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==Confucianism Today==

==Confucianism Today==

Since the May Fourth Movement of 1919, Confucianism (along with a misguided application of the term "feudalism") has for many in China become a catch-all for undesirable and oppressive practices of the past. Political leaders of the time denounced Confucianism as the ideology enforcing and enabling the conservative and patriarchal oppression of the Chinese people, and especially of Chinese women. Mao Zedong claimed he would work to free women from their subordinate position under Confucianism, and state ideology in Communist China since then has, nominally, claimed full and complete gender equality among its ideals.<ref>Schirokauer et al, 61-62.</ref>

Since the May Fourth Movement of 1919, Confucianism (along with a misguided application of the term "feudalism") has for many in China become a catch-all for undesirable and oppressive practices of the past. Political leaders of the time denounced Confucianism as the ideology enforcing and enabling the conservative and patriarchal oppression of the Chinese people, and especially of Chinese women. Mao Zedong claimed he would work to free women from their subordinate position under Confucianism, and state ideology in Communist China since then has, nominally, claimed full and complete gender equality among its ideals.<ref name=schiro62>Schirokauer et al, 61-62.</ref>

While nearly all pre-modern (and modern) cultures around the world were (are) heavily patriarchal in their various ways, and Confucianism is certainly no exception, many have also pointed out that many of the quotes often cited as proof of Confucianism's patriarchal nature are taken out of context, or have been misinterpreted. Besides, even if traditional culture was discriminatory towards women, some argue, still Confucianism is not fundamentally an ideology of oppression, and it can be reinterpreted, reappraised, recovered to still have great value for today.<ref name=schiro62/>

While nearly all pre-modern (and modern) cultures around the world were (are) heavily patriarchal in their various ways, and Confucianism is certainly no exception, many have also pointed out that many of the quotes often cited as proof of Confucianism's patriarchal nature are taken out of context, or have been misinterpreted. Besides, even if traditional culture was discriminatory towards women, some argue, still Confucianism is not fundamentally an ideology of oppression, and it can be reinterpreted, reappraised, recovered to still have great value for today.<ref name=schiro62/>