From Marx and Engels to Sino-Marxism Focusing on Communist and Confucian (rujia) Notions of Loyalty and Self-Criticism
Abstract
The paper sketches and compares main components of Marxism, Leninism, Stalinism, and Sino-Marxism, especially Maoism. In particular, it deals with the relation between Maoism and so-called Confucianism (rujia). It is argued that this relation has been—and still is—characterized by both Maoist criticism of Confucius as well as absorption of ‘Confucian’ ideas. In briefly analysing commonalities and differences between the various theories and ‘practices’, especially the ways the Communist Party of China conceived of and asked for loyalty to the Party, reasons are given for their development, achievements, and failures.
Downloads
References
Altinok, Ozan Altan. 2019. “Mao’s Marxist Negation of Marxism.” Asian Studies 7 (1): 75–96.
Bauer, Wolfgang. 1990. Das Antlitz Chinas. München: Hanser.
Brecht, Bertold. 2004. Die Dreigroschenoper. Berlin: Suhrkamp.
Beijing Academy of Wang Yangming Philosophy, ed. 2018. Cultural Confidence & National Rejuvenation. Beijing: China Intercontinental Press.
Dessein, Bart. 2019. “Guo Moruo on Marx and Confucius.” Asian Studies 7 (1): 129–51.
van Ess, Hans. 2016. “Sinomarxismus und Konfuzianismus: Ein dialektisches Verhältnis.” In Maoismus oder Sinomarxismus?, edited by Harro von Senger, and Marcel Senn, 55–74. Stuttgart: Steiner.
Guo, Moruo. 1999. “Marx Enters the Confucian Temple.” Renditions 51: 77–86. Translated by Matthew Finkbeiner, and John Timothy Wixted. Accessed July 10, 2020. http://c1180008.ferozo.com/pdf/203.pdf.
Krawczyk, Adrian. 2019. “Marxist Theories of Ideology in Contemporary China.” Asian Studies 7 (1): 153–72.
Li, Zehou. 1994. The Path of Beauty. Translated by Gong Lizheng. Hong Kong: Oxford University Press.
——. 2010. The Chinese Aesthetic Tradition. Translated from Huaxia meixue (1989) by Maija Bell Samei. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press.
——. 2018. A New Approach to Kant: A Confucian-Marxist’s Viewpoint. Translated from Pipan zhexuede pipan (1st edition 1979) by Jeanne Haizhen Allen, and Christopher Ahn. Singapore: Springer Nature Singapore.
——. 2020. A History of Classical Chinese Thought. Translated, with a philosophical introduction, by Andrew Lambert. New York, London: Routledge.
Li, Zehou, and Jane Cauvel. 2006. Four Essays on Aesthetics: Toward a Global Perspective. Lanham: Lexington Books.
Liu, Shaoqi. 1939. “How to be a Good Communist: Primary Source with Questions.” In Selected Works of Liu Shaoqi, vol. I, edited and translated by DBQs. Published Online in February 2004. Accessed July 10, 2020.
http://afe.easia.columbia.edu/ps/china/liu_shaoqi_good_communist.pdf.
Louie, Kam. 1986. Inheriting Tradition: Interpretations of the Classical Philosophers in Communist China, 1949–1966. Hong Kong, Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Mao, Tse-Tung [Mao Zedong]. 2007. On Practice and Contradiction. (Introduction by Slavoj Žižek). London: Verso.
Marx, Karl. 1959. Economic and Philosophic Manuscripts of 1844. Moscow: Progress Publishers.
——. 1969. Theses on Feuerbach. Moscow: Progress Publishers.
——. 2015. Capital: A Critique of Political Economy. Vol. I, Book One: The Process of Production of Capital. Translated by Samuel Moore, and Edward Aveling, edited by Frederick Engels. Moscow: Progress Publishers.
——. n.d. “Die entfremdete Arbeit.” In Ökonomisch-philosophische Manuskripte aus dem Jahre 1844. Accessed March 6, 2020.
Marx, Karl, and Frederick Engels. 1969. “Manifesto of the Communist Party.” In Marx/Engels Selected Works, vol. 1, 98–137. Moscow: Progress Publishers.
Paul, Gregor. 1990. Aspects of Confucianism. Frankfurt/M: Peter Lang.
——. 2013. “Confucian Universalism as a Driving Force of Humanity: The Timeless Lesson of Japanese Confucianism.” In Confucianism in Intercultural Perspectives: Modern Developments. Papers from the Fourth International Conference of Sinology. Taipei: Academia Sinica.
Roetz, Heiner. 2016. “Der antike Legalismus – eine Quelle des modernen Totalitarismus?” In Maoismus oder Sinomarxismus?, edited by Harro von Senger, and Marcel Senn, 75–100. Stuttgart: Steiner.
Rošker, Jana S., 2018. “From Humanized Nature to Naturalized Humans: Li Zehou’s Transformation of the Classical Chinese ‘Tianren Heyi’ Paradigm Through the Lens of Kant and Early Marx.” Frontiers of Philosophy in China 13 (1): 72–90.
Schickel, Joachim, 1976. Konfuzius: Materialien zu einer Jahrhundert-Debatte. Frankfurt/M: Suhrkamp.
von Senger, Harro, and Marcel Senn, eds. 2016. Maoismus oder Sinomarxismus? Stuttgart: Steiner.
von Senger, Harro. 2016a. “Der Sinomarxismus zu Beginn des 21. Jahrhunderts.” In Maoismus oder Sinomarxismus?, edited by Harro von Senger, and Marcel Senn, 121–72. Stuttgart: Steiner.
von Senger, Harro. 2016b. “‘Pragmatismus’ und ‘Maoismus’: Rückblick auf die Tagung Maoismus oder Sinomarxismus?” In Maoismus oder Sinomarxismus?, edited by Harro von Senger, and Marcel Senn, 245–85. Stuttgart: Steiner.
Sernelj, Téa. 2019. “Modern Confucian Objection Against Communism in China.” Asian Studies 7 (1): 99–113.
Copyright (c) 2021 Gregor Paul

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
- Authors are confirming that they are the authors of the submitting article, which will be published (print and online) in journal Asian Studies by Znanstvena založba Filozofske fakultete Univerze v Ljubljani (University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Arts, Aškerčeva 2, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia). Author’s name will be evident in the article in journal. All decisions regarding layout and distribution of the work are in hands of the publisher.
- Authors guarantee that the work is their own original creation and does not infringe any statutory or common-law copyright or any proprietary right of any third party. In case of claims by third parties, authors commit their self to defend the interests of the publisher, and shall cover any potential costs.
- Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work.