See Confucianism with Commonness

Confucius, when mentioned, is often shaped as a religious hierarch，which always gives us the impression of standing high above the masses and being hung on the wall. In people’s mind, Confucius has been the symbol of sage and icon, not permitting a bit offence. So everyone, especially young men, become discouraged and stay far away from Confucius and the thought of Confucian.

At the end of Qing Dynasty，the reigning government was full of corruption and had incapability to control the whole country. Western invaders overrode this land wantonly and aggressively. So persons with lofty ideals tried their best and cut their feet to fit the shoes to search ways to save the nation. To learn advantages from the foreign invaders first and then defeat them, to go abroad for studying the advanced knowledge and to initiate industries to enhance the power of the whole nation, however, didn’t change the miserable fate of china in the time. Ultimately, in the 1919 broke out “The May 4th Movement”. Then, a large quantity of progressive intellectuals, who advocated “democracy” and “science”, aimed at Confucius and the old Confucian tradition which reigned in ancient china at all times. They shouted “beating the Confucius’s store down” and disintegrated rapidly the sovereign status of Confucian with a mountains-removing tendency. They overthrew the historical ideology and traditional custom of their own country.

However, should The Store of Confucius be brought down? Must we deny all the Confucian thoughts? Will we be happy to only kill out the Confucianism. Some time later, actually, some people who yelled out beating the Confucius’s store down earlier, when growing older, turned to relate the Confucianism and advocated the learning of Confucius and Mencius. What a peculiar situation! Why is there such a case that people firstly assaulted and later called for the Confucianism. The most doubtless thing is that vilipending is because in the long time people had formed a misinterpretation which had done great harm to the people’s spirit while advocating is because of its own correctness, bigness, and good essence.

If we could see the Confucian as a usual school of thoughts with common sights, Confucius may not be lonely and the Confucianism will be closer and more accessible. So, using natural attitude to see the Confucian again, we will find their likability and commonness. Moreover, we will gradually see their greatness reflecting from the trivial.