One must take an historical perspective, Confucius was a man who lived all of 2,000-odd years before 1919. It was unrealistic to expect doctrines developed at that time to retain relevance for a time 2,000 years later. For example, such tenets as the ethical code of the three cardinal guides (ruler guides officials, father guides son and husband guides wife) and the five constant virtues (benevolence; righteousness, propriety, wisdom and fidelity) desperately needed to be reexamined and reevaluated in the light of a new society with new needs and imperatives. What one cannot deny is that the central ideas of Confucianism still retain a power and a force that give them relevance to peoples’ existence even today.
The Qin Dynasty’s attempt to “Burn books and Bury Scholars” was an attempt to annihilate the very roots of a civilization. The May 4 Movement’s reaction against Confucianism was merely a symptom of the social shocks that every society endures when it undergoes radical change. It did not signal a fundamental breach with Chinese civilization itself. After over 2,000 years of the vicissitudes of history and life, this enduring civilization had become the mainstay of the Chinese people and at the same time extended beyond China, exerting a far-reaching influence on the civilization of all of humanity.
The direct descendants of Confucius have made more efforts than anyone to disseminate the essential ideas of Confucian civilization. In 1985, Prof. Kong Lingren, the 76th-generation granddaughter of Confucius, made an important trip to the United States.
Her elder sister, Kong Linghe, had left China’s mainland for Taiwan before going on to study in an American university. After graduation she became a program director of the Voice of America. But before the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and the United States, no one in China was aware of her life work. At that time before China’s opening-up, there were various peculiar notions which were prevalent in the international community. For example, all descendants of Confucius had been killed or had undergone extensive thought reform at the hands of the ruling Communist authorities.
Madam Kong Lingren brought with her a videocassette to America entitled “A Tour of Confucius’ Hometown on His Birthday,” but it was not compatible to the system there. Though she just referred to it occasionally, the principal of the Library of Congress was very warm-hearted to offer help, and finally the United States Information Agency (USIA) converted it to the local system. On watching the video, the United States Information Agency USIA immediately asked whether she could organise a symposium on the subject.
Kong Lingren joyfully agreed and the symposium proved a forum for a great exchange of information, Kong was asked an enormous amount of questions by curious American friends on wide-ranging subjects such as the economic development of China, the prevailing view of Confucius in China and so on. It proved an enormously informative and educational exchange. The Americans were able to discover that Confucius’ descendants were not in fact discriminated against by the Chinese Government and were in all ways equal to others. This point was graphically illustrated by the fact that Kong herself was a professor of Shandong University and the vice-chairman of the CPPCC Shandong Provincial Committee.
The 20th century saw an unprecedented ordeal for human civilization. The century witnessed two enormous global conflicts and countless other smaller wars which caused the deaths and dismemberment of countless millions of human beings, soldier and civilian alike.