Dong Wang, a professor in Peking University, said in the book "The New Theory of the May 4th Spirit" that from the various representatives of the May 4th New Culture Movement, no one had ever proposed "overthrowing Confucius' shop", whether it was the most important Cai Yuanpei, Chen Duxiu, Hu Shi, Li Dazhao, Lu Xun, Liu Bannong, Zhou Zuoren, Yi Baisha, and others, or even the most radical and extreme money.
At present, the earliest record of "Kongjiadian" is1921June16, and Hu Shi first proposed "Punching Jiadian" in Wu Yu Luwen Preface.
When did the "punch shop" evolve into "knocking down the Kongjia shop"? This matter is not easy to verify. Dong Wang believes that it is an exaggeration and misinterpretation to take "Down with Kongjiadian" as the programmatic slogan of the May 4th New Culture Movement. If we want to find an origin for this upgraded slogan, it is due to the processing and transformation of Chen Boda and others.
Before the founding of New China, when Chen Boda suggested the establishment of "China New Enlightenment Society", he expressed his willingness to "accept the call of" overthrowing Kongjiadian "in the May 4th Movement".
Later, the saying "Down with Kongjiadian" was further spread, which can be seen in many history books and discussions about the May 4th Movement. For example, the historian Mr. Fan Wenlan said in The Evolution of the History of Confucian Classics in China: "Mr. Wu Yu, one of the' celebrities' in the May Fourth Movement, was once called the old hero of' Down with Kongjiadian'; The little Peking University and the May 4th Movement said: Chen Duxiu "held high the banner of' Down with Kongjiadian' and fought tit-for-tat against the retrogression and countercurrent of Zun Kongdian, which was very popular at that time, with great influence. "
After the Cultural Revolution, the popularity of "Down with Kongjiadian" was so high that many people immediately thought of "Down with Kongjiadian" when they mentioned the May 4th Movement.
Although there is only one word difference between "punch shop" and "knock down Kong shop", their meanings are quite different. "Beating" is just an action, but "falling" shows a result. The nature of "beating" focuses on criticism, and "knocking down" means total negation.
After the slogan "Down with Kongjiadian" became popular, it immediately promoted people's symbolic understanding of the May 4th Movement. In the eyes of people who have extreme feelings for tradition, "Down with Kongjiadian" is a concentrated expression of the revolutionary thoroughness in the New Culture Movement. In the eyes of people who deeply agree with traditional culture, Down with Kongjiadian is a criminal evidence that completely denies traditional historical nihilism. In this way, the May 4th Movement lost its richness and three-dimensional sense.
Dong Wang said that "Down with Kongjiadian" has long been regarded as the main slogan of the May 4th New Culture Movement, which led some overseas scholars to regard it as the ideological mainstream and spiritual essence of the May 4th New Culture Movement. For example, Zhou Cezong, a professor of history at the University of Wisconsin, wrote The May 4th Movement: China's Modern Ideological Revolution. Yu-sheng Lin's Crisis of China Consciousness —— Fierce Anti-traditionalism during the May 4th Movement.
In the crisis of China's consciousness during the May 4th Movement-fierce anti-traditionalism, Yu-sheng Lin pointed out that many people in the May 4th Movement believed that in order to advocate freedom, science and democracy, China's tradition must be completely overthrown. This completely violates the basic principles of liberalism.
Professor Yu-sheng Lin's conclusion is extremely wonderful, but if there is no "overthrow of Kongjiadian" in the May 4th Movement, this conclusion is debatable.
In fact, an ideological leader like Chen Duxiu has been in a dilemma in the New Culture Movement. On the one hand, he affirmed the value of Confucius himself and his theory in the social situation at that time; On the other hand, he insisted that "Confucius' way is not suitable for modern life".
1920, Chen Duxiu in "what is the new culture movement? "We are not satisfied with the old morality because the scope of filial piety is too narrow ... so the ideal of modern morality is to extend the filial piety of the family to the friendship of the whole society. Now a group of young people have misunderstood this meaning. Instead of spreading love to society, he abandoned his loving and poor mother under the banner of new ideas and new family. Didn't such people misunderstand the significance of the New Culture Movement? Because the new culture movement advocates teaching people to expand love and does not advocate teaching people to contract love. "
Interestingly, other "anti-Confucius" elites have repeatedly stated that they are not opposed to Confucius himself. 19 17 On February 4th, Li Dazhao wrote in the article "Ethics of Nature and Confucius": "To attack Confucius is not to attack Confucius itself, but to attack the authority of the idols created by Confucius for emperors of past dynasties. Not slap Confucius, but slap the soul of authoritarian politics. "
Yu, the most inspiring critic of Confucius, said many times: "People often say that Confucius was a great man at that time."
But in any case, after the storm of the New Culture Movement, when people mentioned the word "Confucius" again, their feelings were quite different from usual.
192 1 year, when Liang Shuming, a representative of neo-Confucianism, published the book "Eastern and Western Cultures and Their Philosophy", he wrote with some heartache: "In China today, some people advocate Western learning, while others advocate Buddhism. Just talking about Confucius' shyness, he can't export it, so that "Confucius' truth has become something he dare not see." Why?
Perhaps a passage from Lu Xun can be used as the answer. When talking about "Yuan Di", "Sun" and "He", he said, "Look at recent examples and you will understand much more. Since the beginning of the 20th century, Confucius' luck has been bad ... All three people regard Confucius as a brick, but times are different, so they obviously failed. He not only failed, but also tired Confucius and fell into a sad situation. It's funny that people who don't know much about words insist on talking about the Thirteen Classics. Words and deeds are too inconsistent, which makes me hate monks and cassocks even more. The instruments used by Confucius for a purpose are clearly visible, so the desire to overthrow him is growing stronger and stronger. Therefore, when Confucius is decorated with dignity, there must be papers and works that find his shortcomings. " (Confucius in modern China)
"Confucius does not speak genie, it is close to science. Confucius' ethics is anti-democratic. People put Confucius who didn't say anything strange in the cold palace, and respected Confucius who established ethics as a teacher for generations. China people deserve bad luck! "In the article Confucius and China, Chen Duxiu was deeply saddened by this." Please look at the history in recent decades. Every time the democratic movement fails, the reactionary ideological trend rises once; At the same time, Confucius was once respected. What natural logic! "