Word: confucius
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Dates: during 1970-1979
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...face of these difficulties, even some of the most resourceful reporters, like David Bonavia of the London Times and Ulrich Grudinski of the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, lean toward dry accounts based on official pronouncements, whether the subject is the latest grain harvest or the smear-Confucius campaign. When Grudinski has the urge to talk to expert sources, he pops down to Hong Kong to mingle with the community of professional China watchers there. The most limited correspondents of all are the Japanese, who operate under rigid self-censorship. When the Japanese were re-admitted following the Cultural Revolution, the major...
...much what Confucius said that draws the Revolution's wrath as who quoted him 2500 years later when Imperial China collapsed, unable to counter a combination of overpopulation, economic encroachment and modern warfare. The centuries of state Confucianism had established a ruling class that regenerated itself in an endless cycle--only those who had been taught Confucius could do well on the civil service tests and gain power, and only those who had power could afford to teach their sons Confucius...
...uncompromising demands for subordination, Mao's calls to revolution emerge as more than trite exhortations. A Chinese worker must be urged to "Dare to question"--for 2500 years, Confucians have been telling workers just the opposite. In these times of disturbing stability, of alarming complacency, of unsettling bureaucracy, Confucius is once more being used as a teacher. He warns of mistakes like those in the past...
Like the Bible, Confucius can be quoted to any purpose--perhaps that explains his resiliency. Last week, Chinese newspapers criticized The Master for showing signs of discreet disloyalty to his own rulers. If, as rumors indicate, Chou En-Lai is the target of this latest flurry of revolutionary fervor, this may be a way of announcing suspicions of faithlessness to Mao and China. Confucius will be a long time in dying for the sins of his followers...
...almost 25 years after the Revolution, China has not forgotten Confucius, and probably never will. A generation of children needs more guidance than slogans like "Defeat the running dogs of capitalist imperialism" can provide. And while the children will understand the forces that almost brought China down better than the oppressors, they may come away with the core of Confucian morality intact. As The Master said, "If out of the 300 songs I had to take one phrase to cover all my teaching, I would say 'Let there be no evil in your thoughts...