The Hidden Demons in Chinese Culture

Xuefeng

December 2, 2022

"Under the whole heaven, every spot is the sovereign’s ground; to the borders of the land, every person is the sovereign’s subject."

This idea from the Book of Songs, written over two thousand years ago, has influenced Chinese rulers from the first emperor, Qin Shi Huang, to the present day. Regardless of its original meaning, what we observe is that all emperors have treated the world as their personal domain, and the people as their subjects. For instance, Qin Shi Huang never considered passing the throne to a virtuous minister, or implementing a democratic system to allow the people to elect the next emperor. Instead, he wrote a will to pass the throne to his son, viewing the empire as his family’s property, which naturally had to be handed down to his descendants. From the first emperor, this tradition has continued for over two thousand years up to the present day. None of the emperors ever regarded the world as belonging to the people; they never saw it as anyone’s world but their own. Their rhetoric of "serving the people" was nothing but a façade, meant to disguise their true aim of controlling the populace to protect their power. In essence, they schemed to manipulate the people in order to maintain their power. In this regard, not a single emperor in Chinese history was truly good. "In books, there are houses of gold; in books, there are beauties like jade."

The third emperor of the Song Dynasty, Zhao Heng, wrote in Encouragement to Learn: "To become wealthy, one need not buy good land; in books, there are thousands of bushels of grain. To live in peace, one need not build high halls; in books, there are houses of gold. When you go out, do not hate having no followers; in books, there are many carriages and horses. When you marry, do not hate having no good matchmaker; in books, there are beauties like jade. If a man wishes to fulfill his lifelong ambitions, he should diligently study the Six Classics at his window."

Have you noticed that throughout Chinese history, those who studied with great effort, even to the point of hanging their heads from beams and stabbing their thighs, did not do so to explore truth or seek the welfare of the common people, but to gain wealth and beautiful women, to rise above others? Even in today’s world of advanced science, the majority of people who pursue higher education—whether college, master’s, or doctoral degrees—do so with the aim of securing high-paying, stable jobs, rather than using their knowledge to serve the greater good.

“Cultivate oneself, regulate the family, govern the state, and bring peace to the world.”

This famous phrase from The Great Learning, a Confucian classic, outlines the progression of life’s goals. At first glance, the logic and ambition seem reasonable, but when examined more closely, the purpose and process reveal their flaws. The blindness lies in the fact that both "regulating the family" (which supposedly means governing one's domain after becoming an official) and "governing the state" lack any notions of democracy and freedom, emphasizing only personal ability and arrogance. Historically, which Confucian scholar has truly "regulated the family"? All of them have treated the family as a place of personal autocratic rule. The brutality lies in the term “bring peace to the world” (平天下), where “peace” here does not mean fairness (公平), but rather pacification (平定). For example, in Records of the Grand Historian, it is written: "In the past, the Qin territory was no more than a thousand miles. Thanks to Your Majesty’s divine wisdom, the whole country was pacified, the barbarians were expelled, and all under heaven submitted." Those familiar with history know how Qin Shi Huang "pacified" the country—through brutal military conquest.

Thus, the path of "cultivate oneself, regulate the family, govern the state, and bring peace to the world" is a blind and bloody one, lacking in universal values. It contains no concern for developing the economy or improving the well-being of the people, but rather emphasizes personal struggle for power, success, and fame.

From the above concepts—"Under the whole heaven, every spot is the sovereign’s ground," "In books, there are houses of gold," and "Cultivate oneself, regulate the family, govern the state, and bring peace to the world"—we can see that Chinese culture harbors hidden demons. This culture seeps into the very blood, cells, thoughts, and consciousness of every Chinese person, subtly turning them into captives, accomplices, and slaves of these hidden demons. We must remain vigilant.