Confucius was an authoritarian. There, I said it. There are other sources of Chinese wisdom.
Confucius sounds like an apologist for imperial servitude, giving a generous dose of quotidian platitudes. All this insistence on proper appearance, filial piety, and behaviour is an appalling appeal to conform. I never found anything subversive or insightful or spiritual in Confucius, but I do appreciate his sense of humour.
What do you mean? Did you expect him to tell you to fight the power?
It's true that Confucius focused a great deal on leadership and the hierarchical aspects of society, but I don't see how he was anymore authoritarian than Plato, whose Republic was much more authoritarian (see the film "Starship Troopers" if you want to see Plato's Republic in action). Confucius' philosophy survived 2,000 years in China because it focused on making leadership wise and just. In fact, for hundreds of years in China, anyone, no matter their background, could rise to leadership if they could demonstrate an understanding of Confucian philosophy. That seems pretty egalitarian to me.