Why “Confucian–Daoist Complementarity” is Impossible: The Civilizational Myth of Complementarity and Its Systemic Collapse

“儒道互补”长期被视为中国思想史的常识性表述，作为文化和谐、文明合法性的象征。然而，从系统性逻辑、文明合法性、生命伦理与权力结构等维度分析，儒家与老子之道在目标、合法性来源、系统运行逻辑及权力态度上存在全面失配。所谓互补，实为历史妥协、权力话语与思想稀释的产物，而非理论成立的结果。本文以科学哲思的视角，严格批判“互补神话”，并指出拒绝这一神话是文明成熟与自省的前提。 The notion of “Confucian–Daoist complementarity” has long been regarded as a conventional assertion in Chinese intellectual history, symbolizing cultural harmony and civilizational legitimacy. However, analyses across systemic logic, sources of legitimacy, life ethics, and power structures reveal fundamental mismatches between Confucianism and Laozi’s Dao. What is termed “complementarity” is in reality a product of historical compromise, power discourse, and intellectual dilution, rather than a theoretically valid relationship. From the perspective of scientific-philosophical critique, this paper rigorously deconstructs the “complementarity myth” and argues that rejecting it is a prerequisite for mature civilizational self-awareness.