The Mandate of Heaven
The People's Republic of China is a murderous obscenity, a blight on the face of the earth. That said, the last thing China needs is a return to the stiffling Confucian values of times past. Chinalink. Of course, in this instance a part of the problem may simply lie in the phrasing of the article, specifically "For thousands of years, being a good son or daughter has been an important part of Chinese culture." That would certainly be in the running for the most vacuous statement I've ever read. Being a "good" son or daughter is an "important" part of every culture, at least every culture in which children are not actively encrouaged to devour their parents. Foot-binding was part of being a good daughter. Disposing of unwanted baby girls is an extension of Confucian filial piety, since in the long run a son will better serve his parents than a daughter. Most of the history of the world is a nightmare; ergo, most of the long and grand history of China is a nightmare. Confucianism was the paramount reason China was so powerless before European aggression in the 19th century and the first half of the 20th.

The Chinese must be so very, very careful about borrowing from their past to forge their future, at least if there is to be any hope of breaking the long cycle of tyranny and poverty. The PRC is an obscenity, but China has the potential to be a wonder.