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Classic texts can be
inappropriate: Lee
OLD IS IN: The former president mentioned that
China had abandoned preaching about communism in favor of teaching children the
‘Four Books and Five Classics’
By Chris Wang and Mo Yan-chih / Staff Reporters
Former president Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) yesterday weighed in on the recent war of
words between the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Democratic Progressive
Party (DPP) over the role of Chinese classics as an educational tool, saying
that parts of the collection are inappropriate material for children if a
political agenda is involved.
Saying he had read the Four Books and Five Classics (四書五經), a collection of
Confucian writings dating back to 300 BC, when he was young, Lee posted in a
Facebook message that while the collection’s emphasis on filial piety and trust
is recommendable, it is not right to “use it on the political front” and try to
control the public with ideology.
The Chinese Communist Party does not promote communism anymore, he added.
Instead, it promotes the Four Books and Five Classics and the “New Confucianism”
and tries to manipulate people with Confucian ideas, such as “legitimacy,
monarchy, unification and imperial hierarchy,” Lee said.
Lee’s remarks came in the wake of a TV advertisement released by President Ma
Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) re-election campaign that highlights Ma’s commitment to
promoting Chinese culture.
The ad features interviews with children and parents on both sides of the Taiwan
Strait talking about their experiences attending Chinese classics classes.
The classes, where teachers and volunteers teach children the Four Books and
Five Classics, began at the Confucius Temple in Taipei about 12 years ago and
gradually expanded nationwide, as well as to cities in China.
The DPP on Monday criticized Ma and the KMT over their intentions to promote
Chinese literature rather than Taiwanese culture, and indicated that many
notorious figures in China’ s history, such as Qin Kuai (秦檜), a chancellor
during the Song Dynasty who is widely regarded as a traitor to the Han ethnic
group, also the read Four Books and Five Classics.
Dismissing the DPP’s criticism, Ma’s campaign office yesterday accused the DPP
of stigmatizing traditional Chinese culture.
“As a pioneer in promoting Chinese culture, Taiwan has enjoyed great
competitiveness on the international stage, and the DPP’s blind opposition to
classic works of literature and Chinese culture is a step backward that will not
help the country enrich its culture,” Ma’s campaign office spokesperson Lee
Chia-fei (李佳霏) said.
Regarding the DPP’s example of Qin Kuai, Lee said the accusations made by the
DPP were unfair to tens of thousands of volunteers who promote and teach the
classics, as well as parents and students who studied the works.
“If DPP Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) agreed with the DPP’s stigmatizing
comments, please tell those teachers and students that she is against activities
that involve the reading of the classics,” Lee said.
KMT spokesperson Chen Yi-hsin (陳以信) also joined Ma’s campaign team to rebut the
DPP’s criticism, saying that there are no conflicts between promoting Chinese
culture and prioritizing Taiwan’s interests.
At a separate setting yesterday, DPP spokesperson Lin Chun-hsien (林俊憲) said the
DPP’s criticism of the advertisement on Monday was not a categorical opposition
to the books.
“What the DPP is against is the ideology and political motivation hidden behind
the veil of education,” Lin said. “We are also opposed to the TV advertisement’s
implication that some literary and philosophical works are superior to others.”
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