Transition

I must say the system of Confucius makes good sense in the old days.

You see? When the country is huge, education is expensive (before the invention of paper and printing), and means of communication is limited, ruling by a small group of educated scholars is the most efficient way to keep everything in order. Moreover, education and the Imperial Examination (科舉) become the obvious way of moving up the social ladder. It puts the grease to any dissatisfaction to the structural inequality within the country.

I am not going to discuss whether this system remains advantageous nowadays. However, the very fact is, when a country has long been ruled by a smart minority, sudden transition to a democratic system with general election, the result is often disastrous – how could the clumsy majority choose their own leader?

PS. The calamity did not only happen in our country (after 1911 – for several times). France and Germany faced the same problem 200 and 100 years ago, respectively.