Let me tell you what he really meant- -
In 1974 Confucius was pressed into service by one faction in the government. His role this time was the mortal enemy of the State, standing in for a rival who could not be attacked by name. The image to the right is a poster from that era urging citizens to "Fight the People's War of Criticizing Lin and Confucius." Stefan Landsberger's outstanding collection of Chinese propaganda posters is the source, and he gives a nice overview of the anti-Lin / anti-Confucius campaign (more than I can say here due to filtering). So with Confucius playing the villain in the public eye, justifications naturally needed to be found amongst his works for the anti-progressive, anti-revolutionary positions he was accused of. Here's a one-line understatement with a footnote from Hong Zicheng's Contemporary Chinese Literature (altered slightly against the filters): "文(和)革"期间，则实行一种"自我封闭"的文化政策，并根据现实政治需要，对传统文化的某些部分，采取奇特的实用主义的阐释策略。 During the CR, a self-imposed policy of cultural isolation was enacted, and in response to the political needs of the time, there were some peculiar positions taken in the utilitarian explication of certain parts of traditional culture. At least Confucius is allowed to speak for himself before his words get twisted. The late-Qing satiric novelist Lǐ Bóyuán (李伯元), in the post-revolutionary printings of A Short History Of Modern Times 《文明小史》, does not fare so well.
JUDICIOUS QUOTATION and bold annotation can make practically any text convey practically any meaning. Those of you reading along with the periodic installments of New China: A Future History have come across Liang Qichao's innovative ideas about the true meaning behind the works attributed to Confucius. This was not the first time the sage was remolded to fit an unlikely role, and it would not be the last.
注："文(和)革"中对待鲁迅的著作，对待《水浒》、《红楼梦》等名著，以及开展的"评法批儒"的活动，都是典型的例子。如1974年，有著名的古籍出版社中华书局（北京）出版的《〈论语〉批注》，对《论语》"学而第一"的阐释是："......'学而时习之，不亦说乎'，是叫他的门徒专心致志地学习礼、乐、《诗》、《书》，把自己训练成复辟奴隶制的帮凶。'有朋自远方来，不亦乐乎'，是要他们拉拢来自远方的反革(和)命(和)党羽，扩大反革(和)命组织。'人不知，而不愠，不亦君子乎'，是说不要怨恨执政者不任用自己，要善于搞韬晦之计，耐心等待有利时机到来，大干一场。"见该书第2页。（洪子诚，《中国当代文学史》。北京：北京大学出版社，1999，第238页。）
Footnote: The treatment of Lu Xun's works, famous novels such as The Water Margin and Dream of Red Chambers, and the campaign to criticize the legalists and Confucians during the CR are typical examples. In 1974, for instance, the noted classics publisher China Books issued The Annotated Analects, and explained the beginning of the first chapter like so: "...'Is it not pleasant to learn with constant perseverance and application?' tells his disciples to study rites, music, the Odes, and the Documents wholeheartedly, to train themselves into gang members working for those wanting to restore the slave masters. 'Is it not delightful to have friends coming from distant quarters?' is telling them to gather together all of their counter-revolutionary henchmen from far and wide so as to expand their counter-revolutionary organization. 'Is he not a gentleman who, when he does not know, is not angry?' says not to become angry at those in power when they do not give you an appointment, but rather to become skilled in not revealing your motive, waiting patiently, so that when the opportunity arrives you can take it all in one fell swoop."
First, though, a digression into typography. The edition of Modern Times I have was published in 1955, and it exists in a kind of typographic (and ideological) limbo before the truly radical changes that arrived in the late 50s. A few commonly used characters have been simplified, but the majority are traditional, typeset vertically. A typical line reads:
知府說：「很好。但是一件，我們沒有一個会說洋話的怎麽好？」首縣說：「卑職衙門裏的西席老夫子，有個姓張的，从前在省城裏甚麽学堂裏讀过三個月英文的，現在請他教卑職的兩個兒子讀洋書。」知府說：「原來世兄学習洋文，这是現在第一件經世有用之学，將來未可限量，可喜可敬。」
An introduction by the critic Ah Ying (阿英), written earlier, is attached to the novel, in which he mentions Li Boyuan's immature and even incorrect ideas on political change (here I've standardized it to modern simplified characters, again with some alterations):
在这几个楔子和尾声里[即《文明小史》、《中国现在记》楔子]，很明显的反映了李伯元的政治态度。他反对当时那些贪污和假维新的官吏，同样的反对那些主张维新以至革(和)命的人物。他和刘铁云一样，反对"北拳南革"，在《文明小史》第五十九回里，就用一千五百言诋"革(和)命(和)党是破坏天理国法人情"的，说义和团"装妖作怪，骇俗惊愚"，"几乎送了国家的性命"。他希望中国有救，认为必须"维新"，不能革(和)命。而维新的希望却寄之于能有像平中丞那样有为的官吏。维新似乎也有所限制。他的思想，仍旧是以中国固有的封建道德，拥护清朝统治为基础的。这样，它所描写的一些维新以至革(和)命的人物，就不可能不是一些投机的，充满着缺点的人物。他的笔触，就不可能接近到像谭嗣同那样维新(和)党，像孙中山、史坚如、陈千秋那样的革(和)命(和)党，他也无法理解。他只能看到像平中丞那样的"先进人物"，认作是中国的前途。这就是他的世界观。
These prologues and epilogues (that is, the prologues to A Short History of Modern Times and Modern China) very clearly reflect Li Boyuan's attitude toward politics. He opposes the corruption and false reforms of the officials of the time, and at the same time also opposes those who support reformations extending to revolution. Like Liu Tieyun, he opposes the "Northern Fists and Southern Revolution" [referring to the Boxers and the Guangdong anti-Imperials]. In Chapter 59 of Modern Times, he writes a defamatory 1500 characters saying "the revolutionary party destroys the order of heaven, the law of the country, and the ties binding people together," and that the Boxers "act like demons and monsters, frightening the common and ignorant," "nearly sending the country to its doom." He does hope for China's rescue, and believes that "reform" is necessary, not revolution. But the hope for reform relies on people like Ping [an idealized character Li introduces late in Modern Times] being made officials. Reform seems to have limitations as well. Li's thought is still founded on China's old feudal notions and the need to protect the Qing government. In this way, the reform and revolutionary characters he describes can not help but be a bit speculative and full of flaws. His writing cannot approach, nor can he understand, a reformist party like that of Tan Sitong, nor a revolutionary party like that of Sun Yat-sen, Shi Jianru and Chen Qianqiu. He can only see the "progressive character" of minister Ping as the future of China. This is his worldview.
At this point the editor inserts a footnote, as if to reassure the reader that those harmful ideas from Chapter 59 will in no way be allowed to infringe on his particular worldview: "Those 1500 words have been deleted from this edition." They have, however, been restored in the most recent edition of Li Boyuan's collected works. Times change.
Lest I live to regret unfairly impugning Ah Ying's merits as a critic, let me mention that his introduction goes on to be slightly more nuanced than this excerpt conveys; he does not merely leave off with demonstrating the ideological failure of Li Boyuan, after all merely a novelist, when compared to the political activists Tan Sitong and Sun Yat-sen.
His understanding, though severely limited, nevertheless is that of a realist. What he reflects, therefore, in several areas, though inescapably exaggerated and one-sided, is fundamentally still the truth. Then too, while he does not understand the people, by his depictions of negative characters and their environs he still uncovers the people's hopes and aspirations, as well as the necessity of the rise of the revolutionary tide and the fall of the Qing government.
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