Yichang was keen for his eldest son to gain a basic education rooted in Confucianism, the dominant moral ideology of Chinese society; he deemed a knowledge of Confucian teaching to be essential in allowing his son to develop key business and administrative skills.
His hope was that Zedong would gain an apprenticeship with a Xiangtan rice merchant before taking over the family business and supporting his parents during their old age.
Yichang was particularly adamant on the need to learn about Confucianism after losing a lawsuit over a parcel of land; he believed that his opponent had been victorious in the dispute as a result of their ability to quote the sayings of ancient Chinese philosopher Confucius throughout their argument.

Thus, from the age of eight, Mao was sent to gain a basic education at the private Shaoshan Primary School.
Adopting a traditional syllabus and method of education, the school emphasised the copying and recitation by rote of a series of classical Chinese texts preaching Confucian morals: the Three Character Classic, the Book of Names, the Thousand Character Classic, the Odes for Children, the Filial Classic, and Filial Learning.
Perceived failure or disobedience resulted in beatings with a bamboo rod from the teacher, who like Mao's father was a stern disciplinarian.
Disliking this mode of education, Mao later asserted that "I hated Confucius from the age of eight."
Although expressing his dislike for them, Mao nevertheless accepted the utility of learning these texts, finding himself able to win arguments – including those against his father – by the selective use of Confucian quotations.

Far more to Mao's liking were the accounts of war and banditry found in the Four Great Classical Novels, including Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Journey to the West, and Water Margin; while also steeped in Confucian morality, they emphasised the need to fight for justice in society, and it is possible that these texts inspired his interest in history.
According to his later account, it was at this point that he attained a strong belief in justice; he began to divide his lunch in two to share with a poorer boy who could not afford food.
On another occasion, he got into a physical fight with an older classmate; this greatly upset his mother, who held pacifist beliefs.
According to his later account, at one point he rebelled when the teacher tried to punish him for disobedience; rather than permitting himself to be beaten with a rod, he marched out of the school and into the wooded mountains.
He remained there for three days, until being discovered by a family member and brought home.

Despite this education, biographers Alexander Pantsov and Steven Levine commented that the "moral-ethical precepts of Confucius seem to have left not a trace in his soul".
Conversely, biographer Philip Short asserted that for Mao, as for all Chinese children who went underwent traditional education, these Confucian texts "fixed the underlying pattern of [his] thought for the rest of his life".
Short went so far as to suggest that Confucianism would prove to be "at least as important to [Mao] as Marxism", noting that even in later life, Mao's speeches contained a greater number of quotations from Confucius and other ancient Chinese philosophers than from major Marxist theoreticians Karl Marx and Vladimir Lenin.
Yichang was keen for his eldest son to gain a basic education rooted in Confucianism, the dominant moral ideology of Chinese society; he deemed a knowledge of Confucian teaching to be essential in allowing his son to develop key business and administrative skills. His hope was that Zedong would gain an apprenticeship with a Xiangtan rice merchant before taking over the family business and supporting his parents during their old age. Yichang was particularly adamant on the need to learn about Confucianism after losing a lawsuit over a parcel of land; he believed that his opponent had been victorious in the dispute as a result of their ability to quote the sayings of ancient Chinese philosopher Confucius throughout their argument.
Thus, from the age of eight, Mao was sent to gain a basic education at the private Shaoshan Primary School. Adopting a traditional syllabus and method of education, the school emphasised the copying and recitation by rote of a series of classical Chinese texts preaching Confucian morals: the Three Character Classic, the Book of Names, the Thousand Character Classic, the Odes for Children, the Filial Classic, and Filial Learning. Perceived failure or disobedience resulted in beatings with a bamboo rod from the teacher, who like Mao's father was a stern disciplinarian. Disliking this mode of education, Mao later asserted that "I hated Confucius from the age of eight." Although expressing his dislike for them, Mao nevertheless accepted the utility of learning these texts, finding himself able to win arguments – including those against his father – by the selective use of Confucian quotations.
Far more to Mao's liking were the accounts of war and banditry found in the Four Great Classical Novels, including Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Journey to the West, and Water Margin; while also steeped in Confucian morality, they emphasised the need to fight for justice in society, and it is possible that these texts inspired his interest in history. According to his later account, it was at this point that he attained a strong belief in justice; he began to divide his lunch in two to share with a poorer boy who could not afford food. On another occasion, he got into a physical fight with an older classmate; this greatly upset his mother, who held pacifist beliefs. According to his later account, at one point he rebelled when the teacher tried to punish him for disobedience; rather than permitting himself to be beaten with a rod, he marched out of the school and into the wooded mountains. He remained there for three days, until being discovered by a family member and brought home.
Despite this education, biographers Alexander Pantsov and Steven Levine commented that the "moral-ethical precepts of Confucius seem to have left not a trace in his soul". Conversely, biographer Philip Short asserted that for Mao, as for all Chinese children who went underwent traditional education, these Confucian texts "fixed the underlying pattern of [his] thought for the rest of his life". Short went so far as to suggest that Confucianism would prove to be "at least as important to [Mao] as Marxism", noting that even in later life, Mao's speeches contained a greater number of quotations from Confucius and other ancient Chinese philosophers than from major Marxist theoreticians Karl Marx and Vladimir Lenin.
Early life of Mao Zedong