A Socialist National Myth: Rewriting Chinese History through Confucian–Legalist Conflicts in Mao’s China, 1973–76

A Socialist National Myth: Rewriting Chinese History through Confucian-Legalist Conflicts in Mao’s China, 1973 – 1976

In 1974, Mao Zedong initiated the "Criticize Lin Biao, Criticize Confucius" 批林批孔campaign, condemning the disgraced vice chairman of China along with the philosopher from the State of Lu during the Spring and Autumn Period. Beyond the court struggles and realpolitik of the incident, this paper examines a series of political historiographies known as "the history of Confucian-Legalist conflicts" 儒法斗争史produced from 1973 to 1976 under the mobilization of the Cultural Revolution Small Group. Built upon the ideas of the Legalist philosophers, such as Shang Yang 商鞅 and Han Fei 韩非, as well as early 20^th century thinkers such as Zhang Taiyan 章太炎and Lu Xun 鲁迅, this new form of historiography praises strong leaders with centralized power who, wielding military might and political acumen, overcame the constraints of Confucian moral politics. It depicts the rise of Confucianism and the contention from Legalism during the Spring and Autumn period as China’s original oppression and the initial instance of resistance. The paper argues that the overarching narrative of "Confucian-Legalist Conflicts" not only justified Mao's shift away from mass movements in favor of state apparatus towards the end of the Cultural Revolution but also assimilated Maoist revolutionary politics into a meta-narrative of Chinese history, constructing a socialist national myth.