40、Confucius-Mencius Ideology

If we say that what’s in Tao Te Ching is all about thinking patterns and conceptualisations, then Confucius-Mencius is mainly about specific cultural products.

Since Confucius-Mencius ideology is the embodiment and realisation of the concepts for a nation as a regulable system, it contains mainly the specific proposals put forward according to the there-then situation of productive forces and production relations.

1. The supreme of imperial power

2. Dominance of the king over his subjects

3. Dominance of the father over his sons

4. Dominance of the husband over his wife

As well as the derived specific methods of each kind of ideology.

We can leave alone the other details for now. Four rules can serve to include all men and women, old and young in the society into a large system.

The kings are born with a mixture of multiple powers such as military, political, and economic power and serve as the administrators of the social system. What’s more, Confucius and Mencius pushed the kings into a mythological position where they are not only political administrators, but also sons of nature, dragons, leaders, and managers of people’s spiritual world, as well as governors appointed by God to be on his behalf.

And many ethical codes have been established to consolidate the dominant status of the kings in political and spiritual ruling and administrating based on that.

Feudal ethical codes represent the formal establishment and confirmation of the holy status of kings in administrating and governing as well as psychological hints.

While officials at different levels under the leadership of the king are just the maintainers and executers of the system with which the king exerts his political power.

From a political point of view, the political system can only work within the domain of the national political administrative system and people’s political behaviours and cannot govern people’s everyday life directly.

The doctrines of Confucius and Mencius also regulate father-son relationship and husband-wife relationship and guide people’s daily life into the orbit designed by Confucius and Mencius. Such relationships are maintained and supported by political system and are compulsory.

Besides, Confucius and Mencius also advocated filial piety, strengthened the subordination in father-son system, and made it more vivid; and the advocating of three obediences and four virtues (specifically, obedience to father before married, to husband after married, and to son after husband’s death; fidelity, physical charm, propriety in speech, and efficiency in needlework) is to strengthen the subordination in husband-wife system.

Therefore, the doctrine of Confucius and Mencius is a rigorous system involving all members of a society and covering all social problems!