From the first tax mu in Lu, after more than 100 years of reform in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, the slave society was transformed into a feudal society. Economically, the well field system was abolished and the private ownership of land was established; Politically, it ended the long-term war state of vassal separatism, realized the unity of the country, and established autocratic centralization of authority; Ideologically, after a hundred schools of thought contend, the legalists who paid the most attention to materialism were used by the ruling class, and Confucianism was left out in the cold, which staged a historical tragedy of "burning books to bury Confucianism" in the Qin Dynasty. This is a war between the old and new systems.
From the era of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, Dong Zhongshu reformed Confucianism with the idea of "respecting Confucianism alone, deposing hundreds of schools and respecting Confucianism alone", which met the requirements of strengthening centralization in the era of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty. Therefore, Confucianism became the dominant ideology in feudal society. Since then, Confucianism has been continuously transformed, from Zhu Cheng's Neo-Confucianism to Lu Wang's Neo-Confucianism, and a set of ideological system suitable for feudal dynasty rule has been established, which has become a talisman to safeguard the feudal monarchy, and the feudal monarchy reached its peak under the escort of Confucianism.
When the seeds of capitalism in Ming and Qing Dynasties were bred and grew in the matrix of feudal system, when the western society quietly moved from feudal system to capitalism, the feudal system in China tended to decline. The development of the world forced China to make a choice, whether to continue wandering in the tunnel of feudalism or to learn from the West and catch up with the trend of the times. Advanced China people learned a lesson from the bitter experience after Britain knocked on China's closed door, resolutely chose the latter, sprouted the idea of learning from the West, and issued the call of "learning from foreigners to control foreigners". Alas, the second opium outbreak shattered the dreams of Lin Zexu and Wei Yuan, the rebels in the enlightened landlord class. Nevertheless, they set a historical precedent for learning from the west, opened their eyes, broke through the cage of closed doors, impacted the arrogant thought of "unification of China and foreign countries" under the confinement of Confucian traditional theory, and enlightened the people's consciousness.
The Second Opium War still ended in failure, and the thought of "Westernization" was expelled by the gunfire of the war. The westernization school of the landlord class set off the westernization movement of "learning from foreigners to control foreigners" and took the first step of learning western artifacts and realizing national modernization. Although the Westernization Movement eventually went bankrupt because of the deep-rooted Confucianism and powerful die-hards, this reform enabled China to realize the modernization of education, military, economy and society.
The disadvantages of Westernization Movement are increasingly exposed in the process of its establishment. Finally, early reformers such as Zheng, Wang Tao and Feng Guifen were also divided into feudal camps. They believe that China cannot be completely transformed by adhering to the feudal Confucian ethics of "Chinese style and western style", and it is necessary to deeply study the western political system in order to truly realize a gorgeous turn. Although a complete theoretical system was not formed due to the fragility of national capitalism, it laid the cornerstone for Kang Liang's reform thought in the 1990s.
After the Sino-Japanese War, the national crisis was unprecedented. With the initial development of national capitalism, the movement of saving the nation from subjugation and surviving is further rising, and The Letter on the Bus makes the national bourgeoisie as an independent political force on the historical stage. The Reform Movement of 1898 initiated the practice of China's political modernization, which was the result of China people's continuous learning from the West. Because the power of state capitalism is still very fragile, the reformists used the shell of Confucianism to publicize the western bourgeois political theory, and there was a big turn of "Western service for China".
The failure of the Reform Movement of 1898 not only exposed the reaction of the Qing Dynasty, but also showed that the reformist road was not feasible in China. A social revolution that swept through Confucian rule became the necessity of the times. The bourgeois revolutionaries held high the banner of the Three People's Principles and called for the overthrow of the feudal rule of the Qing Dynasty. However, Confucian theory is deeply rooted in people's hearts. The Revolution of 1911 became a dead-end movement between some bourgeois elements and the Qing government, which did not get the support of the people. Yuan Shikai grabbed half of the fruits of revolutionary victory. Under the control of Yuan Shikai, a speculator in the feudal camp and bound by Confucianism, * * * and the country existed in name only.
The people of China deeply reflected on the failure of the Revolution of 1911, and thought that a profound ideological emancipation movement must be carried out to clean up the feudal emperor's thoughts remaining in people's minds, so as to make profound changes in China society, realize national independence and make the country rich and strong. A new cultural movement came into being, which aimed at attacking feudal monarchy, pointing directly at Confucian ethics and countering Yuan Shikai's respect for Confucius and retro countercurrent. The leaders of the New Culture Movement held high the banner of democracy and science, chanted the slogan "Down with Kongjiadian" and thoroughly criticized feudal thoughts. This is a continuation of the Revolution of 1911, and it is also a remedial course for the Revolution of 1911.
At this time, the October Revolution in Russia brought Marxism and pointed out a new way out for the people in confusion. "Learning from the West" turned to "learning from Russia" and from imitating the capitalist system in Europe and America to learning socialism. Marxism has become the thought sought after by China people and the guiding ideology of the new * * * production party. After 28 years of arduous struggle, the China * * * Production Party announced the birth of a new China. The society ruled by Confucianism has completely disappeared.