section_path: National variants/Asia/China
section_name: China
paragraph_text: China
  
  Chinese conservatism can be traced back to Confucius, whose philosophy is based on the values of loyalty, duty, and respect. He believed in a hierarchically organised society, modeled after the patriarchal family and headed by an absolute sovereign. However, Confucius also believed that the state should employ a meritocratic class of administrators and advisers, recruited by civil service exams. An alternative school of thought called Legalism argued that administrative discipline, not Confucian virtue, was crucial for the governance of the state.
  
  For thousands of years, China was ruled by monarchs of various imperial dynasties. The Mandate of Heaven theory was invoked in order to legitimise the absolute authority of the Emperor. The Xinhai Revolution of 1911 overthrew Puyi, the last Chinese Emperor, and ushered in the 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.
  
  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. Traditional authorities, such as parents and teachers, were regularly defied and attacked. 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. Among them, some Red Guards who embraced local officials were pejoratively called " conservatives ".
  
  In recent decades, Chinese conservatism has experienced a national revival. The ancient schools of Confucianism and Legalism have made a return into mainstream Chinese thought. Widely regarded as the grey eminence and chief ideologue of the CCP, Wang Huning has criticised aspects of Marxism and recommended that China combine its historical and modern values. General Secretary Xi Jinping has called traditional Chinese culture the "soul" of the nation and the "foundation" of the CCP. China has also developed a form of authoritarian capitalism in recent years, further breaking with the orthodox communism of its past. Neoauthoritarianism is a current of political thought that advocates a powerful state to facilitate market reforms.