Editing Conservatism (section)

==== China ====
{{Main|Conservatism in China}}
{{Conservatism in China}}
Chinese conservatism can be traced back to [[Confucius]], whose [[Confucianism|philosophy]] is based on the values of loyalty, duty, and respect. He believed in a hierarchically organized society, [[Family as a model for the state#Confucian thought|modeled after the patriarchal family]] and headed by an [[Absolute monarchy|absolute sovereign]]. However, Confucius also believed that the state should employ a [[Meritocracy|meritocratic]] class of administrators and advisers, recruited by [[Imperial examination|civil service exams]]. An alternative school of thought called [[Legalism (Chinese philosophy)|Legalism]] argued that administrative discipline, not Confucian virtue, was crucial for the governance of the state.<ref>{{Cite book |author-last=Kelly |author-first=P. J. |url=http://worldcat.org/oclc/828097386 |title=The Politics Book |date=2013 |publisher=DK |isbn=978-1-4093-6445-0 |pages=23–24|oclc=828097386 }}</ref>

For thousands of years, China was ruled by monarchs of various imperial dynasties. The [[Mandate of Heaven]] theory was invoked in order to legitimize the absolute authority of the Emperor.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Harari |first=Yuval Noah |title=Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind |publisher=Penguin Random House |year=2015 |isbn=978-0-09-959008-8 |page=219}}</ref> The [[1911 Revolution|Xinhai Revolution]] of 1911 overthrew [[Puyi]], the last Chinese Emperor, and ushered in the [[Republic of China (1912–1949)|Republic of China]]. Between 1927 and 1949, China was ruled by the nationalist party [[Kuomintang]], which became right-wing after General [[Chiang Kai-shek]] purged communists from his party. Following his defeat in the [[Chinese Civil War]] by the [[Chinese Communist Party]] (CCP), Chiang continued ruling the island of [[Taiwan]] until his death in 1975.<ref>{{cite web |last=Reilly |first=Michael |date=October 17, 2021 |url=https://island.lk/taiwan-will-it-retain-independence-or-be-taken-over/ |title=Taiwan: Will it retain independence or be taken over? |work=The Island Online |access-date=May 30, 2024 |archive-date=November 12, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211112235026/https://island.lk/taiwan-will-it-retain-independence-or-be-taken-over/ |url-status=live}}</ref>

On the mainland, Chinese conservatism was vehemently opposed and suppressed by the CCP, especially during the [[Cultural Revolution]]. Members of the "[[Five Black Categories]]"—landlords, rich farmers, counter-revolutionaries, bad influencers, and right-wingers—were violently persecuted. Young people formed cadres of [[Red Guards]] throughout the country and sought to destroy the [[Four Olds]]: old ideas, old culture, old customs, and old habits—leading to the destruction of a large part of China's [[cultural heritage]], including historical artifacts and religious sites.<ref>{{cite book |last=Lu |first=Xing |title=Rhetoric of the Chinese Cultural Revolution: The Impact on Chinese Thought |date=2004 |page=2}}</ref> Among them, some Red Guards who embraced local officials were pejoratively called "[[Conservative Faction (Cultural Revolution)|conservatives]]".<ref>{{cite journal |first1=Hongbiao |last1=Yin |title=Ideological and political tendencies of factions in the red guard movement |journal=[[Journal of Contemporary China]] |date=November 1996 |volume=5 |issue=13 |pages=269–280 |doi=10.1080/10670569608724255 |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/10670569608724255 |access-date=June 11, 2023}}</ref>

In recent decades, Chinese conservatism has experienced a national revival.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.economist.com/china/2017/08/17/the-communist-party-is-redefining-what-it-means-to-be-chinese |title=The Communist Party is redefining what it means to be Chinese |date=August 17, 2017 |newspaper=The Economist |access-date=May 30, 2024}}</ref> The ancient schools of Confucianism and Legalism have made a return into mainstream Chinese thought.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Schneider |first1=David K. |title=China's New Legalism |journal=The National Interest |date=2016 |issue=143 |pages=19–25 |jstor=26557304}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Johnson |first=Ian |date=October 18, 2017 |title=Forget Marx and Mao. Chinese City Honors Once-Banned Confucian. |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/18/world/asia/china-guiyang-wang-yangming-confucian.html |access-date=May 30, 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Melvin |first=Sheila |title=Yu Dan and China's Return to Confucius |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/29/arts/29iht-melvin.1.7298367.html |access-date=August 18, 2024 |newspaper=The New York Times |date=August 29, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140908124354/http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/29/arts/29iht-melvin.1.7298367.html |archive-date=September 8, 2014 |url-status=live}}</ref> [[Wang Huning]], widely regarded as the [[Éminence grise|grey eminence]] and chief ideologue of the CCP, has criticized aspects of [[Marxism]] and recommended that China combine its historical and modern values.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Lyons |first=N.S. |date=October 11, 2021 |title=The Triumph and Terror of Wang Huning |url=https://palladiummag.com/2021/10/11/the-triumph-and-terror-of-wang-huning/ |access-date=June 19, 2024 |website=Palladium}}</ref> General Secretary [[Xi Jinping]] has called traditional [[Chinese culture]] the "soul" of the nation and the "foundation" of the CCP.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Zi |first=Yang |date=July 6, 2016 |title=Xi Jinping and China's Traditionalist Restoration |work=The Jamestown Foundation |url=https://jamestown.org/program/xi-jinping-chinas-traditionalist-restoration/ |access-date=June 22, 2024}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Cai |first=Jane |date=June 12, 2023 |title=How China's Xi Jinping promotes mix of Marxism and traditional culture to further Communist Party and 'Chinese dream' |work=South China Morning Post |url=https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3223805/how-chinas-xi-jinping-promotes-mix-marxism-and-traditional-culture-further-communist-party-and  |access-date=June 22, 2024 |archive-date=June 12, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230612111635/http://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3223805/how-chinas-xi-jinping-promotes-mix-marxism-and-traditional-culture-further-communist-party-and  |url-status=live}}</ref> China has also developed a form of [[Authoritarian capitalism#China|authoritarian capitalism]] in recent years, further breaking with the orthodox communism of its past.<ref>{{cite book |date=2013 |chapter=China: Authoritarian Capitalism |title=The Oxford Handbook of Asian Business Systems |isbn=9780199654925 |last1=Witt |first1=Michael A. |last2=Redding |first2=Gordon |publisher=OUP Oxford}}</ref>  [[Neoauthoritarianism (China)|Neoauthoritarianism]] is a current of political thought that advocates a powerful state to facilitate [[Chinese economic reform|market reforms]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Bramall |first=Chris |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=A9Rr-M8MXAEC&pg=PA475 |title=Chinese Economic Development |date=2008 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-134-19051-5}}</ref> A major concern of modern Chinese conservatism is the preservation of traditional culture.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Xu |first=Aymeric |date=2020 |title=What Made Chinese Conservatism a Cultural Movement: A Case Study of the Southern Society |url=https://muse.jhu.edu/article/765149 |journal=Twentieth-Century China |volume=45 |issue=3 |pages=331–350 |doi=10.1353/tcc.2020.0028 |issn=1940-5065}}</ref>
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