Many of Mao Tse Tung's principles were based on the firmly rooted
             Confucian traditions extant in China. Therefore, many of Mao's tenets seem
             similar to those of Confucianism, such as a strong respect for leaders and
             a belief in simple lifestyles. However, in many significant ways, Mao's
             beliefs diverge from those of Confucian. For example, Confucian's espousal
             of a patriarchal society was disregarded by Mao in favor of an
             idealistically egalitarian society. Ironically, both Mao and Confucian
             believed in egalitarianism, but each promoted different means of executing
             According to both Mao and Confucian, a ruler's authority is absolute
             and based not on rote learning or higher education but rather on moral
             authority or superiority. Even for Confucian, who was a learned man, a just
             ruler is one who is virtuous. To Mao, a good ruler is called an expert; he
             is well-versed in ideology. This ideology does not necessarily entail a
             university education but has more to do with an ethical reverence for
             Maoist political ideology in the same way that Confucians demanded
             Furthermore, according to Mao, all people possess inherent wisdom.
             Because Mao consistently claimed to be one of the people, or part of the
             humble masses, he claimed to possess this inherent wisdom. As a result, the
             masses followed him because he represented them as their equal. Confucian
             likewise held that an aspiring leader must exhibit wisdom. In fact, the
             Confucian ideals that were embedded in public consciousness in China
             permitted Mao to rise to power, for Mao embodied the general concept of a
             good ruler. According to the principles of Confucianism, good rulers first
             must possess virtue. Virtue is borne of a similar type of quasi-
             egalitarianism similar to Mao's concept of expertise. Both, in fact, are
             Although Mao laid his political beliefs on the pre-existing foundation
             of Confucian thought in China du...