Confucius and his disciples are indeed extremely hypocritical, and his scheming techniques are far more sophisticated than Lao Dan’s.
“If not successful, then become a benevolent man” is something he said, and “Small patience leads to chaos in the grand plan” is also his words.
Moreover, Confucius is very disgusting, greedy for profit. A disciple once asked him about ways to seek official positions and salaries, he replied: “Listen more and doubt less, speak cautiously about the rest, then you will have fewer mistakes; see more risks, act cautiously, then you will err less. By speaking fewer mistakes and doing fewer wrongs, you can gain the favor of those above, thus obtaining official rank and salary.” This means: you should guess more what the higher-ups are thinking, not to transmit words you’re unsure about to them; when you speak sure words, be cautious. Before doing anything, observe the attitude of those above, avoid risky actions, or do the sure ones cautiously. That way, you can make fewer mistakes. Being able to speak fewer mistakes, do fewer wrongs, and gain appreciation from those above will lead to official ranks and stipends. It can only be said that Confucius truly is a grand conspirator from the 5th century BCE, inheriting a tradition of reactionary scheming.
Confucius also has a very obvious point: he said, “People of middle rank and above may speak to those above; below middle rank, one should not speak to those above.” This means that middle or higher-ranked individuals can discuss governance and political principles with him, but those below middle rank should not.
In fact, since Confucius’s so-called principles of governance and politics are just rulers’ conspiratorial tricks. Confucius is extremely cunning.
His disciple Zi You also eloquently expressed Confucius’s reactionary filial piety ideology, exposing that filial and elder respect are the core of Confucius’s humaneness (仁). Zi You said: “Those who are filial and respectful and like to offend superiors are few; those who do not offend superiors, but like causing chaos, have never been heard of. … Filial piety and elder respect are the roots of humanity!” This is very clear—meaning that the slaves who are absolutely obedient to feudal family heads are rarely defy their superiors; among those who do not offend their superiors, there is no record of opposing the exploitative class system (which is called causing chaos by the exploiting class). (From this, it can be seen) that the so-called filial piety (absolute obedience to feudal family heads) is truly the root of humanity.
Since Confucius’s so-called humaneness (仁) ideology essentially involves “graded love.” The love Confucius speaks of is merely a deceptive “love” bestowed by the ruling class to the oppressed class in a condescending manner. Confucius also requires the oppressed to unconditionally support and obey the exploitation class, and to love them sincerely—that is what he calls “filial piety” and “rituals”. Filial piety is unconditional obedience of the younger generation (servants) to the elders (patriarchs), and rituals are unconditional obedience of subordinates to superiors. These are maintained by family and clan hierarchical systems to uphold social hierarchy. Therefore, the core of Confucius’s idea of humaneness (仁) is actually about rituals and filial piety.
Confucius’s reactionary educational thoughts.pdf (1.1 MB)
But looking at his ideas, did he to some extent consolidate the feudal monarchical system? Did he play a positive role in the feudal society (after the Han Dynasty)?
孔子及其儒家学说从头到尾都是反动的，是代表中国社会上腐朽倒退的阶级的思想。正是孔子的思想在两千多年来帮助统治阶级害死了无数人。现在习近平这个狗也宣扬儒家思想，也说明习近平和历代的独夫民贼、卖国贼一样，表面上“仁义道德”，背后却无恶不作。
Throughout history, the most venerable figures of Confucius have been Jiang Jieshi, Yuan Shikai, the Qing government, and Zeng Guofan. These executioners who massacred the common people hold the highest respect for Confucius. Xi Jinping and his predecessors are exactly the same.
The reactionary thoughts of Confucius have always played a reactionary role. In the late Spring and Autumn period, at a time when slavery was about to collapse, Confucius used his idealist and metaphysical fallacies to gloss over slavery, openly opposing the feudal system and reform. During the feudal society, it was even more exploited by the most reactionary class, the landlord class, as a conspiracy tool and ideological weapon to oppose the feudal land nationalization, expand the feudal manor economy, and hinder the development of productive forces. Confucianism has always been reactionary.
Confucius himself was a fallen slave owner class that opposed feudalism. Feudal ideas at the time pursued the rule of law, forming Legalist thought, which required people’s actions to conform to feudal laws and could not be judged arbitrarily based on personal preferences. Evaluations of individuals should be based on their objective positions and abilities, not on their personal relationships. Confucian thought, which emphasizes “ritual rule,” actually advocates for a strict hierarchy, judging people according to their proximity and relationship. Clearly, the former (Legalist) is more conducive to the development of the feudal system because landlords, in order to defeat the slave-owning class, must implement a relatively just political line within their own class, selecting officials based on merit rather than favoritism. Following Confucius’s approach, the feudal system is destined to perish. For example, Han Feizi commented on the Three Battles and Northern Campaigns, criticizing Confucius’s behavior as merely for personal survival and filial piety, cowardly to the point of fleeing, and not only protecting such a deserter but also praising him before the ruler of Lu, suggesting rewards. This is only concerned with personal and family interests over the state (exploitative class), encouraging desertion in the army. If this continues, Lu’s army would lose discipline and dissolve, leading to the fall of the state. Han Feizi said that a person who is filial at home would become a traitor to the feudal monarch outside—meaning, fundamentally, filial piety is a reactionary and patriotic traitor. Can such a thought be beneficial for the development of the feudal system? It can only be said that Confucian thought has been fundamentally non-progressive from the start.