Mao, The Legalists, and the Confucianists

Abstract

It is no accident that the acute political and ideological struggle now going on in the Peoples Republic of China has assumed the form of a general condemnation of Confucius and the exaltation of Legalism, the high official Shang Yang, and the Emperors Ch'in Shih-huang and [Han] Wu Ti. (1) Turning to the traditions of the past is no caprice. Both social classes and politicians often draw on traditions for assurance not only about the legitimacy of their origin but also their rights in the present and future. This pattern is particularly evident at a turning point in history. "People themselves make their history," wrote K. Marx, "but they make it not as they had planned, under circumstances they had not themselves chosen, circumstances directly given to them and derived from the past…