Confucius is revered as a saint and is also regarded as a master of all generations. When Mao Zedong was a child in private school, he would bow to the tablet of Confucius every day and browse many Confucian classics. He later recalled: I used to read Confucius's books, read them for six years, and believed in Confucius very much.
In 1917, the young Mao Zedong attended the Hunan First Normal School, where he hosted a workers' night reading, and at the opening ceremony, he still led teachers and students to bow three times to the statue of Confucius to pay homage to the saint.
In 1919, the May Fourth Movement and the New Culture Movement suddenly came like a spring breeze in this ancient land, thousands of trees and pear blossoms, and the traditional culture represented by Confucius became a countercurrent that hindered social progress, and was ruthlessly criticized by Chen Duxiu and others, and the status of Confucius was in danger.
Mao Zedong was certainly deeply influenced by this trend, including Marxism. But he maintained objective thinking about traditional culture and still maintained respect for Kong saints. In 1920, he traveled from Beijing to Shanghai, and on the way he also got off the bus to Qufu, visited the Temple of Confucius and Konglin, and also visited the birthplace of Confucius and Mencius.
Mao Zedong, who had become the leader of the Communist Party of China in 1937, said at a meeting to commemorate the first anniversary of Lu Xun's death: Lu Xun's value in China is as far as I think is China's first-class saint, Confucius is a saint in feudal society, and Lu Xun is a saint in modern China.
In a speech by Kang Da, Mao Zedong sincerely said to the senior cadres: Confucius is a saint, and he is the only one for thousands of years. In his report to the Sixth Plenary Session, Mao Zedong stressed: From Confucius to Sun Yat-sen, we should sum up and inherit this precious legacy.
In 1952, Chairman Mao, who was already the great leader of New China, visited Qufu for the second time, and he was familiar with the life and thoughts of Confucius, and talked and laughed with his entourage. In front of the Dacheng Hall of the Temple of Confucius, Chairman Mao told everyone about the origin of Dacheng:
Dacheng is Mencius's evaluation of Confucius, Mencius said, Boyi, the holy purifier; Yi Yin, the holy one also; Megumi Yanagita, the holy and the same; Confucius, the holy time, is also the summation of Confucius.
As we all know, Chairman Mao had two daughters, whose names were Li Min and Li Ne, which also came from the Analects: A gentleman wants to be sensitive to words and sensitive to deeds.
More interestingly, when Li Min grew up and married Kong Linghua, whose father was the 75th grandson of Confucius, Chairman Mao said to the in-laws at the wedding ceremony:
Your ancestor, Confucius, was a great statesman, thinker, and educator. If it weren't for Confucius, I wouldn't even know the words, thank you Confucius.
Chairman Mao always had a good idea of Confucius's words and deeds, such as Jiazhen, and he often quoted it in his speeches and articles. However, in his later years, due to the needs of the political situation, his attitude towards Confucius changed drastically, and he even launched a campaign to criticize Lin and Confucius, and completely denied Confucius.
In 1966, when receiving foreign guests, Chairman Mao said: One of the important tasks of the Cultural Revolution was to eliminate the influence of Confucius in all fields and to carry out a revolution in education.
In fact, Confucius developed from a down-and-out intellectual to a saint in feudal society, and it is undeniable that his Confucian thought is unique and advanced, but it is also the needs of politics and historical development that fuel the situation.
Chairman Mao himself was both a groundbreaking revolutionary and a brilliant thinker. Chairman Mao's self-evaluation is Marx plus Qin Shi Huang, and the author believes that Confucius should also be added.
From Confucius to Sun Yat-sen is a historical stage of a thousand years, from Sun Yat-sen to Mao Zedong is a historical stage of nearly 100 years, from Mao Zedong to Deng Xiaoping is a historical process of about 50 years, and Chinese-style modernization will surely lead a great process that profoundly affects human history.