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A Dedication to Classics Scholarship 37

2.2.1 “Down With Confucianism!”

The slogan “Down with Confucianism” was used by radical students and scholars
who formed part of the 1919 May 4th Movement and the ensuing New Cultural
Movement. They radically denied the value of classics scholarship. Those like Wu
Zhihui (吴稚晖 1865–1953) even proposed “dumping thread-bound books into
toilet.” Under the circumstances of the time, the May 4th Movement was justified,
especially the new ideas of science and democracy it advocated, which could be
interpreted as “people-oriented thought” (民本思想) in classics scholarship. At the
time, classics scholarship was lacking in scientific consciousness, which still
needs to be improved today.
However, the slogan “Down with Confucianism” should have targeted the true
enemy: the outmoded parts of classics scholarship, rather than calling for its
wholesale abolition. Mao Zedong (毛泽东 1893–1976) gave a fair appraisal of
Chinese tradition in the article, “On the New Period” (论新阶段) in 1938, “We
should assess this long historical period from Confucius to Sun Yat-sen (孙中山
1866–1925), and incorporate its valuable legacy” (Mao, 1991, p. 534). This point of
view suggests that we should inherit the traditional culture, albeit critically.

2.2.2 Political Censure of Lin Biao and Confucius

Classics scholarship met with more violent attacks during the Cultural Revolution
(1966–1976), which strongly repudiated traditional Chinese culture. Slogans of
that time referenced to “Condemn Lin Biao and Confucius.” The excessive violence
of the Cultural Revolution has taught a grave lesson: classics scholarship should
be used, not abused.
At critical historical points, people should follow the edicts issued by the
monarch—as long as he was sane, but not if he was not of sound mind. Take the
story in “The Fifteenth Year of Duke Xuan” of Zuo’s Commentary on The Spring and
Autumn Annals (《左传 · 宣公十五年》):

Earlier, Wei Chou (Wei Ke’s father) had a favorite concubine who had born him no children.
Falling ill, Wei Chou gave an order to his son, saying, “See that she remarries.” However,
when his illness grew more severe, the father said, “See that she is put to death and buried
with me.” Finally, when Wei Chou died, his son, Wei Ke, made the concubine remarry, saying,
“When the illness was severe, my father’s mind became deranged. Therefore, I should abide
by the order he gave earlier, when his mind was clear.” (Chen & Hu, 2015, p. 533)
When we look back on the Cultural Revolution, we should realize the great
importance of classics scholarship in modern society. The term classics