The Revolution of 1911 overthrew the monarchy and established * * * peace, which turned a new page in the history of China. As the official ideology under the imperial system, Confucianism is facing an extremely serious survival crisis, and the meaning world of China people has been seriously lost. What kind of ideology should China use to reconstruct people's spiritual world? Whether Confucianism can dominate people's lives and minds in China as in the past has become a major concern of the whole society for a time. It is also in this process that Yan Fu, who had devoted himself to introducing and popularizing modern western enlightenment thought, uncharacteristically catered to the trend of respecting Confucius and restoring the ancients after the Xinhai, and advocated and promoted the wind of respecting Confucius and reading classics. Then, why did Yan Fu uncharacteristically give up the belief of saving the nation from extinction by modern western enlightenment thought and instead cater to the conservative trend of thought to advocate and promote Confucius' reading of classics? Over the years, researchers have only criticized Yan Fu's retrogression and backwardness blindly, but rarely analyzed the historical track of his ideological evolution, and rarely analyzed the reasons for Yan Fu's ideological transformation from the standpoint of sympathy and understanding.

How to save China people's belief system?

The loss of China people's meaningful world after Xinhai was not only manifested in overthrowing the imperial system. In fact, the loss of meaning is only a part of China people's belief crisis, and it is also a political manifestation of China people's belief crisis. The reason why this phenomenon happens and why it is so serious is not only an unexpected political reality, but also the collapse of China people's old value system.

19 1 1 year later, China's politics was not on the right track. Warlords are good at power and soldiers are autocratic. After China overthrew the Manchu emperor, except for the victory of nationalism in theory and practice, the authority of the government was completely lost. In fact, the Republic of China suffered the decline of the central government. "The Revolution of 1911 did not change the essence of the regime, but because it dumped Emperor A Qing as a symbol of power, resulting in an open warlord regime. Civil wars continued, people's lives and rights were not even guaranteed at the minimum, and reality came to the opposite of the original ideal." [1] There was only an empty signboard left in the Republic of China, and the people's situation was even far less peaceful than before the revolution.

The crisis of authority belief is the inevitable product of the rapid change of political situation at that time. For thousands of years, China people have been used to living in the shadow of the emperor's kindness. The old emperor was overthrown, and the new authority could not be established. The general public was bereaved and the social elite was at a loss. People began to doubt whether the revolution was necessary, and then thought about how to establish new authority under the realistic conditions of China, so as to stabilize the social order in China and promote the progress and development of China society.

The confusion of China people, especially the disorder of social order, has aroused widespread concern in the international community. International public opinion generally believes that China, as the market with the greatest potential in the world, should maintain a stable order and establish a strong central political power. The stability of social order in China is not only beneficial to China itself, but also to the interests of the whole world. After the Boxer Rebellion, foreign forces realized that they could not carve up China and turn China into their complete colony. Based on this most realistic interest, the international community does not want to see a chaotic China, and many countries are not prepared to take advantage of the internal chaos in China to enrich themselves.

Their own interests determine the foreign powers' China policy. After the outbreak of Wuchang Uprising, countries did not immediately support the revolutionaries, and even refused to recognize the Nanjing Provisional Government. Although they were not satisfied with what the Qing court did, they were convinced that Sun Yat-sen and the Nanjing Provisional Government could not bring unity, peace and development to China. "I'm afraid that after the fall of the Beijing government, * * * and party member will not be fully organized, and without the power to unify the whole country, they will surely fall into the era of terror." [2] This will inevitably have a negative impact on the interests of all countries in China. Therefore, when China's political future is still uncertain, although foreign powers have the intention of "doing everything possible to cover the Qing army", [3] the dominant position is actually to try to remain neutral and wait and see, so as to avoid embarrassment and passivity when the political situation really changes in the future. Shortly after the outbreak of the Revolution of 1911, the powers of various countries reached an understanding and adopted a relatively consistent policy of cooperation in politics: "In order to protect the lives and property of foreigners (if threatened), we should take concerted action, maintain strict neutrality among the factions in the struggle, and avoid exerting any influence when China people form a new political system. "

When the political situation in China gradually became clear, foreign forces "have properly expressed their natural sympathy for the people of China." [4] They expect powerful people to form a government in China as soon as possible, so that China can get rid of the turmoil and rebuild order as soon as possible. Therefore, in this sense, it is natural for foreign powers to support Yuan Shikai as "the real master of China in the future". Because what they expected was that China would restore order as soon as possible, and because only Yuan Shikai in China was able to undertake this important task at that time. Sun Yat-sen also said: "The revolution was founded in the south, but its influence in the north is still ok, so the old ideas have not been completely swept away. Therefore, it is not appropriate for the north to be like the old calendar and the south to be like the new calendar, so it is not appropriate to use the old and the new, both new and old. Therefore, if we want to govern the Republic of China, we must have new ideas and implement old methods. President Yuan is appropriate. Therefore, it is not a fallacy to recommend Xiangcheng. " [6] So Yuan Shikai, a political strongman, came out to replace Sun Yat-sen and became the president of the Republic of China.

After Yuan Shikai took charge of China, the first task he faced was undoubtedly how to restore order in China as soon as possible and establish a sustainable and stable mechanism. When he was sworn in as interim president, he said: "The Republic of China has made great progress and everything needs treatment. Shikai is willing to spare no effort to carry forward * * * and cleanse tyranny. Abide by the constitution and reach the country in a safe and powerful territory according to the wishes of the people, so that the five major ethnic groups can enjoy the same benefits. " [7] In other words, if the principle of democracy and harmony can restore order in China, Yuan Shikai is not unwilling to enjoy it. However, the reality is not satisfactory. After a considerable period of efforts, the order in China has not been restored, but has become worse and worse. Yuan Shikai said: "Since the founding of the Republic of China, the interim government has been trying to restore order and strive for reunification every day for a year. Architecture is not a place without peace, nor a country without peace. ..... The country cannot be unified, redundant workers are laid off at home, and there is no way to unify the monetary system. Therefore, the commercial protection conditions in all countries are blocked. If the good people in their own country are not alone, how can they reconcile with other countries? " [8] The cruel reality cannot but make Yuan Shikai doubt democracy and make him rethink the guiding principle of restoring order.

Of course, Yuan Shikai was never a real pacifist. Although he sincerely abided by his oath in his first year as president, his belief changed only slightly. Compared with some southern revolutionaries who regard * * * as an absolute principle, Yuan Shikai's support and persistence in the political system of * * * is only a pragmatic response to balance various forces within the country and put the country under his own leadership. [9] Once * * * and the regime can't help him achieve the above goals, then his doubts about * * * and the regime can be understood.

On the one hand, Yuan Shikai's doubts about * * * and the regime are based on political considerations, that is, how to re-establish the authority of the government or others and rebuild social order; On the other hand, due to ideological considerations, Yuan Shikai deeply felt the disorder of order, which was not only the destruction of local forces, but also the collapse of China people's belief system. "Today's great misfortune is not in the national conditions, but in the hearts of the people. There is an opportunity for goodness in people's hearts, that is, the country has a bottom security. " [10] Due to the inconsistency of people's value orientation, it is impossible for people, that is, all members of society, to reach a * * * understanding of the future development of China.

If China people want to know China's future development model well, the first problem is naturally to find a theory that is not only in line with China's national conditions, but also conducive to China's progress and development, as an official ideology and as a frame of reference for China people's value orientation. At that time, although western ideas such as freedom and democracy were imported in large quantities and gradually won a considerable number of believers and intellectuals in China, freedom and democracy were still a very strange thing to the vast majority of people in China, especially the lower classes. China people not only had no experience in this field, but even had no common sense in this field. Because even in the following years, even the New Youth and a group of people in Sun Yat-sen's later years repeatedly complained that under the intelligence of Chinese people, he expected to transform the national character as a breakthrough to solve the China issue. Sun Yat-sen even wrote a booklet entitled "Preliminary Civil Rights" to teach the people of China how to assemble and vote, "and to teach the people to take the first step in civil rights." [1 1] Not to mention when the Republic of China was founded and Yuan Shikai became president?

In the early years of the Republic of China, freedom and democracy were not enough as a reference for China people's value system. Yuan Shikai had no choice but to use the resources of traditional culture to complete the ideological reconstruction within the framework of * * * and the political system, and wanted to regard the teachings of Confucius as the national spirit of China. He said: "According to Huang Xing and Chen, who stayed in Nanjing, the young impetuous people who came into being during the Republic of China had a wrong understanding of * * * and truth, took freedom as freedom and despised happiness. The loss of discipline is endless. Please make it clear that filial piety is loyalty, faithfulness, courtesy and faithfulness, so as to advocate the world and save the common customs. The words of the benevolent are the sense of smell. The president is deeply committed to the founding of China, and regards filial piety, loyalty, courtesy, honesty and shame as the great lessons of human nature. Although the political system has changed, the people have not. Cover * * * and the state system, but not the private property of the state, but all the people. As for the origin of ethics, there is no difference at first. The ancients thought more about benefiting the people and friends were loyal to good deeds. At that time, it was not the time for this. There are seven virtues, although they are wide and narrow, everyone has discipline. ..... It should be noted that family ethics, national ethics and social ethics, all of which belong to a civilized country, will reach the same goal by different routes. These eight virtues are the norms of crowd order, not the rule of imperial autocracy. " [12] According to his explanation, China's old general ethics conforms to China's national conditions and does not conflict with the political system. What's more, it will help solve the problems at that time and rebuild the belief system of Chinese people. Based on this understanding, Yuan Shikai solemnly issued a presidential decree on June 22nd 19 13, in an attempt to solve the ideological confusion brought about by the Revolution of 1911 by political means. Therefore, the traditional culture, especially Confucianism, which had been questioned and even criticized by progressive intellectuals before the Revolution of 1911, once again attracted people's attention and became the object of debate, especially among intellectuals. [ 13]

In all fairness, Yuan Shikai tried to integrate the society and maintain people's hearts with China's inherent ethics, and "wanted to cultivate the Nishan doctrine into a national spirit". [14] found the crux of the China issue to a certain extent, and it was an election that was in line with China's national conditions. Because there is no need to deny that in China 19 13, people's desire for harmony, legality and order stability exceeds everything. [15] As long as this goal is achieved, it should be recognized as an effective means. As for whether China's old general ethics is really consistent with the * * * and system, from an academic point of view, we don't have to pay too much attention to it. Therefore, when Yuan Shikai expressed this ideological tendency, he immediately won a fairly universal favor and thought that Yuan Shikai really grasped the national conditions of China. Some foreigners compared Yuan's thought with Sun Yat-sen's and said, "Gaisun's thought is too high, which is out of step with China's social level. The people of China are at a loss about his plan. At present, Sun Zhijin's enemy is Yuan, who is the most promising in the overall situation ... Yuan wants to keep Confucianism, ... He knows that it is not enough to win the hearts of the people, or to eliminate all obstacles. " [ 16]

Although Yuan Shikai's idea of rebuilding the belief system of the people in China conforms to China's national conditions to some extent, it has not achieved the expected success. On the one hand, there is a considerable gap between his ideas and revolutionaries. Although he can mobilize the general public's emotions and cater to the people's psychology, under the democratic political system, he can't force revolutionaries to give up their freedom of belief, and Yuan Shikai's idea can't become a reality when revolutionaries can't reach an understanding with him. On the other hand, Yuan Shikai's proposition caters to the emotions of Kang Youwei and Chen Huanzhang after all. Kang and Chen's constant clamor is certainly helpful to create a huge public opinion momentum, but it also inevitably leaves an excuse for the revolutionaries to oppose it more strongly, making their claims less likely to come true.

Strict respect and timely application of ancient sages

Yan Fu is contradictory to Yuan Shikai's thought of "respecting Confucius and reading classics". Because only in terms of ideological tendency, Yan Fu undoubtedly agreed to use Confucian ethics as a tool to save the people of the world at that time, which was closely related to his political proposition of insisting on constitutional monarchy, opposing radical political changes and suddenly implementing democracy and harmony before and after Xinhai. Before, we only saw Yan Fu's opposition to revolution and * * * harmony before the Revolution of 1911. We only noticed Yan Fu's advocacy and introduction of modern western thoughts, but did not notice Yan Fu's consistent attention to Confucian ethics. Yan Fu 1905 wrote an unknown letter to the Society for the Preservation of Chinese Studies, which fully demonstrated his long-standing respect for Confucius and Confucian ethics. In this letter, he expressed support for his colleagues' efforts in the preservation of Chinese studies, arguing that "Comrade Wei Xian's reconciliation at the turn of Chinese studies and the importance of shoulder-to-shoulder preservation have been covered by Chinese sages and entrusted by documents since Xi Jie." [17] It is not difficult to understand Yan Fu's recognition and support for Yuan Shikai's thought of respecting Confucius.

Yan Fu's recognition of Confucian ethics should be a recognized fact in the academic circles at that time, so when Chen Huanzhang invited more than 200 academic celebrities to initiate the establishment of the Confucian Federation after the promulgation of the presidential decree, Yan Fu was one of the sponsors. However, as far as practical operation is concerned, Yan Fu doesn't seem to agree with Chen Huanzhang and Kang Youwei. At that time, he wrote to his students, claiming that out of helplessness and passivity, he was listed as the founder of the Confucian Association. [18] It is not difficult to see the internal contradictions and confusion of Yan Fu's thought. Therefore, in a series of congressional petitions initiated by Chen Huanzhang and others, Yan Fu was rarely included in the list.

Yan Fu doesn't want to confuse ideological advocacy with actual political operation, but it is really difficult for him to give up the choice of saving people's hearts with Confucian ethics ideologically. Therefore, when Confucianism held a memorial ceremony in imperial academy on September 3rd, 19 13, Yan Fu accepted the invitation to give a speech, although there were some politicians at that time, such as Tang Hualong, special representative of Yuan Shikai, and He Changxiong, Yuan Shikai's Japanese adviser, and made a quite innovative explanation of what Confucius said: "People can make it unknowable". He believes that since the spread of western learning to the east, people who are shallow scholars often misunderstand Confucius with the help of western reasons, and think that this passage of Confucius is the ideological root of China's two thousand years of feudal autocracy, just like Lao Tzu's view that "the weapon of the country cannot be displayed" belongs to obscurantism. This is really the biggest misunderstanding of Confucius. After tedious semantic research, Yan Fu proved that a reasonable and just society should be "accessible to the people without knowing" from three aspects of morality, religion and law. Authority begins with trust, not knowledge. As long as the people can follow the accepted social rules, the profound "knowledge" should naturally be left to various experts to complete. [19] Shortly thereafter, Yan Fu delivered a speech at the Central Education Conference, vigorously advocated respecting Confucius and reading classics, and emphasized the importance of learning Confucian classics. At the beginning of his speech, Yan Fu discussed the historical process of China becoming a civilized country and pointed out that China is a world-famous country. Compared with modern western civilized countries, China is an ancient civilization with a long history, which is praised by the world for its vast territory, beautiful mountains and rivers, mild climate and simple folk customs. As for the reason why he insisted and advocated enlightening the people with modern western thoughts, it was mainly relative, which did not mean that China people's "national character" was low. On the contrary, from the standpoint of national character, China people's national character not only developed the earliest, but also lasted for a long time despite the war, and the Yilun legal system is even more enduring, with a special cohesion than many countries in the world, that is, the soul of the country. The fundamental reason for this, in Yan Fu's view, was recognized by ordinary scholars at that time and should be attributed to Confucius' Confucian ethics. He pointed out that Confucius' enlightenment was to make China have a vast territory and special national characteristics of five nationalities on the basis of all nationalities in the world, and Confucius' enlightenment lies in the Confucian classics he deleted: "Wow, call the masses! China's special national character is based on the combination of 22 provinces and five major ethnic groups, and it has become the solemn Republic of China today, unique in five continents. If Rome, Greece and Persia all disappeared, it wouldn't be without Confucius' enlightenment! Confucius lived for more than 2400 years, and his enlightenment is still in the present. Isn't he the one who deleted the Youth League Classics? The so-called hanging essay to show the afterlife still exists! "

Since the truth of Confucianism exists in Confucian classics, the logical conclusion is that China people can't ignore the modern value and significance of Confucian ethics if they want to keep their fine traditions, learn from the West and build a modern country. He emphasized that China not only built his moral education on the basis of Confucian classics, but also promoted the rise and fall and innovation of society, and often used the purpose and justice in the group classics to call on the world. For example, since the Revolution of 1911, the phrase "Tang-Wu Revolution, depending on heaven and people" in Yi Zhuan was used to inspire the people. The descriptions of "Datong" society in The Book of Rites and Li Yun inspire China people to pursue an ideal society in the future. As for Mencius' famous saying that "the people are precious, the country is second, and the monarch is light", it can be said that it laid the foundation of the Republic of China. This is from a big perspective. Even in the details of people's livelihood customs and daily activities, China people's daily life can't be separated from the Yi maxim in Confucian classics. Based on this judgment, Yan Fu believes that "today's science depends on success, and our country wants to make progress and cannot abandon it." As for the reason why people are adults, the reason why the country is the country and the reason why the world is the world, it is to seek group classics, and there is no one. [20] To this end, Yan Fu reminded people to pay enough attention to Confucian classics, and pay attention to the truth that is consistent with modern society from Confucian classics, so as to reduce the negative impact of modern western ideas in the process of spreading in China.

In Yan Fu's view, Confucian classics are ancient prose, not difficult words at that time. Although some languages are not easy to understand, it is not easy for children to understand every word when reading the Bible. You can memorize them when you are young, and then you will naturally understand the meaning when you grow up. And there are teachers who can explain it clearly without hurting the child's brain. For more than two thousand years, I have never heard of anyone whose children suffer from mental disorders because they sit and read the four books and five classics. Needless to say, the bibles in western countries are all written in Latin, and even the translations in other countries are not particularly simple words. Isn't that why they were abolished? The works of several famous British writers are not superficial. Just like the current textbooks in our country, how to explain how to let children learn to recite abroad? To this end, Yan Fu solemnly sent a letter to his disciples in charge of education in Jiangxi, saying that reading classics for teenagers should be an important thing anyway. He wrote: "My brother is in charge of education in Jiangxi. His theory is that teachers are the most important. He knows this sincerely. However, whether this trick creates good causes or spreads fallacies depends on how the teacher trains. Reading famous books should have another subject, but don't spend too much time. You'd rather read less than abridge, and you don't have to ask for understanding. As for Jia Yan and Yixing, they can be listed in self-cultivation textbooks, or they can be divided into two types: reading classics, so the former requires strict requirements and the latter requires timeliness. " [2 1] Obviously, Yan Fu advocates that reading classics should be listed as a formal subject in schools, and the method should be "few but precise", which is different from "saying good things and doing good deeds" in order to achieve the dual purpose of respecting ancient sages and applying them in time. This can be said to be the true intention of Yan Fu to actively advocate respecting Confucius and reading classics after the Xinhai.

After the Xinhai, Yan Fu pointed out many times that although it is impossible to read all the Confucian classics in primary schools, middle schools and universities, it is impossible to read them all and not to take them out of context. During the heyday of Confucian classics in Han and Tang dynasties, every scholar who studied Confucian classics was only good at Confucian classics. Confucius has nothing to lose by not reading classics. If educating people not to read classics leads to no personality and nationality, it should not be. So Confucian classics must be read.

From the standpoint of new thinkers before and after 1911, Confucianism seriously conflicted with modern life, and Confucian ethics was the ideological root that led to the two thousand years' social progress in China. Yan Fu thinks this view is ridiculous, because he doesn't know the true meaning of Confucian ethics at all, let alone the general law of the development and change of human society. He pointed out that those who emphasize that Confucian ethics is incompatible with modern social life are actually obsessed with the general trend of social change and the real relationship between social existence and social consciousness. "Why? The establishment of People's Republic of China (PRC) is unique, the quality of literature is changing gradually, and the evolution of nature is changing day by day. However, it also has its own immutable. Gu, no matter what the world is talking about today, it has its inherent coincidence, that is, the era when things have not happened and I don't know about punishment, so the book of abdication is forbidden, and I will abolish the prison code. To test history, the only people who have done so have heard of the emperor and Reese. Its effect is obvious, why should I learn! In short, although the governance system has changed, the discipline is the same. Today's China has become the so-called * * * harmony. However, in the ancient enlightenment, the so-called gentleman was loyal and filial, the father was filial, the brother was respectful, and the husband was loyal to his wife. China people believed in all teachings. How can they violate it? Is there any other way? " [22]*** and the establishment of the national system is only a political change in China, which does not mean that the ethics of China people will inevitably change with the political change. Yan Fu clearly pointed out that the establishment of the Republic of China is of course an important event in the history of China, which really marks a major change of the times. However, it is worth noting that from the long river of human history, the moral and ethical beliefs followed by human beings have never changed fundamentally with the changes of politics. Based on this understanding, Yan Fu put forward "On Carrying Forward the Founding Spirit of the Republic of China" in 19 14, and strongly appealed to the Senate to adjust its propaganda policy, instead of blindly encouraging and encouraging the so-called democratic and free ideas that have deteriorated.

The concepts of freedom, democracy and equality should be said that Yan Fu tried to introduce China's western progressive thoughts before, but he saw that these thoughts had many disadvantages after the "transformation" of China society, especially after the political changes of the Revolution of 1911, the concepts of freedom and equality had moved to their own aspects in China, which seriously affected the stability of social order and the normal development of society. He pointed out: "It is really useless for a husband to talk nonsense and become more and more unrestrained, while equality is contrary to the facts. A wise man does everything." It goes without saying that what is urgent today is not freedom, but that everyone belittles freedom and takes the interests of the country and good groups as their own responsibility. As for equality, honesty is an element of peace in this law, but it was discovered when voting. However, it should be noted that the country has doubts, and most people judge that it is a violation and is also required by law. Welfare depends on the level of citizens. Many times, many people's arbitrariness is more harmful than the suppression of a single husband, and it may not be the benefit of the specialty. " [23]

Perhaps it is based on this understanding of western modern thought that Yan Fu solemnly proposed in "On Carrying Forward the Founding Spirit of the Republic of China" that loyalty, filial piety and righteousness are the characteristics of the Chinese nation and the founding spirit of China since ancient times, and solemnly suggested that the following items be put into public discussion and voting, with a view to rebuilding a moral standard with both innovative spirit and China traditional spirit for China people. These provisions are:

1. After the training of sages, Biao Juqun chose to translate the things of loyalty, filial piety and righteousness described in historical biographies into the words and deeds of foreign celebrities, and compiled textbooks for normal students and primary schools, thinking that Xi's teaching depends on reciting.

First, the historical facts of loyalty and filial piety, choose which is realistic, and make it into a popular song, or a drama, and make it into a picture for the people to sing.

First, all the tables in the ancestral halls of loyalty, filial piety and righteousness are neatly repaired, thinking that the places where public sacrifices are held every year are discussed by local governments, and ceremonies and temple fairs are scheduled to be held on the first or second day of the year.

First, the people, men and women, rich and poor, have all died, and their extraordinary deeds have been recognized by local authorities. The petitioner is found to be true, and the president will commend him as appropriate.

First, the governance system is different, and the meaning of the first public has not been abolished. Compared with the regime, it has changed, presided over the land management and became an official. A great president, a representative of an abstract country, is not a specific personal name. Once public opinion belongs to him, it is the point of national dedication. Sri Lanka is purely a national obligation and has no systematic feelings. Therefore, loyalty to the head of state means loyalty to the country. To be a big country, we must not confuse it with Louis's words of "unifying the world". This significance is very important for the chaotic survival of our country. It is urgent to widely quote the theories of ancient and modern China and foreign countries, dissect the essence, compile a special book, distribute it in schools, spread it among the people, and give the world a feeling.

First, the old propaganda department, or the newly compiled modern propaganda department, written by western countries, with the facts of loyalty, filial piety, benevolence and righteousness, should be compiled and published for wide circulation. [24]

Yan Fu's proposal is a bit old-fashioned in form, but it is a solution to the chaotic social order at that time in content, that is, fully considering China's special national conditions, inheriting the spiritual civilization of 5,000 years, trying to absorb the essence of modern western thought, providing spiritual support for the establishment of a modern country, and building the country's foundation on reliable spiritual resources. [25]

Who should bear the original sin of restoring monarchy?

Yan Fu's proposal was passed after some discussion in the Senate. President Yuan Shikai ordered the provinces to inform the public of Yan Fu's proposal in the form of presidential decrees, and at the same time hung up the lecture halls of various schools and published abridged versions of all textbooks as examples, so that everyone could be known during his tenure and inspire their conscience. [26] The academic advice was finally recognized at the political level, and Yan Fu's joy was self-evident.

However, Yan Fu's joy did not last long. In the year after his proposal was approved, Yuan Shikai accelerated the pace of imperial restoration under the impetus of various factors. Therefore, later scholars criticized Yan Fu's thought of respecting Confucius to read classics after the Revolution of 1911. They all think that Yan Fu's thought of respecting Confucius is closely related to Yuan Shikai's restoration, and even think that they are two sides of the same thing, that is, respecting Confucius is the political and ideological appearance of restoration.

In fact, all those who advocate respecting Confucius and reading classics, including Yan Fu, just think that Confucius' theory represents the cultural spirit of China people and is the fundamental condition for the restoration and continuous stability of China's social order. Its ideological principles not only conform to the imperial era, but also have no fundamental obstacles to democratic principles. Chen Huanzhang said: "Today, the state system is in harmony with the people, and it is not allowed to go against the people's will, which is beyond the reach of autocratic emperors. And * * * and the country take morality as the spirit, and China's morality originates from Confucius, especially prohibiting bringing order out of chaos, so China should still take Confucianism as the state religion. " [27] In their view, Confucius' thoughts and ideals are not only consistent with the * * * principle and the country, but also just enough to solve the actual social problems currently faced by China under the * * * principle.

Generally speaking, these Confucius advocates, like Yan Fu, are not opposed to * * * and the principle based on freedom and equality. They acknowledge that these principles will be realized in China sooner or later. However, at present, China people's morality is declining, the government's control power is weakened, and the normal social order cannot be maintained. They also feel that the democracy and politics that have been implemented are in opposition to the Confucius doctrine that China has always believed in, and cannot effectively solve the restoration and reconstruction of social order in China. Therefore, there are only two points they have repeatedly demonstrated: first, the means and ways to realize the ideal of * * * cannot be separated from Confucius' theory; Second, Confucius' theory conforms to the ideals of freedom, equality and democracy.

When it comes to the means and ways to realize * * * and ideals, the inner feelings of respecting Confucius and reading classics are the same as those of Yan Fu. Based on the fact that the social order was seriously chaotic after the Revolution of 1911. They advocate that "today's people are eager to save the country, rectify discipline, implement laws and regulations, restore order, and defend the frontier, and everything should be based on this, and should not precede riots to protect their livelihood"; Because, "if you want to talk about equality, freedom, civilization and happiness, you will also be able to evolve after chaos." There is no national chaos in the world, but those who can achieve civilization, happiness, equality and freedom do not seek chaos today, but seek civilization, equality, freedom and self-improvement first, and then cut off Hong Kong's navigation for no reason. How can we reverse it? "[28] Civilization, equality, freedom and self-improvement are not only the ideals of westerners, but also the pursuit of China people. It's just that when China people pursue this, they should undoubtedly seek chaos first, and then seek treatment.

To sum up, we can draw a simple understanding, that is, after the Revolution of 1911, people who respected Confucius, represented by Yan Fu, did not have original ideas and practical value in theory, and only by thinking on the premise of democracy and harmony did they truly and accurately grasp the internal relationship between modernization and cultural traditions. However, their shortcomings are that they over-publicized the practical tradition of China intellectuals and wanted to turn their immature academic opinions into political practice as soon as possible, which caused a double rebound of academic theory and politics, and even led to some original correct theoretical opinions not only failing to achieve the expected results, but also playing a bad role. Therefore, in a sense, Hong Xian's monarchy has a certain connection with the trend of respecting Confucius, but they are not necessarily causal, but some politicians.

Therefore, as the initiator of the ideological trend of respecting Confucius and reading classics, and as one of the six gentlemen who advocated the restoration of monarchy, Yan Fu was not only liquidated politically after the farce of Hongxian monarchy, but also never admitted that he had any mistakes in advocating respecting Confucius and reading classics. Even in the last few years of his life, he still firmly believed in his point of view.