems of production and social organisation. The thought of Confucius as it has come down has been regarded by Western students as contradictory, as he appears to have been a traditionalist and reformer at the same time. He sought to reform the government of his day bv encouraging the aristocracy to govern through moral exiample, renewed by education.

However, he also preached respect for the institutions of the day, such as the family system and the aristocratic system itself. In so doing, Confucius imposed on China a system of scholarly administration which was to last until the victory of the Communists. Now, it is suggested, the evils of Confucianism might be seen to be the habits of thought and custom imposed by more than 2000 years of : traditionalist administration and education, which has still survived the revolution. The sayings of Confucius land the habits of thought which come from him are' deeply ingrained in the Chinese people. If Confucius was a reactionary and an upholder of the slave system it may b» that there are still people today who have the same; faults, so the argument goes.] REORGANISATION Some diplomats in Peking think that the Confucius argument could lead the way to an important reorganisation within the party. They suggest it could be aimed at party cadres and bureaucrats who have -conventional habits: those who believe they hold their place by right rather than on performance.

In the countryside, there are still areas where the position of women is not fully respected. There is still a preference for the boy child.

In education, there are still suggestions of a belief in learning by rote, in primary value of performance in examinations.

Thus, say the diplomats, the Confucius argument might clear the way for new policies, taking further the radicalism of the Cultural Revolution, EDUCATION DEBATE A major debate about education is under way in China and other areas of policy remain unsettled.

“We may be able to relate I the Confucius story to the party system and to the! whole of the cultural field,”' one diplomat said. “It can be seen as the first new intellectual flowering since the Cultural Revolution. “If there is a need for reappraisal in the party, where better to start then with Confucius,” he said. The first article by Professor Yang was published just before the tenth party congress last August which affirmed the party’s new line since the Cultural Revolution and said the final word on the downfall of Lin Piao and Liu Shao-chi. Feng Yu-lan, in his confession of being weak on the subject of Confucius, has provided the first-hint of where Chairman Mao Tse-tung stands on these issues. “The field of the history of Chinese philosophy is undergoing a new revolution, led and directed personally by Chairman Mao,” Mr Feng said.

World ski titles.—A record entry of 302 skiers from 35 countries has been received for the world alpine ski championships a< St Moritz. Switzerland, from February 2 to 10. British yacht bought.—A Melbourne businessman has bought the British Southern Cross Cup yacht Suoerstar. lie is Mr K. (Farfor. a leading Victorian yachtsman, who raced Mercedes It in this year’s Sydney-Hobart :race. Croquet Council officers.—OffiI cers elected at the annual meet ling of the New Zealand Croquet i Council in Christchurch are: President, Mrs G. R. Peake 1 (Dunedin); North Island vicepresidents. Mrs L. M. Hight Morrinsvillei. Messrs W B McNaught (Wanganui) and R. G. Murfitt (Auckland); South island vice-presidents, Mrs W H Kirk (Christchurch) and Mrs J. 1..' Smith (Nelson); secretary-trea-surer, Mrs H. C. Wills (Hawerai; New Zealand referee. Mrs L. G Middlemiss iPukekohei; New Zealand handicanner. Mrs H Purdy (Auckland,: publicity officer. Mrs R. W. Holloway (Waikato).