Abstract

This paper discusses relevant issues surrounding a debate between two groups of Chinese academics concerning whether Confucianism was the source of corruption. Apart from offering my own analyses of the two stories from the Mencius, the implication of which is central to this debate, I argue that it is unsuitable to rely on current conceptions and mode of argumentation adopted from Western analytic philosophy to read ancient stories, as is practised by one group of scholars. On the other hand, the other group seem to have organized their interpretation at the urge of defending Confucianism as a whole.