Deng Rong [1] stated in the New National Assembly [2], “There is no need to establish a special office for honoring Confucius; it would merely save expenses.” Zhang Yuanqi [3] remarked, “At the Ministry of the Interior, matters concerning the worship of Confucius are handled by clerks and attendants in the tea room, with neither the vice minister nor the director paying any attention. A dedicated official should be appointed.” The clerks and attendants at the Ministry of the Interior are hardly human beings. If they were, how could they even fail to manage the rites in honor of Confucius? I suppose that after so many years, the aura of authority surrounding Old Master Confucius has diminished somewhat.

Printed in the inaugural issue of the Xiangjiang Review on July 14, 1919. Signed: Zedong.

Notes

[1] Deng Rong, courtesy name Shou Xia, was from Chengdu, Sichuan. He passed the provincial examination as an outstanding candidate in the Dingyou year of the Guangxu reign and graduated from the Faculty of Law at Meiji University in Japan. He successively held positions such as member of the Provisional Senate, member of the Political Conference, member of the Constitutional Drafting Committee, member of the Senate, and member of the Council of State.

[2] In August 1918, Duan Qirui and other Anhui clique warlords of the Beijing government, in order to counter the Extraordinary National Assembly formed in Guangzhou by Sun Yat-sen and others, abolished the old National Assembly and established a new one. This new assembly came to be known as the “New National Assembly.” Because the Anfu faction, which was controlled by the Anhui clique within the assembly, constituted an overwhelming majority, it was also referred to as the “Anfu National Assembly.”

[3] Zhang Yuanqi, courtesy name Zhenwu (1858–1922), was from Minhou, Fujian. He passed the imperial examination as a jinshi in the Bingxu year of the Guangxu reign. After the Xinhai Revolution, he served as the first governor of Fujian Province. He previously held posts such as prefect of Yueyang Prefecture in Hunan, inspector general of Fengtian, vice minister of the Interior, member of the Council of State, chief censor of the Censorate, and president of the Economic Investigation Bureau.