Zeng Jinghan: An Analysis of Mao Zedong's Anti-Superstition Thought During the May Fourth Period

The May Fourth period was a crucial transitional era in which Chinese social trends shifted and the social formation metamorphosed from the traditional to the modern. In the eyes of the modern intelligentsia, superstition, as a remnant of the old era, was antithetical to the modernizing transformation of Chinese society. The contradictions and conflicts between the two sparked intense collisions of diverse viewpoints and discourses, nurturing and forming a wealth of intellectual achievements. Situated within this torrential tide of the times, Mao Zedong’s reflections on the problem of superstition during this period of social flux participated deeply in the formative process of modern anti-superstition discourse. Currently, academic research on Mao Zedong's anti-superstition thought has been quite fruitful, either revealing his profound reflections on superstition from the perspectives of formative background, connotative meaning, historical significance, and modern insights; or focusing on the developmental trajectory of Mao's scientific spirit starting from anti-superstition; or grounding the analysis in different historical periods to delineate the historical track of Mao's understanding of religious superstition through specific texts. Existing scholarship has laid a solid foundation for exploring Mao Zedong's anti-superstition thought, yet most of these studies treat the May Fourth period holistically as the incipient stage of his thought, lacking specialized exploration and concentrated discussion of this specific era. To a certain extent, they overlook the process by which Mao conducted profound reflection and theoretical innovation on the problem of superstition under the influence of the trends of science and democracy. Therefore, it is necessary to conduct a more detailed dissection of the formative process of Mao Zedong's anti-superstition discourse during the May Fourth period and reveal its close correlation with the background of the times, in order to achieve a more comprehensive understanding and interpretation of the full picture of Mao’s anti-superstition thought during this period.

I. The Individual and the Era: The Preliminary Formation of Mao Zedong’s Anti-Superstition Thought

Mao Zedong’s anti-superstition thought was not innate. During his childhood, Mao lived in a rural society where traditional concepts were deeply rooted and religious beliefs were pervasive. For Hunanese society in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, folk superstitious practices remained very prevalent. For instance, the August 14, 1905, issue of Shen Bao recorded: "The people of Hunan are superstitious about divine cults, and the expenses for sacrificial festivals and theatrical performances are beyond measure" ^[1]; because these divine rituals were so costly, timber prices remained prohibitively high.

Schools, newspapers, and academic societies (xuéhuì) constituted the fundamental spaces for public interaction and public opinion in modern China, and they also became important platforms for modern intellectuals to communicate, network, and exchange ideas. The preliminary formation of Mao Zedong’s anti-superstition thought was closely related to his extensive participation in the modern public sphere. Through school education, the reading of newspapers and periodicals, and discussions and social practices within academic societies, Mao was extensively exposed to Western Enlightenment thought and modern scientific knowledge, gradually forming an intellectual orientation that critiqued superstition and advocated science.

(i) Scientific Education in Modern Schools

Mao Zedong’s early period of study was the key stage for the preliminary formation of his anti-superstition thought. In 1936, when speaking with the American journalist Edgar Snow, Mao mentioned: "The books I read gradually began to influence me; I myself became more and more skeptical." Mao initially studied at a private school (sìshú) in Shaoshan, receiving a traditional Confucian education with the Four Books and Five Classics as primary textbooks. However, he did not particularly like these classics, preferring instead legendary novels with a spirit of struggle, such as The Tale of Yue Fei, Water Margin, Romance of the Three Kingdoms, and Journey to the West. In 1907, during a period when Mao had stopped attending school to work on the farm at home, he was introduced by a cousin to reformist books such as Zheng Guanying’s Words of Warning in a Prosperous Age and Feng Guifen’s Protest from the Jiaobin Lodge. Through these, he gained a preliminary awareness of the current situation regarding foreign invasion and national peril, and under this influence, he resumed his studies. In 1909, while studying at a Shaoshan Chong private school, Mao already demonstrated a cognition distinct from traditional theistic concepts. At that time, a reformist teacher named Li Shuqing arrived from elsewhere and often told the people of Shaoshan about what he had seen and heard in various places, advocating for "abolishing temples to run schools, and opposing belief in the Buddha." Although others had much to say against Li Shuqing’s remarks, Mao admired his propositions "and established a teacher-student and friend relationship with him."

In 1910, Mao entered the Dongshan Higher Primary School in Xiangxiang County, where he studied natural sciences and other new subjects. During his time at Dongshan, Mao first came into contact with New People's Miscellany (Xīnmín Cóngbào), edited by Liang Qichao. With the mission of "enlightening the people's intellect" and "reforming our country," New People's Miscellany published articles reviewing religion, such as "The Merits and Defects of Religionists and Philosophers" and "On Why Protecting the Confucian Religion is Not the Way to Respect Confucius." Mao "read it over and over until he could recite it." In 1912, during a period of self-study at the Xiangxiang Provincial Guild, Mao read extensively in modern European social and natural science books, surveying the works of Enlightenment thinkers such as Adam Smith, Montesquieu, and Rousseau, and gaining deep exposure to the modern scientific and rational worldview. In particular, through reading Thomas Huxley’s Evolution and Ethics (Tiǎnyǎn Lùn) and Darwin’s books on the origin of species, Mao further deepened his skepticism toward theology and religion, gradually forming a scientific and dialectical way of thinking. He regarded this half-year of self-study as a "most valuable" period.

In 1913, Mao entered the preparatory course at the Hunan Provincial Fourth Normal School. The following year, the Fourth Normal School merged into the Hunan Provincial First Normal School. Under the guidance of teachers such as Yang Changji, Xu Teli, and Li Jinxi, Mao conducted in-depth studies of philosophy and ethics, deepening his own cognitive reflections on religious ethics. Among his many teachers, Yang Changji—who advocated that "heaven, earth, and all things have 'the self' as their master"—had a profound influence on the young Mao’s ethical thought, outlook on life, and worldview. Xiao San ^[2] once wrote in his memoirs: "Mr. Yang Changji (styled Huaizhong) had a great influence on Comrade Mao Zedong and many other students... Every Sunday, Comrade Mao Zedong and Comrade Cai Hesen would go to Mr. Yang’s home to discuss learning and seek the Way." In a letter to Li Jinxi on June 7, 1920, Mao also wrote: "You and the late Mr. Huaizhong are both men of vast and profound knowledge, whom I admire most." In his 1936 conversation with Snow, Mao still did not forget Yang Changji's deep influence: "The teacher who made the deepest impression on me was Yang Changji... In my youth, Yang Changji had a very deep influence on me, and later in Beijing, he became a close friend of mine." Yang Changji primarily served as a teacher of "Self-Cultivation" (xiūshēn) at Hunan First Normal, offering courses in pedagogy and ethics. He used The System of Ethics (Ethik: Eine Untersuchung der Tatsachen und Gesetze des sittlichen Lebens) by the German Neo-Kantian philosopher Friedrich Paulsen as a textbook, which influenced the emergence of Mao’s ethical ideas such as "subjective moral law," "solipsism," and "spiritual individualism." In the process of reading The System of Ethics, Mao gained a deeper understanding of issues such as the origin of religion and the roots of religious worship, realizing that "the feeling of awe is the very fountainhead of religion." In his marginal notes on The System of Ethics, Mao also critiqued traditional ethics, pointing out that "the Three Bonds ^[3] of our country must go; while the church, the capitalist, the monarch, and the state, these four are the demons of the world."

(ii) Intellectual Enlightenment from New-style Periodicals

During his period of study in the provincial capital, Mao was extensively exposed to a large number of new-style periodicals, spending nearly "one-third of his living expenses on newspapers." Through Yang Changji’s introduction, Mao, Cai Hesen, and others became avid readers of New Youth (Xīn Qīngnián). In its inaugural manifesto, New Youth established its mission as being "autonomous rather than slavish," "progressive rather than conservative," "aggressive rather than retiring," "cosmopolitan rather than isolationist," "utilitarian rather than formalistic," and "scientific rather than imaginative." Regarding the attitude toward religion, the manifesto pointed out with flags flying: "to deny ecclesiastical authority and seek the liberation of religion," demonstrating a magnificent boldness to "re-evaluate all values." Although at the level of foundational propositions, "religion" and "superstition" are not entirely equivalent, for the needs of critique, the New Youth faction still juxtaposed "superstition" and "religion" to make way for the needs of "science" and "democracy." For example, Chen Duxiu, when discussing modern civilization, pointed out: "Religion aims at merit; it overcomes cruelty and encourages goodness, so it is not without benefit to humanity. However, its superstition regarding divine authority obscures human intellect—this is its shortcoming." In his translation of the French historian Charles Seignobos’s History of Contemporary Civilization, there were also sentences such as "the people of the world are only accustomed to following religion; philosophers call this prejudice and superstition."

New Youth provided systematic expositions on the inner essence, external manifestations, developmental history, social functions, and negative impacts of superstition, advocating the use of the scientific spirit to combat religious mysticism and superstitious coloring. This deeply influenced the worldview and values of young intellectuals like Mao Zedong. The primary authors of New Youth, Chen Duxiu and Hu Shi, "replaced Liang Qichao and Kang Youwei" as Mao's role models. Zhou Shizhao recalled that for a long period, Mao "every day, besides attending classes and reading newspapers, would read books and read New Youth; would talk and talk about New Youth; would think and think about the problems raised in New Youth." Mao also used the pen name "Twenty-Eight Stroke Student" ^[4] to write the article "A Study of Physical Culture," published in New Youth, Vol. 3, No. 2. At the same time, the Xiang River Review (Xiāngjiāng Pínglùn), founded and edited by Mao personally, displayed characteristics of being "of the same breath and lineage" as New Youth, both in its editorial layout and the issues it addressed. Mao's anti-superstition thought during the May Fourth period was mostly reflected in the articles he published in the Xiang River Review. Under the influence of New Youth, the Xiang River Review raised high the banner of "science and democracy," echoing it from afar and becoming "the echo by the banks of the Xiang River" for New Youth.

(iii) Deepening "Anti-Superstition" Cognition through Participation in Academic Societies and Realistic Political Practice

In April 1918, Mao Zedong, Cai Hesen, He Shuheng, and others initiated the New People's Study Society (Xīnmín Xuéhuì) in Changsha, with the mission of "reforming academics, tempering character, and improving the people's hearts and customs." In the correspondence between Mao and members such as Xiao Xudong, Zhou Shizhao, Cai Hesen, and Luo Xuezan, they spoke much of the realistic political situation, socialism, and the way forward for the future, while also critiquing the stale atmosphere of Zhang Jingyao ^[5] "praying to gods and striking the chime" and "openly advocating superstition." In August, to prepare for the New People's Study Society's Work-Study Program in France, Mao left Hunan for the north. Through Yang Changji’s introduction, he took a position at the Peking University Library and frequently participated in activities organized by Li Dazhou to study new trends of thought. While in Beijing, Mao also actively participated in the Philosophy Research Society and the Journalism Research Society, learning a great deal of "fundamental knowledge of journalism" and extensively absorbing new social ideas such as experimentalism, socialism, and Marxism. In February of the following year, Mao returned to Hunan to take charge of the affairs of the New People's Study Society.

In May, the May Fourth Movement, rising like a violent hurricane, promoted the dissemination of new thought, and the space of public opinion in Hunan was refreshed. Mao, along with Deng Zhongxia and Chen Shunong, established the Hunan Students’ Association, directing student strikes and anti-imperialist activities. As the publication of the provincial students’ association, the Xiang River Review took "obtaining freedom from the powerful" as its essence, pointing the spearhead of its critique directly at the stale ideas of "superstition in gods and ghosts, superstition in physical objects, superstition in fate, and superstition in power." Under the leadership of the students’ association, students from various schools in Changsha successively published more than ten types of periodicals—such as New Hunan, Women’s Bell, Yuelu Weekly, Mingde Weekly, and Changjun Books—to publicize New Culture and lead new trends of thought. Xiao San recalled: "In a short period, the thinking of the students, youth, and intellectual youth of the whole province (not just Hunan) was completely refreshed."

On November 14, 1919, a Changsha bride named Zhao Wuzhen committed suicide in her bridal sedan chair to protest an arranged marriage, causing a shock in public opinion. By this time, the Xiang River Review had already been shut down by Zhang Jingyao. Mao was then serving as an "external contributor" for the Changsha Dagongbao, writing a series of articles such as "Critique of Miss Zhao’s Suicide," "The Problem of Miss Zhao’s Personality," "The Problem of Reforming the Marriage System," "Against Suicide," and "The Problem of Superstition in Marriage," all published in Dagongbao. In these articles, Mao’s understanding of the problem of superstition became more profound, and he saw the complex social roots behind superstition, pointing out that Zhao’s death was the result of oppression by "three iron nets (society, the natal family, and the husband’s family)." He hoped that through critiquing traditional marriage customs and ethics, he could "concentrate attacks on feudal ritual teachings and the ten-thousand evils of Chinese society." He incorporated the critique of superstition into the examination of feudal ritual teachings and social oppression, and in practice, explored a realistic path for reforming social thought.

II. Science and Democracy: The Formative Path of Mao Zedong’s Anti-Superstition Thought during the May Fourth Period

During the May Fourth period, in the realistic context of national peril, Chinese society was at a crucial juncture of taking the West as a mirror horizontally and undergoing a modernizing transformation vertically. In September 1915, in the inaugural manifesto of Youth Magazine, Chen Duxiu cried out: "If our countrymen wish to emerge from the age of ignorance and are ashamed of being a shallowly civilized people, they must catch up quickly, placing equal importance on science and human rights." Consequently, New Youth raised high the banners of "Science" and "Democracy" with the momentum of breaking through all nets, setting off a wave of support for "Mr. De" and "Mr. Sai" throughout the country.

Immersed in the discourse of the May Fourth period, the enlightenment narrative of "Science" and "Democracy" became Mao Zedong’s primary cognitive framework and mode of thinking. During this time, the superstitious ideologies criticized by Mao manifested mainly in four forms: first, traditional superstitions bequeathed by feudal society; second, superstition regarding old feudal morals and ethical concepts; third, blind faith in ideological authority; and fourth, blind obedience to feudal monarchy and autocratic systems. "Opposing ignorance with science" and "opposing authority with democracy" constituted the critical intellectual paths through which Mao recognized the harms of "superstition."

(1) Opposing Ignorance with Science

An investigation into the frequency with which the modern intelligentsia discussed "superstition" reveals two main peaks: the first between 1902 and 1905, and the second between 1915 and 1921. Throughout this process, "science" was frequently juxtaposed with "superstition," showing a high correlation in their frequency of use. In the anti-superstition discourse of the late Qing dynasty, "superstition" was mostly associated with "religious belief." In 1902, Liang Qichao ^[6] noted in his essay On Why Protecting the Confucian Religion Is Not the Way to Respect Confucius: "What Westerners call religion refers specifically to superstitious veneration... inducing faith is to forbid one from doubting and to stifle the freedom of thought." Subsequently, the article "On Faith" by the Japanese scholar Fujikawa Yū, published in the New People's Miscellany (Xīnmín Cóngbào), further characterized "superstition" as a state of belief that violates rationalism: "The superstitions common in religious faith arise from fallacies of knowledge and errors of imagination. Since we clearly recognize that many of these go against the laws of nature, superstition is irrational."

With the rise of the New Culture Movement ^[7], the juxtaposition of "science" and "superstition" became increasingly prominent. Viewed through the lens of science, superstition—as a vestige of the old era—stood in opposition to the former and became a primary target of condemnation by the intelligentsia. For example, in the translation of German philosopher Ernst Haeckel’s The Riddle of the Universe by Liu Shuya (published in New Youth ^[8], Vol. 6, No. 2), it was explicitly stated that science and superstition are absolutely incompatible: "This spiritualist superstition is still widespread, and its prevalence is unexpectedly great. In my view, superstition and irrationality are the great enemies of humanity, while science and reason are humanity’s dearest friends." At this time, the connotations and extensions of both "science" and "superstition" expanded; the former primarily referred to "classified sciences (social sciences), practical technology, the opposition to superstition, and Marxism-Leninism," while the latter manifested specifically as "blind faith and worship," closely linked to politics, Confucianism, and Chinese tradition. The discourse in New Youth opposing superstition with science took three forms. First, religious superstition was seen as clouding the people’s minds and obstructing the progress of civilization, thus science should replace superstition: "For countries like Judea or India, the great cause of their decline was without exception the obstruction of civilizational improvement by religious superstition"; "In the future, the true understanding and practice of humanity must take science as its proper path, and all religions are to be discarded." Second, the talk of spiritualism and ghosts was viewed as baseless speculation and a violation of science, which should instead be explained through scientific means: "One must rely on science as the basis, and it must be a rigorous scientific basis; that which is created by 'indulging in metaphysical fantasies' is not welcomed by modern philosophy." Third, the superstition of the Confucian religion ^[9] was viewed as the essence of feudal autocracy, to be resisted through the spirit of scientific rationality: "Our faith in science is such that we believe the proper path for humanity to reach enlightenment and enjoy happiness in the future must be through it, and it is what our country urgently needs at present. The advocacy and respect for it must, of course, stand above the Confucian religion, the Confucian Way, and other religious philosophies."

The cognitive paradigm of "opposing superstition with science" during the May Fourth period profoundly influenced Mao Zedong’s mode of thinking on the issue of anti-superstition. Within this discourse, Mao believed that regardless of the form superstitious thought took, its roots lay in the ignorance of the masses and their lack of knowledge about the world, which must be eradicated with scientific knowledge and the scientific spirit.

Many superstitious ideas manifested as a misunderstanding of natural and social phenomena among the masses, rooted in a lack of scientific knowledge. On June 11, 1919, Chen Duxiu was arrested and imprisoned for supporting the May Fourth Movement, sparking public indignation. The following month, on July 14, Mao Zedong published the article "The Arrest and Rescue of Chen Duxiu" to voice his support. In this article, Mao analyzed the turbulent social situation, stating: "Of China’s 400 million people, nearly 390 million are superstitious. They are superstitious about ghosts and gods, superstitious about omens, superstitious about fate, and superstitious about overbearing power. They completely fail to recognize the individual, the self, or the truth. This is the result of undeveloped scientific thinking." On one hand, the masses' superstition regarding ghosts, omens, and fate—often manifested as explaining illness or natural disasters through spirits or destiny—was rooted in a lack of scientific knowledge. For example, on July 28, 1919, Mao published "If You Do Not Believe in Science, You Shall Die" in the Xiang River Review (Xiāngjiāng Pínglùn), commenting on a social incident in Changsha where several people were struck and killed by lightning, as well as the accompanying public opinion. In the article, Mao criticized the superstitious belief that the lightning strikes were "the five hundred barbarian thunders, a punishment sent from heaven." He pointed out that the incident occurred primarily because "the streets and sewers in the city are filthy and have particularly high conductivity... old trees have high conductivity and one should not build houses beneath them." The solution was not to pray to gods or Buddhas but to take practical measures like "building high towers and installing several lightning rods." On the other hand, the masses' lack of scientific cognition and their blind following of authority were largely due to the monopoly of education and intellectual resources by the ruling classes. This phenomenon largely fostered a superstitious psychology of blind obedience and blind faith. As Mao noted: "The Chinese nation, its hundreds of millions of people, for several thousand years have all lived the lives of slaves; the only non-slave was the 'Emperor' (or it could be said the Emperor was the slave of 'Heaven'). When the Emperor was the head of the household, we were not allowed to practice our capabilities. In politics, academics, society, and so on, we were not allowed to have our own thoughts, organizations, or practice."

Science initially entered China in the form of "utilitarian instruments" for "investigating things to extend knowledge" [格物致知]. By the May Fourth period, Chinese people had realized that science was not just "below the form" [形而下] as scientific knowledge and technology, but also "above the form" [形而上] as a scientific spirit. Regarding the scientific spirit, Mao emphasized truth-seeking and criticality. On one hand, one should persist in an attitude of searching for truth, replacing blind acceptance with rational thinking. In his annotations to A System of Ethics ^[10], Mao criticized the masses' blind psychology of submitting to authority without discernment, stating: "The view of some, that the moral law must originate from the command of God before it can be implemented without being rejected, is the psychology of a slave." On July 21, 1919, Mao published "The Establishment and Progress of the Strengthening Academic Society" (Jiàn xuéhuì zhī chénglì jí jìnxíng), taking a clear stand against intellectual blind obedience: "The thoughts of that time were empty thoughts... following the crowd became the fashion, making it difficult for anyone in the world of ideas to be led toward practical research into facts and truth." On the other hand, one should use the critical spirit of questioning tradition to enhance the courage to break the shackles of superstition and challenge authority. The reason the masses were superstitious about feudal morals, ethics, and monarchical autocracy was largely that they had been instilled with these concepts from childhood, lacking the capacity for reflection and critique. As Mao noted in "The Establishment and Progress of the Strengthening Academic Society": "Living in this complex society and treacherous world, without a critical spirit, one easily becomes the slave of others. Someone once said that the majority of Chinese are slaves; this statement feels quite correct." Due to a lack of free will and critical spirit, the masses often fall into a state of passivity and compliance, finding it difficult to consciously realize this state, difficult to stimulate a will for change, and ultimately becoming the appendages of overbearing power.

(2) Opposing Authority with Democracy

The defeat in the First Sino-Japanese War ^[11] left the nation's survival in peril, suddenly awakening the country from its "four-thousand-year great dream." The Great Qing, which had once prided itself as the "Celestial Empire," had fallen behind the Western powers. Amidst this precarious situation, the forward-thinking began to reflect on the flaws of the state system, and intellectuals, shouldering the heavy responsibility of saving the nation, began to search for a path of reform. In this reflection, thinkers of the 1898 Reform period ^[12] such as Kang Youwei and Liang Qichao, when comparing Chinese and Western systems, deeply felt the ossification and obsolescence of the traditional Chinese system. They constantly called for institutional reform, and the tide of Western democratic thought spread across China accordingly. At this time, the democratic trend primarily referred to ideas of people's rights and the spirit of Western constitutionalism, standing in direct opposition to the political system of feudal autocracy. For instance, in "A Study of Rousseau," Liang Qichao summarized Rousseau's idea of sovereignty: "Its power should only belong to the multitude, and cannot belong to one person or a few; in plain terms, the sovereign is the property of the state, and the state is the property of the multitude," advocating that national sovereignty belongs to the people. In August 1898, Kang Youwei also submitted the "Memorial Requesting the Determination of a Constitution and the Opening of a Parliament" to the Qing Emperor: "Model after Yao, Shun, and the Three Dynasties ^[13] from above; adopt the strengths of Eastern and Western powers from without; immediately implement a constitution and open a parliament to share the administration of the state with the citizens; and implement the system of the separation of powers. Then the governance and strength of China can be achieved in a matter of days," seeking to replace the autocratic system with the separation of powers.

By the May Fourth New Culture period, led by progressive journals like New Youth, the democratic trend spread further, its connotations deepened, and the object of its criticism expanded from the political systems of the 1898 and 1911 periods to the intellectual and spiritual realm of the citizens. Traditional ideologies such as the Confucian religion, the code of rites [礼法], and old ethics became the focus of criticism and underwent severe attack. For example, in early 1919, Chen Duxiu, in "Our Answer to the Charges Against the Magazine," responded to the interrogations New Youth had faced regarding "heretical theories, monsters, heterodoxy that departs from the classics, and rebellion that feels no sanctity for the law," stating: "Tracing back to the source, the colleagues of this magazine are fundamentally without guilt; it is only because they uphold those two gentlemen—Mr. Democracy and Mr. Science—that they committed these several heavenly crimes. To uphold Mr. Democracy, one has no choice but to oppose the Confucian religion, the code of rites, chastity, old politics, and old ethics. To uphold Mr. Science, one has no choice but to oppose old art and old religion."

Incorporating the Confucian religion, the code of rites, and old ethics into the category of "superstition" was the core value orientation of New Youth, which profoundly influenced Mao Zedong’s ideological cognition. In Mao’s "anti-superstition" discourse of the May Fourth period, he held high the banner of "democracy," directing the edge of his criticism toward those ideological authorities that contradicted the modern democratic spirit and those political authorities that violated the principles of democratic republican constitutionalism.

On one hand, rulers used feudal ethics and morality to deprive the masses of their free will, shackling the "thinking-critiquing" space of the lower classes; this was, in essence, an ideological hegemony [思想强权] contrary to the modern democratic spirit. During the May Fourth period, under the advocacy of Chen Duxiu, Li Dajiu, and others to "strike down Confucius as the idol-authority sculpted by successive monarchs," Mao directed his criticism at the feudal ethical bonds [纲常] that maintained the feudal autocratic order, viewing them as "intellectual hegemony." He believed that ideological authority centered on "Confucianism" shackled the free will of the people and violated the principle of liberty in the modern democratic spirit. For instance, when commenting on the suicide of Zhao Wuzhen ^[14], Mao analyzed the differences between Chinese and Western family structures, noting that compared to Western parents who recognize the free will of their children, "China is not so; the commands of the parents and the will of the children are completely incompatible." In "The Establishment and Progress of the Strengthening Academic Society," he even more clearly stated: "We oppose Confucius for many other reasons. But this reason alone—his monopolization of China, his making our intellectual world un-free and making us the slaves of a gloomy idol for two thousand years—is enough for us to have no choice but to oppose him." Later, in "The Great Union of the Popular Masses," he further criticized the shackles of intellectual hegemony on the people: "Our Chinese teachers were so stubborn. Their mouths were full of 'The Odes say' ^[15] and 'The Master says' ^[16]... a whole heap of classical-style, corpse-like, stinking essays forced into our brains." The public’s compliance with feudal ethics represented by Confucian thought was a benighted and shallow idol-superstition. Such superstition violated the modern enlightenment principles of individual freedom and independent thinking, obstructing the generation and development of the masses' free will.

On the other hand, within the radical discourse of the May Fourth period, feudal ethics, acting as an intellectual hegemony, had degenerated into an adjunct of the autocratic system. Merging with political power, it became a form of intimate and practical political oppression that ran counter to the constitutional principles of democracy and republicanism. For Chinese society around the May Fourth period, although the feudal monarchy had been overthrown by the Revolution of 1911 ^[17], the counter-current of "honoring Confucius and restoring the old" ^[18] continued to take the stage. The perennial internecine wars of the Beiyang warlords and their authoritarian rule merged with traditional feudal ethics and touchstones, further intensifying the intellectual shackles and practical oppression of the masses, and seriously obstructing political innovation and transformation. As Chen Duxiu stated: "According to the ethical and political theories of the Confucian Sage, nothing but the establishment of a monarch will do; therefore, before Yuan Shikai sought to become Emperor, he advocated the honoring of Confucius." Mao Zedong also pointed out that China at that time was "republican in name but autocratic in reality; the more it was managed, the worse it became, as one tyrant fell only to be replaced by another. This was the result of the masses having no shadow of democracy in their hearts and not knowing what democracy actually was." Incorporating intellectual and political authority into the category of "superstition" and critiquing them fundamentally marked a new breakthrough in Mao Zedong’s critique of superstition. In this process, the old ethics centered on the "Three Cardinal Guides and Five Constant Virtues" ^[19] were viewed as a "value system of ethics, morality, patriarchal kinship, and political symbolism" designed to maintain the feudal imperial system. Contrary to the spirit of "democracy," they had degenerated into an adjunct of autocratic politics. For example, in his commentary on the suicide of Zhao Wuzhen ^[20], Mao aimed the spearhead of his critique directly at the political authority behind intellectual superstition. In analyzing the reasons for Zhao Wuzhen’s suicide, he pointed out: "A person's suicide is entirely determined by the environment... That Miss Zhao eventually sought death was because the environment forced her to seek death." He further elaborated: "Now Miss Zhao is truly dead, surrounded by three heavy iron nets (society, her natal family, and her husband's family) from which she could not seek life, so she sought death." Zhao Wuzhen’s death was not without cause, but was a direct result of the feudal autocratic social environment: "I say those who forced Miss Zhao to her death are three-sided: the natal family, the husband's family, and society... The natal family and the husband's family are both members of society. We must know that while the natal and husband's families have their sins, the source of their sins still lies in society."

III. Reshaping the Self and Transforming the People: The Historical Mission of Anti-Superstition Discourse

Under the historical context of the modern national crisis, seeking the country's modernizing transformation became an important path for national salvation. In the vision of the May Fourth intelligentsia, superstitious thoughts hindered the country's modernization process and had to be critiqued and discarded. Mao Zedong gained deep insight into the historical trends and the general situation of the era, gradually establishing his own anti-superstition discursive system. He advocated for the vigorous development of education to clear away obscurantism, and pushed for a revolution in philosophy and ethics to transform the people’s thinking. At the same time, he strongly advocated for individual value and free will, encouraging the masses to unite against hegemonies. These measures closely followed the core objectives of "reshaping the self" and "transforming the people," providing dual support in both thought and action for the country's modernizing transformation.

First, vigorously developing education. Mao Zedong perceptively recognized that the lack of education was a major cause of superstition and obscurantism among the masses. In the Chinese society of that time, education was controlled by bureaucrats, aristocrats, and capitalists; commoners lacked the right to education, which resulted in a class differentiation of "the wise and the ignorant." As Mao pointed out in the article "The Arrest and Rescue of Chen Duxiu": "Education in the past was the monopoly of the aristocracy and capitalists, and the general public had no opportunity to receive it. Since they alone possessed knowledge, a class distinction between the wise and the ignorant arose." On November 25, 1920, Mao wrote to Xiang Jingyu; the letter discussed how "education has not been implemented, the people's wisdom has not been opened, and the majority of Hunanese are still in a dreamlike slumber," words filled with deep concern and lamentation. Faced with this reality, Mao advocated that education should be used to clear away obscurantism and transform the people: "The observation of world trends, the implementation of people's rule, the propagation of culture, and the transformation of education brook no delay." on September 1, 1919, Mao wrote to Deng Zhongxia, attaching over ten copies of the "Statutes of the Problem Research Association," listing over seventy urgent problems for study, among which "educational problems" were placed first, demonstrating his high regard and deep concern for education. Under the realization that education clears away obscurantism, Mao actively threw himself into the practical exploration of developing education during the May Fourth period, advocating that "universal education begins with the people all possessing knowledge" and establishing schools to implement broad, universal education for commoners, so that "thirty million people may all have the freedom of speech, press, assembly, and association." In September 1917, Mao initiated the Xiangtan Alumni Association of the First Normal School ^[21], the primary purpose of which was to "seek the development of education in Xiangtan." The following month, in his capacity as the head of the General Affairs and Educational Research Department of the Student Association of Hunan First Normal School, Mao actively organized an evening school for workers to enhance the cultural literacy of the masses and change social customs. Furthermore, Mao actively promoted the Society for Strengthening Studies (Jiànhuéihuì) and the Xiangtan Education Promotion Association, and founded the Cultural Book Society to introduce the latest Chinese and foreign books, newspapers, and magazines. Simultaneously, relying on publications such as The Shian Chien Weekly Review (Xiāngjiāng Pínglùn) and New Hunan, he widely disseminated new ideas, striving to enlighten and awaken the people and spark a tide of social change.

Second, implementing a revolution in philosophy and ethics. On August 23, 1917, Mao wrote in a long letter to Li Jinxi: "In the past I had no knowledge, but recently I have read some books and newspapers and compared the Chinese and foreign situations. I feel our countrymen's accumulated defects are very deep, their thoughts too old, and their morality too bad. Thought governs the human heart, and morality regulates human conduct; if these two are not clean, the whole land is defiled. For the power of these two permeates everything. Thought and morality must be true and substantive. Our country’s thought and morality can be summarized in two phrases: 'false rather than true' and 'vacuous rather than substantive.' Passing down five thousand years to the present, the roots are deep and the knots are firm; without great force, it will not be easy to smash and clear them away." Replacing the old with the new is not a task for a single day. Mao keenly realized that if social change only remained at the level of institutional adjustments, it would be like "neglecting the root to chase the branches" and would fail to reach the superstition and obscurantism in the depths of the people’s minds: "Today’s reforms all start from the trivial branches, such as parliament, constitution, president, cabinet, military, industry, and education—all of these are merely branches." He knew that to uproot deep-seated superstitious thoughts, one must start from the source of thought and morality to discard the false and preserve the true, breaking the old to establish the new. What was the fundamental way to clear away superstition? In his letter to Li Jinxi, Mao pointed out: "The source is the truth of the universe." He viewed philosophy as an important means to "turn the ignorant toward wisdom" and ethics as the "science that defines the purpose of life and the methods to achieve it," advocating for the "transformation of philosophy and the transformation of ethics" by starting from the fundamental source of the universe, thereby uprooting superstition and reshaping the self at the source. In September, during a conversation with Zhang Kundi, Mao pointed out: "Currently, the national character is indolent, hypocrisy is mutually revered, a slave mentality is formed, and thoughts are narrow." To break this phenomenon, he advocated for a "family revolution" and "teacher-student revolution" to "get rid of the old and bring in the new," striving to "wash away the old thoughts of the citizens and develop their new thoughts," seeking a thorough transformation in the people's conceptual outlook.

Third, upholding individual value and highlighting free will. One of the achievements of the May Fourth New Culture Movement was discovering the individual and awakening self-awareness. During this period, Mao Zedong advocated for individual value and promoted free will, viewing them as important means of opposing superstition. While reading A System of Ethics ^[22], Mao annotated: "Society is established for the individual, not the individual for society." Although society is composed of individuals, the value of the individual should not be suppressed by external forces such as society, religion, or power. On the contrary, the value of the individual is supreme, and free will is the foundation of intellectual emancipation. He further pointed out: "Anything that represses the individual or violates individuality is a crime of the highest order. Our country’s 'Three Cardinal Guides' must be discarded; the church, the capitalists, the monarch, and the state—these four are the demons of the world." Hegemonic forces such as feudal ritual teachings, monarchical autocracy, and religious superstition imprisoned individual free will, causing individuals to become slaves of superstition and obscurantism. Mao resolutely opposed this hegemonic suppression and advocated for a re-examination of individual value to break the shackles of superstition: "Religious hegemony, literary hegemony, political hegemony, social hegemony, educational hegemony, economic hegemony, intellectual hegemony, and international hegemony—none of these have any room to exist. They must all be struck down by the loud cry of populism ^[23]." He emphasized that individuals should not submit to divine power or external authority but should honor their inner hearts, taking the self as the highest moral criterion: "Why obey God instead of obeying oneself? The self is God. Is there any so-called God outside of the self?" This idea of "I am the universe" became a powerful weapon in his anti-superstition struggle, aimed at breaking the shackles of social hegemony over thought and promoting thorough intellectual emancipation by elevating individual free will.

Fourth, achieving the union of the masses to jointly resist hegemony. During the May Fourth period, Mao Zedong’s thought underwent a major transformation from elite enlightenment to the union of the masses. Initially, he was deeply influenced by Liang Qichao’s "Theory of the New Citizen," Friedrich Paulsen’s "egoism," and Yang Changji’s idea that "all things in heaven and earth take me as the master," regarding "the power of the mind" as the fundamental driving force of historical development and "saints" and "heroes" as the subjective forces of historical development. In his August 23, 1917, letter to Li Jinxi, he strictly distinguished between saints, worthies, and fools, valuing the role of heroes and virtuous gentlemen, believing that "at that time, the whole world would be saints and worthies, with no ordinary fools... Those who establish virtue, merit, and words to serve this world do so out of a heart of compassion to save the 'small people' ^[24]." At this time, Mao placed his hopes on the appearance of "great philosophical revolutionaries" and "great ethical revolutionaries" to open the people's minds, hoping for someone like "Russia’s Tolstoy" to dispel superstitious thoughts and take up the heavy responsibility of transforming the intellectual world of the masses, advocating a top-down enlightenment and redemption. As the May Fourth Movement progressed, and through social practices such as the Hunan student movement, the movement to drive out Zhang Jingyao ^[25], the Hunan autonomy movement, and presiding over the workers' evening school, Mao gradually broke through the limitations of elitism and the myth of individual hero-worship. He began to realize the immense power demonstrated by the masses, which he had previously overlooked. As he clearly stated in the "Founding Manifesto of The Shian Chien Weekly Review": "The problems we previously did not question, the methods we did not select, and the words we were afraid to speak—all must now take on a new appearance... we advocate for the union of the masses." On July 21, 1919, Mao published the article "The Great Union of the Popular Masses" in the second issue of The Shian Chien Weekly Review, further advocating the "great union of the masses" as the fundamental method for transforming society. He realized that the country's defects were deep and the people suffered greatly in darkness; while individual efforts, education, and industry were effective, they could not fundamentally change the status quo. Only by condensing the power of the masses and forming a powerful collective resistance could hegemony be shaken and deep-seated social change be promoted: "The state has reached the extreme of decay, humanity the extreme of suffering, and society the extreme of darkness. The methods of remedy and transformation—education, industry, effort, progress, destruction, and construction—are all correct, but there is one fundamental method for these: the great union of the popular masses." Mao argued that to break all the fetters of superstition, one must rely on the deep study of truth to escape the shackles of superstition, but in practice, one must rely on the broad union of the masses. This great union must start with small unions, linking various groups such as farmers, workers, students, women, primary school teachers, police, and rickshaw pullers, gradually expanding their strength. He encouraged emulating advanced international experiences and actively promoting various forms of small-scale union, accumulating the small into the large, and ultimately forming a powerful counterweight to hegemony: "A great union must start from small unions; we should rise and emulate our compatriots in other countries. We should carry out many of our small unions." By achieving a broad union of the masses, Mao intended to break the constraints of superstition and hegemony, condense the power of the entire people to challenge the old system, and push society toward a more equal, free, and just direction. This measure was both a practical requirement of the anti-superstition struggle and the foundation for a thorough transformation of society.

IV. Conclusion

Mao Zedong’s anti-superstition thoughts originated from his participation in the public sphere through studying in schools, reading and running newspapers, and joining academic societies. In this process, he gradually came into contact with and accepted the enlightening thoughts of science and democracy, and began to question traditional superstitious concepts. Amidst the surging tide of the New Culture Movement, Mao reinforced his anti-superstition cognition by widely reading progressive publications like New Youth and actively participating in the New People's Study Society (Xīnmín Xuéhuì), the Philosophy Research Society (Zhéxué Yánjiūhuì), and the Journalism Research Society (Xīnwénxué Yánjiūhuì). During the May Fourth period, he actively threw himself into cultural enlightenment in Hunan and political practices like "school strikes" and the "Drive out Zhang" movement, participating deeply in the waves of May Fourth resistance. Through his early schooling, newspaper work, participation in societies, and practical political engagement, Mao Zedong's anti-superstition thoughts initially took shape.

During the May Fourth period ^[26], Mao Zedong’s anti-superstition thoughts were concentrated in publications such as The Xiang River Review and Da Gong Bao, as well as in correspondence with friends; these thoughts still carried a distinct enlightenment coloring. Saturated in May Fourth discourse, the enlightenment narrative of "science" and "democracy" became Mao Zedong’s primary cognitive framework and mode of speech. Using "science against ignorance" and "democracy against authority" constituted his essential intellectual path for recognizing the harms of "superstition." The core orientation of Mao Zedong’s anti-superstition discourse during this period was the reshaping of the self and the transformation of the national character. To achieve this goal, he vigorously advocated for the establishment of education to clear away intellectual obscurantism, and promoted a revolution in philosophy and ethics to "transform the thinking of the entire nation." At the same time, he strongly championed individual value and free will, encouraging the masses to unite ^[27] in common resistance against "power" (qiángquán). These measures not only provided a practical path of struggle for anti-superstition efforts but also laid a solid foundation for the radical transformation of society.

It is worth noting that Mao Zedong’s thought at this time remained a "mishmash of liberalism, democratic reformism, and utopian socialism," and his views on the problem of superstition had not yet formed a scientific Marxist understanding. Although Mao had already touched upon insights into social roots in his series of articles criticizing marital superstitions ^[28], these remained limited and had not yet formed a fundamental or systemic cognition. Shortly after writing these articles, Mao devoted himself to the practice of "Work-Study-ism" ^[29], characterized by "half-farming and half-studying." His cognitive approach of "science against ignorance" was still some distance from scientific socialism, and his practical concern of "democracy against authority" still carried the colors of democratic reformism.

It was not until the late May Fourth period, at the end of 1919, when Mao Zedong traveled north for the second time to launch the "Movement to Drive out Zhang" ^[30], that he joined the Young China Association (Shàonián Zhōngguó Xuéhuì) through the introduction of Li Dazhao and Wang Guangqi, and read a large number of books and periodicals on Marxism and the Russian Revolution. In April of the following year, Mao left Beijing for Shanghai, where he had in-depth discussions on Marxism with Chen Duxiu. By the summer of 1920, as he later described himself, guided by three books—The Communist Manifesto, Class Struggle (by Karl Kautsky), and The History of Socialism (by Thomas Kirkup)—he "had become a Marxist," and indeed considered "himself to be a Marxist." From then on, Mao Zedong employed Marxist positions, viewpoints, and methods to analyze and critique social problems such as superstition, raising the understanding of anti-superstition and related issues to a more scientific and profound new stage.