Religion of China

MurraysSagesNewClothes.pdf

Home >Reading homework help >Religion of China

The Sage’s New Clothes Popular Images of Confucius

in Contemporary China

Julia K. Murray

A mere thirty-five years after the Cultural Revolution, which targeted Confucius as an arch-villain of the feudal past, positive images of the ancient sage now seem to be everywhere in China. Many have been created with governmental support and reflect the striking reversal of its judgment on Confucius’s role in Chinese history. Instead of a “reactionary element working for restoration all his life” (yisheng gao fupi de fandong fenzi 一生搞復辟的反動分子), as he was branded in the Cultural Revolution, the formulaic phrase identifying him nowadays is “China’s great thinker, educator, and statesman” (Zhongguo de weida de sixiang jia, jiaoyu jia, zhengzhi jia 中國的偉大的思想家，教育家，政治家).1 Confucius has become the symbol of Chinese civilization and the theorist of the harmonious society (hexie shehui 和諧社會).

Along with his political rehabilitation, visual representations of Confucius have proliferated in a variety of media. From monumental public statues to paintings, movies, and animated cartoons, his images serve new purposes and address a much wider audience than ever before. In ways that would have been unimaginable even half a century ago, Confucius has become part of contemporary popular culture. This chapter explores several of these new representations and the responses they have evoked. To provide perspective, some comparisons are made with images of Confucius that circulated in the late imperial period and with depictions that emerged in the twentieth century under the Republic and the People’s Republic.

157

Co py ri gh t © 2 01 4. S UN Y Pr es s. A ll r ig ht s re se rv ed . Ma y no t be r ep ro du ce d in a ny f or m wi th ou t pe rm is si on f ro m th e pu bl is he r, e xc ep t fa ir u se s pe rm it te d un de r U. S. o r

ap pl ic ab le c op yr ig ht l aw .

EBSCO Publishing : eBook Collection (EBSCOhost) - printed on 10/22/2019 12:13 AM via MUHLENBERG COLLEGE AN: 923885 ; Richey, Jeffrey L., Hammond, Kenneth James.; The Sage Returns : Confucian Revival in Contemporary China Account: s4350114

158 Julia K. Murray

The Revival of Qufu

For more than twenty-five years, Confucius has steadily been gaining visibility in contemporary Chinese culture. This process has frequently been assisted by the China Confucius Foundation (Zhongguo Kongzi jijinhui 中國孔子基金會), which was founded by the Chinese government in 1984. Shandong provincial authorities have also initiated or supported efforts to bring attention to Confucius, whose hometown has long been identified with Qufu 曲阜, in southwestern Shandong, an area also inhabited by thousands of people claiming descent from the ancient sage. Seeking ways of exploiting Confucius to benefit the province and foster its economic development, the government has allocated considerable funding to restore sites associated with Confucius and his descendants. In addition to promoting cultural tourism, official subsidies have enabled publishers based in the provincial capital, Ji’ nan 濟南, to issue innumerable books and reprints of texts dealing with Confucius or Confucianism.2

One of the first signs of a Confucian revival was the restoration of the temple of Confucius (Kongmiao 孔廟) in Qufu, which had achieved nearly palatial grandeur under the generous patronage of the Qing dynasty. After major renovations to repair extensive damage inflicted during the Cultural Revolution, the temple reopened to the public and was designated a national-level cultural protection site in 1982.3 In the main hall, a new larger-than-lifesized sculpture was completed in 1984 to replace the Qing icon destroyed by the Red Guards in 1966 (Fig. 7.1). Confucius is dressed as an emperor and seated on a throne, visually embodying the posthumous titles and honors conferred on him by successive dynasties, which elevated him far above any status he had attained in life.4 Also restored to their places in the main hall were the attendant figures of the Four Correlates (si pei 四配): Confucius’s disciples Yan Hui 顏回, Zengzi 曾子, Zi Si 子思, and his later follower Mengzi 孟子.

To boost the temple’s appeal as a tourist destination, exhibitions on the life of Confucius have frequently been mounted in adjacent buildings. In addition to refurbishing the Hall of the Sage’s Traces (Shengjidian 聖蹟殿), the building at the north end of the main axis, with a 112-scene pictorial biography incised on stone tablets in 1592, the China Confucius Foundation and Qufu cultural authorities commissioned two other sets of pictorial stones for permanent display in the area identified as Confucius’s former house (Kongzi gu zhai). One set reproduced the Pictures of the Sage and Worthies (Shengxian

ap pl ic ab le c op yr ig ht l aw .

159The Sage’s New Clothes

tu 聖賢圖), a series of portraits of Confucius and seventy-two disciples. Originally incised on stone tablets for the Southern Song imperial university in Hangzhou in 1156, the images have long been widely known through the circulation of rubbings.5 The other was a completely new version of the life of Confucius, titled Pictures of the Deeds of Confucius (Kongzi shiji tu 孔子事蹟圖), designed by the Shandong artist Shi Ke 石可 (b. 1924) and completed in 1989 (Fig. 7.2).6 Carved from slabs of polished black limestone in a deliberately archaic style of bas-relief, which is vaguely reminiscent of southwestern Shandong’s Han-dynasty pictorial art, the thirty-one compositions also incorporate techniques from socialist realism, such as showing Confucius as by far the largest figure in most scenes. The pictures and the explanatory texts below present him as a model of studious, diligent, and correct behavior, intended as an inspiration to the contemporary visitor. Supplementing these installations are temporary exhibits in other buildings, often based on or inspired by the extensive collection of paintings and woodblock prints formerly belonging to the Kong Duke for Perpetuating the Sage (Yansheng gong 衍聖公), the hereditary office held by the senior male descendant of Confucius in successive generations since 1055.7

Figure 7.1. Altar of Confucius with sculptural icon (restored in 1984), Dachengdian, Kongmiao, Qufu, Shandong. Author’s photo.

ap pl ic ab le c op yr ig ht l aw .

160 Julia K. Murray

The Qufu temple has been promoted as one of the “Three Kong” (San Kong 三孔), along with the refurbished cemetery where Confucius and many descendants are buried, called the Kong Forest (Konglin 孔林), and the palatial establishment of the Kong dukes, known as the Kong Mansion (Kongfu 孔府).8 A steady stream of souvenir books, DVDs, postcards, rubbings, slide sets, playing cards, stamps, bookmarks, and so forth have helped to popularize the San Kong for secular tourism (Fig. 7.3). In 1987, a state-owned brewery in Qufu even adopted the name for a new beer, San Kong Pijiu 三孔啤酒, both exploiting and extending the San Kong brand’s cachet.9 Despite or maybe because of the increasing commercialization, the San Kong were officially designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1994.

In recent years, the Qufu Kongmiao has seen increasing numbers of visitors openly displaying veneration or praying to Confucius in

Figure 7.2. Shi Ke 石可, Confucius Pays Homage to Ji Zha, from Kongzi shiji tu 孔子事蹟圖 (Scenes from the Life of Confucius), 1989, incised stone tablet, Qufu, Shandong. Author’s photo.

ap pl ic ab le c op yr ig ht l aw .

161The Sage’s New Clothes

addition to engaging in ordinary sightseeing and snapshot taking. To accommodate this new behavior, which resembles the practices of devotees at Buddhist and Daoist temples, the courtyard in front of the main hall has been provided with facilities where people can perform obeisance, buy and burn incense, purchase and hang votive placards, and donate money to the Merit Box (Gongde xiang 功德箱) (Fig. 7.4). People visiting the grave of Confucius in the Konglin also are encouraged to make their prostrations and donations (Fig. 7.5). Perhaps these accommodations allowing visitors to worship were hastened by the success of the Shrine of Confucius, the Sages, and Worthies (Kongzi Shengxian ci 孔子聖賢祠), a nearby facility that is not on the official Qufu tourist itinerary or marked on maps (Fig. 7.6).10 Located down a side street not far from the Kongmiao, it is a cavernous structure decorated with low-relief mural paintings and room after room of large and gaudily painted statues depicting Confucius and his disciples and later interpreters. For at least ten years, the shrine has served people who approach the figures as popular gods, burning incense before them and praying to them for blessings of all kinds.

In 1986 the Qufu government began sponsoring an annual cultural festival to celebrate the birthday of Confucius, which is

Figure 7.3. Miscellaneous souvenirs of the San Kong 三孔, Qufu, Shandong (playing cards, enameled metal bookmarks, postcards). Author’s photo.

ap pl ic ab le c op yr ig ht l aw .

Figure 7.4. Offerings, merit box, and incense burning in front of the Dachengdian, Kongmiao, Qufu, Shandong. Author’s photo.

Figure 7.5. Confucius’s grave with merit box, Konglin, Qufu, Shandong. Author’s photo.

ap pl ic ab le c op yr ig ht l aw .

163The Sage’s New Clothes

observed on September 28 (as in Taiwan).11 The most colorful event of the festival is a ceremony performed in front of the main hall of the temple. Initially, it was a touristic performance primarily of dance, and the doors of the hall were closed to avoid any suggestion that homage was being offered to the image of Confucius inside.12 In the 1990s, with the tacit encouragement of the central government, the ritual began being modeled increasingly on the liturgy of a late- imperial sacrifice. Moreover, the doors of the main hall began being left open, and descendants of Confucius were allowed to pay homage. By 2005, with permission from central government authorities, the performance was led by a descendant, and more care was taken to re-create traditional costumes and ritual equipment accurately from documentary sources.13 Attended by high officials and representatives

Figure 7.6 . Kongzi Shengxian ci 孔子聖賢祠 (Shrine of Confucius, the Sages and Worthies), Qufu, Shandong. Author’s photo.

ap pl ic ab le c op yr ig ht l aw .

164 Julia K. Murray

of international organizations, among others, the event was broadcast live on China Central Television (CCTV ). In 2008, a spring ceremony was added as a smaller-scale version of the September celebration, reviving an older tradition of semiannual sacrifices offered to Confucius in both spring and autumn. The same year, the revival of the traditional Qingming 清明 grave-sweeping observance led to a separate spring ceremony being instituted at Confucius’s grave.14 Limited to proven descendants, the ritual has attracting increasing attendance from members overseas as well as from other parts of China. A few days before the birthday celebration in 2009, some 1200 descendants also participated in a special ceremony at the Qufu temple to present the new eighty-volume updated genealogy to Confucius, sacrificing three large animals on the altar in front of his statue.15

Rebuilding Other Temples of Confucius

Led by the Qufu Kongmiao, in the late 1980s and 1990s many other Chinese cities and towns started renovating their own temples of Confucius, usually called either Kongmiao or Temple of Culture (Wenmiao 文廟) or occasionally Temple of the Master (Fuzi miao 夫子廟). In the late imperial era, these temples stood next to the government school in the administrative centers of provinces, prefectures, and counties, as well as in the two capitals. The main ritual hall of an official temple was an austere, aniconic environment, without the sculptural icons and palace-style decor that distinguished the Qufu temple.16 Confucius and the other men who were enshrined, including his disciples and later interpreters of his teachings, were represented not by figural images but only by inscribed tablets.17 The interior space was ornamented only with signboards and placards of calligraphy, often reproducing large-character transcriptions of phrases from the Confucian classics brushed by Qing emperors. After the civil service examination system ended in the early twentieth century, many of these buildings were converted to schools, offices, or museums, and some were badly damaged or even destroyed completely during the Cultural Revolution.

The restoration or rebuilding of temples of Confucius nationwide has frequently introduced representational imagery where there was none before. Initially, the main reason for adding it was to make them more attractive to tourists and thus generate revenue from admissions and souvenirs. Particularly for visitors accustomed to the colorful

ap pl ic ab le c op yr ig ht l aw .

165The Sage’s New Clothes

paintings and sculptural figures of deities in renovated Buddhist and Daoist temples, an aniconic interior not only would be uninteresting but also would seem incomplete. Only elderly scholars steeped in the tenets of late-imperial Confucianism were likely to appreciate the solemnity of a Confucian temple authentically restored to a pre-1949 configuration. However, the presence of anthropomorphic images has encouraged visitors to respond by treating the figures as representing gods who can assist them with personal concerns.

The largest of the official temples is the Kongmiao in Beijing, which is probably the best known of all Confucian temples because of its location in China’s capital. Because this was the temple to which the emperor himself might come to sacrifice in person, the size and splendor of its main hall are second only to Qufu’s.18 Both buildings have a double roof of imperial-yellow glazed tiles and stand nine bays wide on a large, high platform, approached by a ramp decorated with an imperial dragon. The interiors are festooned with imperial regalia, such as coffered ceilings containing dragon roundels, calligraphic signboards and placards, and embroidered hangings. However, instead of figural icons, the Beijing Kongmiao in Qing times had only inscribed tablets to represent Confucius, the Four Correlates, and the Twelve Savants (shi’er zhe 十二哲).19 Until the early 2000s, moreover, the temple housed the Capital Museum (Shoudu Bowuguan 首都博物館) and displayed archaeological and historical exhibits. Now it has been restored to a ritual configuration, and the main hall again just has inscribed tablets on the altars, with replicas of sacrificial utensils and offerings placed on tables in front of them, along with cushions to allow the visitor to perform prostrations. However, life-sized clay statues of Confucius’s disciples have been added just outside the hall, with a fence on which supplicants can hang votive placards (Fig. 7.7). The poses and attributes of these figures are copied from rubbings of the Hangzhou Pictures of Sages and Worthies, which have been translated from small, two- dimensional pictures to large and lifelike sculptures in the round.

Unlike the Beijing Kongmiao, most other renovated temples of Confucius exhibit paintings or statues of the ancient sage and his disciples inside the main hall itself, and sometimes there are other kinds of imagery as well. For example, Suzhou’s Wenmiao has a large and colorful painting of a standing Confucius over the altar, and the walls are inset with stone tablets that reproduce rubbings of old sets of pictures and texts. The east side of the building displays pictorial stones, including a thirty-scene version of the life of Confucius (titled Kongzi Shengji zhi tu 孔子聖蹟之圖), a twenty-scene pictorial

ap pl ic ab le c op yr ig ht l aw .

166 Julia K. Murray

biography of Mencius (Mengzi shengji tu 孟子聖蹟圖), and a copy of the Hangzhou portraits of Confucius and seventy-two disciples.20 On the north and west sides, some 124 tablets reproduce the texts of the Confucian classics in clerical-script calligraphy, including a colophon by the renowned Jiangnan scholar-official and classicist Ruan Yuan 阮元 (1764–1849).21 In front of the altar, unusual musical instruments used in a traditional sacrifice are individually displayed with labels, flanked by racks of bells and V-shaped stone chimes and a large bell and drum.

The main hall of the Fuzi miao in Nanjing features an extremely large painting of a standing Confucius based on the same iconography as the image in the Suzhou Wenmiao, as well as a spirit tablet inscribed with his post-1530 title “Ultimate Sage and First Teacher, Master Kong” (Zhisheng xianshi Kongzi 至聖先師孔子) (Fig. 7.8).22 In front of the altar are a table holding an incongruous array of sacrificial vessels and modern bronze bust of Confucius and a stand with three compartments containing clay heads representing a pig, ox, and sheep. Competing for attention is a large and colorful installation of thirty-six narrative scenes from the life of Confucius. Created with colored-stone inlays on large hardwood panels behind glass, the pictures cover the

Figure 7.7. Lifesize clay figures of Confucius’s disciples and railing hung with votive placards, Kongmiao, Beijing. Author’s photo.

ap pl ic ab le c op yr ig ht l aw .

167The Sage’s New Clothes

walls and several interior partitions inside the building.23 Below each illustration is a textual explanation, written in slightly archaic script, on narrow tablets that evoke the bamboo and wooden slips used for ancient documents. The seal-script title, Pictures of the Sage’s Traces (Shengji zhi tu 聖蹟之圖), exactly copies the calligraphy and wording on the headstone of the 112-scene illustrated biography of Confucius installed in the Shengjidian at the Qufu Kongmiao.24

Shanghai enshrines just a gilded sculptural icon depicting Confucius as a seated figure in an ornate niche, with little other decoration of the interior than calligraphy placards.25 The comparatively austere treatment may reflect a deliberate effort to re-create the historical environment of the government school and temple.26

Figure 7.8. Altar of Confucius with painted portrait by Wang Hongxi 王宏喜 (1991), Dachengdian, Fuzi miao, Nanjing.

ap pl ic ab le c op yr ig ht l aw .

168 Julia K. Murray

However, just outside the main hall is a monumental bronze statue of Confucius as a standing figure accompanied by incense burners and racks of votive placards for visitors who wish to worship (Fig. 7.9). In recent years, attendance at the temple has surged around the time of university entrance examinations as anxious students and their parents seek Confucius’s aid for a successful result.27

Monumental statues of Confucius

The large bronze statue of Confucius outside the main hall of the Shanghai Wenmiao was donated by a Hong Kong industrialist to mark the 2,540th birthday of Confucius in 1989.28 During the 1990s, monumental sculptures of Confucius as a standing figure started appearing with some frequency at restored temples of Confucius. Sited on the central axis, usually just outside the main hall or its gate, this kind of representation was a new addition to the material culture of the Confucian temple. Initially standing in isolation, the large outdoor statues of Confucius served mostly as backdrops for tourist snapshots and group photos. In recent years, however, donation boxes

Figure 7.9. Bronze statue of Confucius by Xu Baoqing 徐寶慶 (1989), racks of votive placards, and incense burning outside the Dachengdian, Wenmiao, Shanghai. Author’s photo.

ap pl ic ab le c op yr ig ht l aw .

169The Sage’s New Clothes

and basins for burning incense have often been added, accommodating or encouraging visitors’ prayers and donations. (Temples usually do not allow incense to be burned inside the main hall because of the fire hazard to wooden buildings.) The addition of picket fences and racks as well has made it possible for supplicants to hang votive plaques and prayer tablets around Confucius’s image (Fig. 7.10).

In the past decade, monumental statues of Confucius have also been proliferating on the premises of libraries, schools, and museums. In these kinds of environments, unlike temples, the statue is not necessarily placed in a prominent spot, and the visitor may miss it altogether. Furthermore, these settings seem less conducive for making

Figure 7.10. Bronze statue of Confucius donated by Tang Enjia 湯恩 (1997), with incised picture on the stone base, Guozijian, Beijing. Author’s photo.

ap pl ic ab le c op yr ig ht l aw .

170 Julia K. Murray

supplications to Confucius than when his figure is placed on the central approach to a ritual hall. Nonetheless, the presence of his image affirms the roles of such institutions in preserving and transmitting China’s cultural heritage. At the Shanghai Library, the statue stands next to a walkway in the yard behind the building, as part of a tableau with bushes clipped to form the characters “Pursue Knowledge” (qiu zhi 求知) (Fig. 7.11).29 The ensemble seems meant to be viewed from inside the building through the large glass wall of the upper level, as a visitor on the ground would have difficulty “reading” the bushes.

Most of the monumental images are made of cast bronze, although some are carved from stone (Fig. 7.12). Often well over life sized, the figures tower over the viewer and typically stand on high, rectangular pedestals. The base usually is inscribed with a title, date, and the identification of the donor. Sometimes there is additional explanatory text or even an inscribed pictorial scene that complements the sculptural representation (e.g., Fig. 7.10). Confucius invariably stands holding both hands before his chest, fingers pointing up and clutching the hilt of a slender sword under his left arm. His voluminous robes typically have patterned borders, and a decorated panel hangs from his belt almost to the upturned tips of his shoes. Always depicted

Figure 7.11. Statue of Confucius donated by Tang Enjia 湯恩佳 and topiary bushes behind the Shanghai Library. Author’s photo.

ap pl ic ab le c op yr ig ht l aw .

171The Sage’s New Clothes

as an elderly man with a full beard and bushy eyebrows, Confucius wears the cloth cap of a scholar rather than an official’s headgear.

Although there is considerable consistency among the monumental images, they vary somewhat in expression and physical details, such as the angle of the arms, prominence of cheekbones, and degree of gauntness. The 1989 statue at the Shanghai Wenmiao, created by the nationally renowned sculptor Xu Baoqing 徐寶慶 (b. 1926), displays an unusually lifelike facial expression and well- modeled hands making a naturalistic gesture. Confucius seems about to speak, with slightly raised eyebrows and dimpling around his high, rounded cheeks and parted lips. By comparison, the white marble statue outside the gate of the Beijing Kongmiao is more schematic, with outsized hands and face that give Confucius a slightly manic expression

Figure 7.12. Stone statue of Confucius, carved and donated by Yang Qingqin 楊清欽 (1993), outside the Dachengmen, Kongmiao, Beijing. Author’s photo.

ap pl ic ab le c op yr ig ht l aw .

172 Julia K. Murray

(Fig. 7.10). Carved and donated by Yang Qingqin 楊清欽 (1932–2002) of Taizhong, Taiwan, the figure was erected in 1993, when the Capital Museum still occupied the site. It is explicitly titled “Portrait of First Teacher Confucius Practicing the Teaching” (Xianshi Kongzi xingjiao xiang 先師孔子行教像), linking it in name to the rubbing of a Qufu stele that the Taiwan Ministry of Education endorsed in 1974 as the most accurate representation of Confucius (Fig. 7.13).30

Figure 7.13. Portrait of Confucius, traditionally attributed to Wu Daozi 吳道子 (ca. 689-after 755), rubbing of an incised stone tablet in the Kongmiao, Qufu, Shandong. Photo from Edouard Chavannes, Mission Archéologique dans la Chine Septentrionale (Paris, Leroux, 1909), pl. CCCC, no. 874.Co

py ri gh t © 2 01 4. S UN Y Pr es s. A ll r ig ht s re se rv ed . Ma y no t be r ep ro du ce d in a ny f or m wi th ou t pe rm is si on f ro m th e pu bl is he r, e xc ep t fa ir u se s pe rm it te d un de r U. S. o r

ap pl ic ab le c op yr ig ht l aw .

173The Sage’s New Clothes

The erection of monumental images of Confucius is a practice that seems clearly influenced by Western conventions of public statuary as a medium for commemorating great men of the past.31 Nonetheless, the iconographic details come primarily from traditional Chinese depictions of Confucius as an elderly teacher, which can be traced back in two- dimensional media at least to the Song dynasty, if not earlier.32 Portrayals of his standing figure circulated widely in the late imperial period as paintings, prints, and rubbings from incised stone tablets. Some bore notations identifying the artist as Wu Daozi 吳道子 (ca. 689–after 755), a renowned Tang master of figure painting, and Confucius in the role of practicing the teaching (xingjiao 行教).33 One of this group is the rubbing from Qufu (e.g, Fig. 7.13), which was validated in 1974 by the Taiwan authorities, the most significant of whom was Kong Decheng 孔德成 (1920–2008). Invested as the duke of the 77th generation in his infancy, Kong Decheng had grown up in Qufu,34 and his endorsement of this portrayal as most familiar to him was persuasive. Soon afterward, Taiwan began presenting large bronze statues based on the Xingjiao rubbing to cultural sites worldwide, in part as an answer to the “Criticize Confucius, Criticize Lin Biao” (Pi Lin Pi Kong 批林批孔) movement then in full swing in mainland China.35 The Xingjiao image also was subsequently endorsed by Confucian Academy of Hong Kong (Kongjiao xueyuan 孔教學院), an institution advocating the establishment of Confucianism as a full-fledged religion.36

A number of bronze statues erected on the mainland in the later 1980s and 1990s (e.g., Fig. 7.10) actually resemble the Xingjiao portrayal much more closely than does the stone sculpture in the Beijing Kongmiao (e.g., Fig. 7.12). Most of them are titled simply “Portrait of Confucius Practicing the Teaching” (Kongzi xingjiao xiang 孔子行教像), typically in large characters on the high pedestal, incised and sometimes gilded.37 Many were donated by Tang Enjia 湯恩佳, the activist head of the Confucian Academy of Hong Kong since 1992, whose sponsorship of the monumental figures is a form of proselytizing.38 A noteworthy feature of the inscriptions on the statues is that the date is expressed in the “Confucian calendar” (Kong li 孔曆), meaning number of years since the birth of Confucius. The date on the statue in figure 10, for example, is Kong li 2548, corresponding to 1997. Analogous to the Western calendar’s use of the birth of Jesus as its starting point, this counting practice began with Kang Youwei 康有為 (1858–1927), a prominent late Qing proponent of Confucianism as national religion.39 The Hong Kong Confucian Academy was founded in 1930 by one of Kang’s disciples, Chen Huanzhang 陳焕章 (1881–1933), who earlier had organized the Confucius Religion Co

ap pl ic ab le c op yr ig ht l aw .

174 Julia K. Murray

Association (Kongjiao hui 孔教會) in Shanghai in 1912 to oppose the new Republic’s de-Confucianization policies.40

In the past decade, the China Confucius Foundation has also entered the arena to assert authority over visual representations of Confucius. In 1999, to mark his 2,550th birthday, the Foundation sponsored the design and production of a limited edition of one thousand statuettes made of twenty-four-carat gold and just under a foot in height (Fig. 7.14). While based on the by-then dominant Xingjiao image, the new statuettes were explicitly intended to improve on it. In its promotional literature, the foundation highlighted the changes made to Confucius’s clothing, which had been updated with

Figure 7.14 Gold statuette of Confucius, designed for the China Confucius Foundation by Qian Shaowu 錢紹武 (1999). Photo from the China Confucius Foundation publicity pamphlet.Co

ap pl ic ab le c op yr ig ht l aw .

175The Sage’s New Clothes

recent archaeological finds dating from his lifetime. Thus, the new image had to be more authentic than any portrait by Wu Daozi that depicted Confucius in Tang garb. Although the statuettes are similar to the large Xingjiao figures in some respects, Confucius no longer appears to be talking, and his hands are clasped horizontally instead of pointing upward. More significantly, his sword has been removed. However, the foundation’s effort to combine veneration and commerce did not prove entirely successful, as the statuettes did not sell well. Since 2005, they have been repurposed as part of the UNESCO “Confucius Literacy Prize,” two of which are awarded annually to individuals and groups working to increase literacy in countries throughout the world.41 In addition to a monetary grant, winners receive a gold statuette.

In 2006, the China Confucius Foundation called explicitly for a new “standard portrait” (biaozhun xiang 標準像) of Confucius, on the grounds that existing images were too varied, even among those made within a single factory, to sell as tourist souvenirs in Qufu.42 A standard image would help to avoid confusion, which was particularly important as Confucius Institutes (Kongzi xueyuan 孔子學院) were being established worldwide. After research and consultation with scholars, artists, and descendants of Confucius, the foundation selected the Qufu Xingjiao rubbing (e.g., Fig. 7.13) as the basis for the new image, the same as in 1974 Taiwan. Confucius was to be represented between the ages of sixty and seventy, with a facial expression that was simultaneously “genial yet strict, imposing and yet not intimidating, courteous and yet at ease” (wen er li, wei er bu meng, gong er an 温而厲，威而不猛，恭而安).43 Following modifications to a full-scale bronze prototype cast in June 2006, the final version was unveiled in Qufu on September 23, just in time for birthday celebrations (Fig. 7.15).44 To mark the 2,557th anniversary of Confucius’s birth, the statue was made 2.557 meters high. Not surprisingly, it is very similar to the Xingjiao sculptures, again including a sword, although the face is considerably broader and wears a heavy-lidded expression of gentle resignation. Since 2006, the China Confucius Foundation has sponsored several installations of the full-sized statue as well as the production of smaller versions to promote it as the standard image of Confucius. If anything, however, portrayals have only become even more diverse.

Retelling the Life of Confucius

Statues of Confucius may be the most conspicuous sign of his return to official favor, and their incorporation into rituals of supplication Co

ap pl ic ab le c op yr ig ht l aw .

176 Julia K. Murray

a sign of popular acceptance. Along with the proliferation of static images, however, dynamic narrative representations of his life in a variety of media have also gained a place in contemporary Chinese visual culture. Compared with the relatively minor variations seen in the iconic portrayals, the various versions of his life display a much greater range of approach and emphasis. Their sponsors’ contemporary concerns influence the choice of events depicted and how they are portrayed, as was also true of versions created in the late-imperial era.45

Figure 7.15. Bronze statue of Confucius (the “Standard Portrait”), designed for the China Confucius Foundation by Hu Xijia 胡希佳 (2006), Qufu, Shan- dong. Author’s photo.

ap pl ic ab le c op yr ig ht l aw .

177The Sage’s New Clothes

Pictorial biographies

Serial illustrations of the life of Confucius, often called Pictures of the Sage’s Traces (Shengji tu 聖蹟圖) or some close variant, first appeared in the mid-fifteenth century and developed thereafter in the media of painting, woodblock printing, and incised stone.46 An initial compilation of about thirty annotated pictures, based on his late second-century BCE biography in the Shiji 史記,47 portrayed Confucius as a merely human exemplar of high moral character and epitomized his career as an itinerant statesman-adviser and teacher-scholar. As the genre of his pictorial biography evolved and expanded, however, numerous events with supernatural elements and demonstrations of his superhuman ability were added. The most grandiosely hagiographical version, created in 1592, is displayed on incised stone tablets in the Shengjidian at the Qufu temple, as mentioned above. Compilers and sponsors of the various Shengji tu typically claimed that the pictures embodied important social values and would inspire the viewer to greater moral cultivation. Versions published in the late Qing and Republic have prefaces that also reaffirmed traditional Confucian values as the core of Chinese identity, as against those associated with the West and modernity. A lithographic edition published by the Nation Society of Beiping (Beiping minshe 北平民社) in 1934 was reissued in Taiwan several times after the Republican government’s relocation there, particularly during the “Cultural Renaissance” (wenhua fuxing 文化復興) period of 1967 to 1977.48

In the late 1980s, various versions of the Shengji tu started appearing in mainland publications. Early volumes in the ambitious series Kongzi wenhua daquan 孔子文化大全 (Complete Works of Confucius Culture) included a 1988 reprint of the 1934 Beiping minshe edition, as well as the first publication of an untitled Ming album of thirty-six colorful paintings.49 The album, a treasured possession of the Kongfu in Qufu, has subsequently been exhibited all over the world and republished numerous times.50 At the Qufu temple itself, a new set of prints made from Qing woodblocks that reproduced the Shengjidian’s incised stone tablets was installed as a didactic exhibit in the Pavilion of the Constellation of Learning (Kuiwen’ge 奎文閣), another major building on the main axis.51 Various old editions of the pictorial biography in collections elsewhere in China have also been reprinted in recent years, sometimes introduced with comments to the effect that pictures will help the popular audience become familiar with Confucius.52

ap pl ic ab le c op yr ig ht l aw .

178 Julia K. Murray

Animated cartoons

Recognizing that its efforts to standardize Confucius’s image and spread an authorized version of his teachings had reached only a portion of the potential audience, the China Confucius Foundation initiated the Confucius Large-Scale Animation (Donghua dapian Kongzi 动画大片《孔子》) project early in 2007. Although its primary viewers would initially be Chinese children, the animated cartoons were also intended to be shown abroad as “one of the most effective ways to popularize the essence of Chinese culture to the overseas audience.”53 Developed by Shenzhen Phoenix Star Television Media Company (Shenzhen Fenghuang xing yingshi yunmei youxian gongsi 深圳鳳凰星影視伝媒有限公司) together with Shandong Radio, Film and Television Bureau (Shandong sheng guangbo dianying dianshi ju 山東省廣播電影電視局), the series of 104 animé-style cartoons took three years and some 50 million RMB of government funding to produce.54 Titled simply Confucius (Kongzi), the series is organized into four seasons consisting of twenty-six episodes each. The first episode was broadcast by CCTV as one of many events marking the celebration of September 28, 2009, as the 2,560th birthday of Confucius. Picture books, CDs, and DVDs were also released simultaneously.

Aimed at young people and consciously using the popular animé style to appeal to them, the Kongzi cartoon series is outstanding in technical quality. Each episode is about twelve minutes long and centers on an event in the life of Confucius, loosely based on traditional biographies of the sage. Skipping over the supernatural events that some sources associate with his conception and birth,55 the first episode, titled “The Orchid” (“Lanhua” 蘭花), introduces him as a big-eyed young boy living in poverty with his widowed mother, to whom he is devoted.56 As in traditional pictorial biographies, the boy displays an un-childlike interest in temple rituals and implements (Fig. 7.16). Here, however, he is given an invented sidekick, Manfu 曼甫, and suffers bullying by Yang Hu 陽虎, known from texts as his nemesis later in his life. A beautiful dream sequence introduces Big Sister Orchid (Lanhua jiejie 蘭花姐姐), a fairy godmother–like figure who reappears throughout the series. In her initial appearance, she comforts the distressed boy and gives him direction, telling him to study. The episode ends after he wakes up and runs to the top of Mount Ni (Nishan 尼山), where he yells, “I want to study!” (wo yao du shu 我要讀書) as a flock of white birds rises over the awe-inspiring panorama.

ap pl ic ab le c op yr ig ht l aw .

179The Sage’s New Clothes

Using a succession of images to represent Confucius at various stages of his life, the series follows him from childhood through old age.57 Unlike earlier pictorial biographies, which pass quickly to his young adulthood, ten episodes feature him as a young boy, presumably to establish his appeal to the target audience. Every episode has one or more narrative threads that link it to traditional texts, but they are interspersed with hefty doses of contemporary juvenile popular culture. Homilies on doing the right thing and lessons on Chinese ancient history and myth are leavened with slapstick humor, dramatic suspense, and noisy combat. As Confucius ages in the later episodes, increasingly large roles are taken up with subplots involving minor figures and talking animals, most prominently a bumbling piglet named Pixiu 皮休, who frequently turns to Lanhua jiejie for advice after Confucius has outgrown her (Fig. 7.17). In some of the episodes after Confucius has become an adult, he hardly appears at all. When he does, he speaks

Figure 7.16. The child Confucius plays at performing rituals, from Kong- zi, animated cartoon series, Episode 1 (“Lanhua” 蘭花 [The Orchid]), Part 1. Screenshot from CCTV.com (http://space.tv.cctv.com/video/ VIDE1254189206723884).

ap pl ic ab le c op yr ig ht l aw .

180 Julia K. Murray

very slowly and gravely in a resonant baritone, unlike other characters, whose speech is more natural and sometimes jarringly contemporary. It remains to be seen whether the series will fulfill its sponsors’ goals of bringing Confucius to life as a viable hero for Chinese children today and inculcating desirable social and cultural values, as well as promoting worldwide appreciation of Confucian thought and Chinese culture.58

Film

Late January 2010 saw the opening of Kongzi, a major motion picture on the life of Confucius, with a record 2,500 prints issued for simultaneous release (Fig. 7.18).59 Following Confucius from age fifty until his death at age seventy-three, the movie’s storyline is loosely based on his Shiji biography and incidents from the Analects (Lunyu 論語). Featuring the middle-aged Hong Kong action star Chow Yun-fat

Figure 7.17 Pixiu 皮休, Lanhua jiejie 蘭花姐姐, and Confucius, from Kongzi, animated cartoon series, Episode 43 (“Huiyan” 慧眼 [Mental Dis- cernment]). Screenshot from CCTV.com (http://space.tv.cctv.com/video/ VIDE1266979112057881).

ap pl ic ab le c op yr ig ht l aw .

181The Sage’s New Clothes

周潤發 (b. 1955) in the title role, it was meant to be a commercial blockbuster and received 150 million RMB of government funding (about $22 million). The film was directed by Hu Mei 胡玫 (b. 1958), a 1982 female graduate of the Beijing Film Academy. The cinematography was by Peter Pau 鮑德熹 (b. 1951), winner of the 2000 Academy Award for Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, and popular singer Faye Wong 王菲 (b. 1969) performed the theme song.

To reach the desired popular audience of ordinary adults, who either know little about Confucius or were brought up to vilify him, the film presents him as a man of vigor and action as well as ideas. He performs rituals, practices archery, and offers statesmanly advice, even presiding over a contentious summit meeting between his home state of Lu and

Figure 7.18. Poster advertising the film “Kongzi” directed by Hu Mei 胡玫 (2010). Screenshot from zvod.net 中影网 (zvod.net/news/201001/83.html).

ap pl ic ab le c op yr ig ht l aw .

182 Julia K. Murray

neighboring rival Qi. Large-scale battle scenes between rival powers are depicted with casts of thousands and dramatic, digitally enhanced effects, reminiscent of the John Woo epic Red Cliff. The fellowship of disciples and their sometimes arduous travels among the ancient feudal states in search of a ruler who would employ Confucius all are given their due. Most controversial is the film’s portrayal of a romantic relationship between Confucius and the notoriously seductive Nanzi 南子, wife of Duke Ling of Wei 衛靈公, played by the well-known actress Zhou Xun 周迅 (b. 1976). Traditional sources agree that Confucius had an audience with her but attribute it to his desire to enhance his job prospects in the state of Wei. In any case, his disciples disapproved, and he defended his motives with unusual vehemence. However, the film fleshes out, so to speak, what might have been going on.

Despite including elements that some commentators considered tasteless or inappropriate in a portrayal of Confucius, the film gained the endorsement of prominent descendants. At its Beijing premiere, Kong Demao 孔德懋 (b. 1917), 77th-generation descendant and sister of the late Kong Decheng, presented an inscription in her own calligraphy to Chow Yun-fat, which read “Forever Confucius” (Yongyuan de Kongzi 永遠的孔子), to which Chow responded by performing a kowtow.60 To celebrate the nationwide opening on January 22, the film’s cast and crew went to Qufu and held a veneration ceremony in the Qufu temple, which included kowtows to the sculptural icon of Confucius.61 Kong Dewei 孔徳威, a descendant who directed the 2009 genealogy project, pronounced the movie to be evidence that Confucianism was playing a significant role in present-day China.62 However, the film did not meet with a great deal of popular enthusiasm among Chinese moviegoers, some of whom resented that it replaced James Cameron’s wildly popular Avatar on many two-dimensional screens at the government’s behest.63

By apparent coincidence, an old movie that covers the same period of Confucius’s life has been recently recovered and shown in Hong Kong, generating considerable excitement (Fig. 7.19).64 In April 2009, the Hong Kong Film Archive screened a partially restored print of Kong Fuzi 孔夫子, a long-lost black-and-white film made in 1940 by Shanghai director Fei Mu 費穆 (1906–51), which was shown throughout China in 1940–41 and briefly rereleased in 1948. A more complete version was included in the April 2010 Hong Kong International Film Festival after the Italian lab L’Immagine Ritrovata (The Rediscovered Image) in Bologna devoted eight years of painstaking work to restoring the nitrate negatives.

ap pl ic ab le c op yr ig ht l aw .

183The Sage’s New Clothes

Filmed in Shanghai under arduous wartime conditions following the Japanese invasion, Fei Mu’s Kong Fuzi is melancholy in tone, and its stately pace could hardly be more different from that of the 2010 blockbuster. The producers invested some $160,000, a large sum in 1940, in hopes of demonstrating that Chinese cinema was capable of more than the maudlin costume dramas popular at the time, perhaps even the equal of foreign film. Poetic, often painterly images alternate with scenes of chaos and warfare, and the formal beauty of the mise-en-scène and cinematography is breathtaking. An austere and somber Confucius, played by Tang Huaiqiu 唐槐秋 (1898–1954) moves deliberately and speaks solemnly, often turning his back on the viewer to gaze at the landscape. Over and over, the film shows how powerless he is and how irrelevant his ideal of government through benevolence and ritual in an age of constant warfare and aggression. Despite repeated failure and

Figure 7.19 Cover of booklet for the film “Kong Fuzi” directed by Fei Mu 費穆 (1940).

ap pl ic ab le c op yr ig ht l aw .

184 Julia K. Murray

disappointment, Confucius never abandons his quixotic quest to create a moral order, and his steadfast commitment to virtue arouses the viewer’s feelings of sorrowful respect and admiration. Near the end, an interlude of ceremonial dance shows the performers trying to create a formation reading “All-under-heaven in great peace” (Tianxia taiping 天下太平), but they repeatedly fail to form the last character, suggesting a bleak outlook. But the disciples’ pledge to continue spreading Confucius’s teachings gives him comfort as he dies, and the film concludes with the age-old hymn “Confucius, Confucius, Great is Confucius” (Kongzi, Kongzi, da zai Kongzi 孔子孔子大哉孔子).65

Conclusion

The emergence of diverse and widely circulated visual depictions of Confucius is a phenomenon stimulated by the contemporary revival of Confucianism in China. Prior to the twentieth century, ordinary people were not likely to encounter representations of Confucius. Public places did not display images of him, nor were portrayals likely to be seen outside the circles of educated men. Although the teachings of Confucius were among the core values of Chinese social morality, Confucius himself did not have a popular following, nor did he inspire a popular cult of people praying to him for good fortune. China’s dynastic regimes espoused ideals of governance associated with Confucius and performed regular sacrifices to him in official temples. The educated elite venerated him as a role model of learning and morality but not as a figure from whom to seek private benefit.

A broader circulation of images of Confucius was initially prompted by various efforts to promote him as China’s counterpart to great figures in Western civilization. The late Qing movement to establish him as the founder of a religion of “Confucianism” encouraged people to incorporate him into popular cultic practices, and votive prints (nianhua 年畫) depicted him as a god whom ordinary people could worship.66 Under the Republic, Confucius occasionally appeared on banknotes and stamps as an important historical figure identified with the Chinese nation.67 The People’s Republic has also used his image on stamps at various times, and there is speculation that he will eventually appear on a new 500 RMB note.68

While stamps and currency disseminated his image more widely than ever before, the proliferation of government-sponsored representations of Confucius in recent years is even greater in magnitude and different in character. Along with efforts to Co

ap pl ic ab le c op yr ig ht l aw .

185The Sage’s New Clothes

standardize his depiction and associate him with a core Chinese identity, entertainment media are being used to impart desirable social values and cultivate a respectful, patriotic citizenry. For the first time, Confucius is being promoted to a mass audience through film, and to children through animated cartoons, in lavish productions underwritten by the government. Moreover, his image is also being wielded internationally to symbolize China and Chinese civilization, such as in the establishment of Confucian Institutes and the award of UNESCO Confucius Literacy prizes.

Despite official backing for some representations of Confucius, they do not always achieve their intended purposes, and popular reactions may differ from the expected ones. People who believe in the ideas and values associated with Confucius have questioned whether any visual portrayal is desirable, especially because none can be true to life. The China Confucius Foundation’s effort to create a standard portrait in 2006 drew criticism not only about specific details of the depiction but also about the motives behind this attempt to impose uniformity.69 Suspicions that it was a step toward turning Confucius into a commercial brand seemed reasonable, given how much his image has been exploited to make money for Qufu. Even more recently, the use of Confucius’s image on lottery tickets sold in Qufu (Fig. 7.20) prompted

Figure 7.20. Confucius lottery tickets, Qufu (2010). Screenshot from Xinhua English (http://english.sina.com/china/2010/0201/302715.html).Co

ap pl ic ab le c op yr ig ht l aw .

186 Julia K. Murray

objections from people who felt that he should not be associated so directly with money, often quoting his famous saying that profit is the concern of small-minded men.70

Those who accept Confucius as the symbol of China’s heritage and as a source of national pride criticize the overuse of his portrayal for opportunistic or commercial purposes. On the other hand, the presence of images of Confucius at restored temples has led many people to treat him as a god with the power to influence educational success, seeking his aid in passing examinations and with other practical concerns. It may well be true, as various parties asserted during the controversy over the standard portrait that it does not matter whether an image really resembles Confucius or not, as long as it is recognizable.71 People will relate to Confucius as they wish.

Notes

1. For examples of each characterization, see Kong Lao’er 孔老二 (Shanghai: Shanghai Renmin chubanshe, 1974), 116; and Kuang Yaming 匡亞明, Qiusuo ji 求索集 (Beijing: Renmin chubanshe, 1995), 64, 112, and 112, respectively.

2. A prime example is Kongzi wenhua daquan 孔子文化大全 (Complete Works of Confucius Culture), an extensive series of reprints often of rare editions, published by Shandong Friendship Press (Shandong Youyi shushe) between 1988 and 1994.

3. UNESCO, “A Regular Report on the Implementation of the Convention Concerning the Protection of World Cultural and Natural Heritage,” Part II, “Preservation Status of the Specific World Heritage: Confucius Temple, Confucius Forest and Confucius Mansion in Qufu,” ed. You Shaoping and Wang Qingcheng for the Qufu City Cultural Relics Administration Committee (UNESCO, 2002), 12, Sec. 5.a, accessed September 1, 2010, http://whc.unesco.org/archive/ periodicreporting/apa/cycle01/section2/704.pdf. For a profusely illustrated and high-quality analysis of the architecture, see Qufu Kongmiao jianzhu 曲阜孔廟建築, comp. Nanjing Institute of Engineering, Department of Architecture 南京工學院建築系, and Qufu Cultural Relics Administrative Committee 曲阜文物管理委員會 (Beijing: Zhongguo jianzhu gongye chubanshe, 1987).

4. For a detailed discussion and reproduction of sculptural icons of Confucius in the Qufu temple, see my “ ‘Idols’ in the Temple: Icons and the Cult of Confucius,” Journal of Asian Studies 68, no. 2 (May 2009): 371–411.

5. For the Southern Song tablets, see my “The Hangzhou Portraits of Confucius and 72 Disciples (Shengxian tu): Art in the Service of Politics,” Art Bulletin 74, no. 1 (March 1992): 7–18. The Qufu replicas were completed in 1991.

6. The set is similar but not exactly identical to the twenty-scene version reproduced in Shi Ke 石可, Kongzi shiji tu, Lunyu zhenyan yin 孔子事跡圖．論語箴言印 ( Ji’nan: Qi Lu shushe, 1987).

ap pl ic ab le c op yr ig ht l aw .

187The Sage’s New Clothes

7. For a list of successive holders of the title, see Qufu Kongmiao jianzhu, 443–445. The extensive files and collections amassed by the dukes are now administered by the Archive Office of Confucius Mansion [sic] under the Cultural Relics Administration Committee of Qufu City, Shandong Province (Kongfu wenwu dang’an, Shandong sheng Qufu shi wenwu guanli weiyuanhui); itemized in UNESCO, “A Regular Report,” Appendix IV, 100–102.

8. Many attractive publications treat the San Kong; for a couple of recent examples, see Qufu Kongmiao, Konglin, Kongfu 曲阜孔廟·孔林·孔府, Chen Chuanping 陳傳平, comp., in Zhongguo shijie yichan congshu 中國世界遺產叢書 (Xi’an: San Qin chubanshe, 2004) and the bilingual Temple and Cemetery of Confucius and the Kong Family Mansion in Qufu/Qufu Kongmiao, Konglin, Kongfu 曲阜孔廟·孔林·孔府, Kong Deping 孔德平, comp. (Beijing: New World Press, 2007).

9. “San Kong Pijiu youxian gongsi” 三孔啤酒有限公司, Baidu wenku 百度文庫, 2010, accessed August 24, 2010, http://wenku.baidu.com/ view/796481da50e2524de5187e7f.html.

10. I stumbled on this shrine in 2001 and surmise from recent tourist photographs posted on the Internet that it is still in business. Its address is 2-12 Gulou bei lu 鼓樓北路, Qufu.

11. The birthday of Confucius began to be regularly celebrated in the early twentieth century; previously, he received regular sacrifices in the second months of spring and fall. Ancient texts record his birth date variously as the twenty-seventh or twenty-eighth day of the eighth month of the lunar calendar. In 1904, the Qing government declared lunar 8/28 a national holiday but changed it to 8/27 in 1910. Lunar 8/27 was reaffirmed as a national holiday in 1931 under the Republic. In 1952, the government in Taiwan fixed the date as September 28 in the Western calendar. For details concerning the evolution of the contemporary observance in Qufu, based on extensive local interviews, see Hongliang Yan and Bill Bramwell, “Cultural Tourism, Ceremony and the State in China,” Annals of Tourism Research 35, no. 4 (October 2008): 969–989, http://www.elsevier.com/locate/atoures.

12. Yan and Bramwell, “Cultural Tourism, Ceremony and the State in China,” 980–981.

13. Yan and Bramwell, “Cultural Tourism, Ceremony and the State in China,” 983. The authors suggest that the attendance of representatives of the central government and international bodies made the event a “public cult ceremony” rather than a “civilian cult ceremony.”

14. “Descendants Attend Memorial Ceremony for Confucius in Qufu,” China Economic Net, March 31, 2008, accessed September 28, 2008, http://en.ce.cn/ National/pic-news/200803/31/t20080331_15010653_4.shtml; and “Descendants Hold Memorial Ceremony for Confucius in Qufu,” China Economic Net, April 6, 2009, accessed May 27, 2009, http://en.ce.cn/National/culture/200904/06/ t20090406_18719670.shtml.

15. Peter Foster, “Confucius Family Tree Unveiled,” The Daily Telegraph, September 26, 2009, accessed August 29, 2010, telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/ asia/china/6230959/Confucius-family-tree-unveiled.html; also “Kongzi shijia pu

ap pl ic ab le c op yr ig ht l aw .

188 Julia K. Murray

xuxiu fenpu dianli zai Qufu Kongmiao longzhong juxing” 孔子世家譜續修頒譜典禮在曲阜孔廟隆重舉行, Kongshi zongqin wang 孔氏宗親網, October 19, 2009, accessed December 4, 2009, http://www.Kong.org.cn/Item/Show.asp?m=1&d=585. The genealogy is the first to include female descendants and descendants residing abroad.

16. The Jiajing ritual reform of 1,530 removed images from all temples of Confucius except for the one in his hometown of Qufu; see Deborah A. Sommer, “Destroying Confucius: Iconoclasm in the Confucian Temple,” in On Sacred Grounds: Culture, Society, Politics, and the Formation of the Temple of Confucius, ed. Thomas A. Wilson (Cambridge: Harvard University Asia Center, 2002), 95–133.

17. For a discussion of who was enshrined and why, see Thomas A. Wilson, Genealogy of the Way: The Construction and Uses of the Confucian Tradition in Late Imperial China (Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1995).

18. A third main hall that is also of imperial scale stands at the Wenmiao in Harbin, Heilongjiang, which was actually built in 1926; see Zhongguo Kongmiao 中國孔廟, Gao Wen 高文, and Fan Xiaoping 范小平, comps. (Chengdu: Chengdu chubanshe, 1994), 18 and 93, and plates 77–80.

19. For the ritual configuration of the Beijing temple in the late Qing, see Pang Zhonglu 龐鍾璐, Wenmiao sidian kao 文廟祀典考 (n.p. 1878), juan shou.

20. My description of the inset tablets is based on their configuration as I observed it in August 2001.

21. Perhaps best known today for collating the Shisan jing zhushu 十三經注疏, the Qing official edition of the Classics, Ruan Yuan is exhaustively treated in Betty Peh-ti Wei, Ruan Yuan, 1764–1849: The Life and Work of a Major Scholar- Official in Nineteenth-Century China before the Opium War (Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press, 2006).

22. The painting in ink and slight color on silk, 6.5 meters in height, is signed by Wang Hongxi 王宏喜 (b. 1937) and dated early summer 1991. As part of the Jiajing reform, Confucius’s title was changed from King of Exalted Culture (Wenxuan wang 文宣王) to Ultimate Sage and First Teacher, which it remained thereafter, except for a brief change in effect from 1645 to 1657; see Thomas A. Wilson, “Ritualizing Confucius/Kongzi,” in On Sacred Grounds: Culture, Society, Politics, and the Formation of the Temple of Confucius, ed. Thomas A. Wilson (Cambridge: Harvard University Asia Center, 2002), 50–57.

23. Two additional panels contain the title, credits, and introductory label. Fabricated in 1998 by the Jingyi Artistic Sculpture Company ( Jingyi yidiao youxian gongsi 精义艺雕有限公司) of Yueqing City 樂清市, Zhejiang, each panel is 2.5 meters high and 1.3 meters wide and covered by glass. A few panels are reproduced online at “Nanjing Confucius Temple,” Nanjing Jiwan Technology Co. Ltd., 2000, accessed August 25, 2010, http://www.njfzm.com/fzmen/fzm-morepic.htm.

24. The Nanjing illustrations themselves are based on painted compositions in a widely published Ming album in Qufu, reproduced in Shengji zhi tu/The Pictures About Confucius’ Life [sic] ( Ji’nan: Shandong General Press, 1988).

25. See photos on Shanghai Confucius Temple, accessed August 25, 2010, http://www.confuciantemple.com/english/e-guanyu-wenmiao/wenmiao-jianjie.

ap pl ic ab le c op yr ig ht l aw .

189The Sage’s New Clothes

htm, 2006. When I visited the temple in 2001, the main icon was flanked by gilded standing figures of disciples Yan Hui and Zengzi, but these were later removed.

26. Idem. I have not been able to ascertain whether the main hall had a figural icon during the Qing dynasty; however, at least one county temple in the region (Kunshan 昆山) restored its icon in the early Qing; see Han Seunghyun, “Shrine, Images, and Power: The Worship of Former Worthies in Early Nineteenth Century Suzhou,” Toung Pao 95, nos. 1–3 (2009): 177. Another precedent that might be relevant is that the temple of Confucius in Tokyo (Yushima Seido 湯島聖堂) enshrined a small Ming bronze image of Confucius; reproduced in Kongzi baitu 孔子百圖, comp. Wang Shucun 王樹村 (Guangzhou: Lingnan meishu chubanshe, 1997), 64, cat. no. 50. A photo of the statue in situ appears in Rujia tuzhi 儒家圖誌, Xu Lingyun 許凌雲, comp., Kongzi wenhua daquan ( Ji’nan: Shandong Youyi shushe, 1994), 439.

27. “Parents Call on Confucius for Exam Good Fortune,” China Economic Net, June 5, 2008, accessed September 28, 2008, http://en.ce.cn/National/ Education/200806/05/t20080605_15735862.shtml. The practice of seeking Confucius’s aid for success in examinations or other kinds of personal benefit seems to be quite recent, perhaps prompted by the late Qing movement to make Confucianism a national religion (discussed below).

28. Identified by the inscription as Chen Chun 陳春 of the Zhongwei gongsi 中威公司 (Redland Precast Concrete Products Ltd.), Hong Kong.

29. According to John Makeham, the statue was donated in 1997, although its inscription is undated; Lost Soul (Cambridge: Harvard Asia Center, 2008), 307.

30. Cai Wenyi 蔡文怡, “Kongzi shengxiang tantao” 孔子聖像探討, Guoli lishi bowuguan guankan 8 (October 1976), 115; reproduced and further discussed in my “Portraits of Confucius: Icons and Iconoclasm” Oriental Art 47, no. 3 (2001), 17, 26; also see my “ ‘Idols’ in the Temple,” 402, Fig. 11.

31. A possible exception comes up in an anecdote about Confucius seeing a bronze statue by the steps outside the Zhou ancestral temple depicting a man whose mouth was sealed with three strips and whose back bore a cautionary inscription. An illustration is included in the largest versions of the pictorial biography; e.g., see Kongzi shengji tu 孔子聖蹟圖, Kongzi wenhua daquan ( Ji’nan, Shandong Youyi shushe, 1988), 80. For two late sixteenth-century illustrations of an anthologized version of the story, see my “Squaring History with Connoisseurship: Jiao Hong’s Yangzheng tujie,” in Art of the Chinese Book, ed. Ming Wilson and Stacey Pierson (London: Percival David Foundation), 142–143 and figs. 5–6.

32. I have treated this subject in detail in “Pedagogue on the Go: Portraits of Confucius as an Itinerant Teacher,” in Bridges to Heaven: Essays in Honor of Professor Wen C. Fong, ed. Judith Smith and Dora C. Y. Ching (Princeton: Tang Center for East Asian Art, forthcoming).

33. The origin and significance of this epithet are obscure, but it is often interpreted as referring both to Confucius’s travels and his teachings; e.g., see Kongzi xingjiao tu 孔子行教圖/Confucius Journeys through Pictures (Taipei: Zuanshi chubanshe, 1974).

ap pl ic ab le c op yr ig ht l aw .

190 Julia K. Murray

34. The Nationalist government changed Kong Decheng’s title in 1935 from Duke for Perpetuating the Sage to Sacrificing Official for the Greatly Accomplished Ultimate Sage and First Teacher (Dacheng zhisheng xianshi fengsiguan 大成至聖先師奉嗣祀官); see Jun Jing, Temple of Memories: History, Power, and Morality in a Chinese Village (Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1996), 39. He left Qufu during the Japanese invasion and moved to Taiwan with the Nationalist government, in which he served in various capacities; for an obituary, see Stephen Miller, “Kung Te-cheng (1920–2008): Lineal Descendant of Confucius Fostered Tradition,” Wall Street Journal, November 1, 2009, http:// online.wsj.com/article/SB122550105993889975.html.

35. For a nuanced analysis of Taiwan’s “Cultural Renaissance,” of which the statues were a small part, see Makeham, Lost Soul, 192–207.

36. For example, a colorized rendition of the Xingjiao portrayal appears on the cover of the October 1983 issue of The Journal of Confucius, the Academy’s journal. On the Academy itself, see Makeham, Lost Soul, 306.

37. The gilding seems to be fugitive. When I photographed the Beijing Guozijian statue in 2001, the entire inscription was filled in with gold (and the statue had no fence); by my return visit in 2008, all the gilding was gone, and it was surrounded by a picket fence bedecked in red plaques (shown in Fig. 7.10).

38. By November 2004, Tang Enjia had already donated sixty statues of Confucius to mainland sites, which he called “priceless treasures” (wujia zhi bao 無價之寶); Zheng Qiao 鄭超, “Quanqiu jiangban baisuo Kongzi sueyuan; shousuo xueyuan benyue Han’guo jiepai” 全球將辦百所孔子學院首所學院本月韓國揭牌, Xinhuanet.com, November 16, 2004, accessed September 3, 2010, http://news. xinhuanet.com/newscenter/2004-11/16/content_2222750.htm. On Tang’s agenda, see Makeham, Lost Soul, 306–307.

39. Hsi-yuan Chen, “Confucianism Encounters Religion: The Formation of Religious Discourse and the Confucian Movement in Modern China” (PhD diss., Harvard University, 1999), 88.

40. On the Kongjiao hui, see Chen, “Confucianism Encounters Religion,” chapter 3; also Makeham, Lost Soul, 278–279; for the contestation over ritual during the Republic, see Rebecca Nedostup, Superstitious Regimes: Religion and the Politics of Chinese Modernity (Cambridge: Harvard Asia Center, 2009).

41. Guo Xiaohong, “UNESCO Confucius Prize for Literacy Launched,” China through a Lens, December 1, 2005, accessed September 1, 2010, http://www. china.org.cn/english/China/150588.htm.

42. “Kongzi daodi zhang shayang; Kongzi biaozhun xiang 6 yue quanqiu fabu” 孔子到底長啥樣孔子標准像6月全球發布, Xinhuanet.com, February 2, 2006, accessed September 4, 2010, http://news.xinhuanet.com/book/2006-02/16/ content_4186182.htm.

43. Analects 7.38; trans. Raymond Dawson, Confucius: The Analects, Oxford World’s Classics (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1993), 27.

44. Li Shan 黎珊, “Kongzi biaozhun xiang quanqiu zhengshi fabu (tupian) 孔子標准像全球正式發布 (圖片),” Donghai Jiguan jiayuan 東海《機關

ap pl ic ab le c op yr ig ht l aw .

191The Sage’s New Clothes

家園》September 24, 2006, accessed September 1, 2010, http://dh.jgjy.gov.cn/ shownews.asp?news_id=1098.

45. I discuss a broad range of versions and sponsors from the mid-fifteenth century to the late twentieth in “Varied Views of the Sage: Illustrated Narratives of the Life of Confucius,” in On Sacred Grounds: Culture, Society, Politics, and the Formation of the Cult of Confucius, ed. Thomas A. Wilson (Cambridge: Harvard University Asia Center, 2002), 222–264.

46. See my “Illustrations of the Life of Confucius: The Evolution, Functions, and Significance in Late Ming China,” Artibus Asiae 57, nos. 1–2 (1997): 73– 134.

47. Sima Qian 司馬遷, Shiji 史記, Beijing University punctuated and annotated edition (Beijing: Zhonghua shuju, 1982), 47.1905–1947. The life of Confucius occupies most of the chapter titled “Master Kong’s Hereditary Household” (“Kongzi shijia” 孔子世家), tracing his ancestry and posterity as if he were an aristocrat. The title was later adopted for Kong family genealogies, including the most recent one published in 2009 (see above at note 15).

48. The Beiping minshe’s publication, titled Kongzi Shengji tu, was a lithographic edition based on an 1874 woodblock version published by seventy- second-generation descendant Kong Xianlan 孔憲法蘭 in Qufu; Taiwan reprints include two under that title (Taipei: Zhongguo wenjiao chubanshe, 1957 and Wensi chubanshe, 1984); a variant title, Kongsheng huazhuan 孔聖畫傳 (Taipei: Fuxing Zhonghua wenhua chubanshe, 1975); and a bilingual edition, Kongzi xingjiao tu/Confucius Journeys through Pictures. For the “Cultural Renaissance,” see Makeham, Lost Soul, 192–207.

49. For the Kongzi wenhua daquan series, see note 2. The two items on pictorial biography are Kongzi shengji tu (as in note 31) and the bilingual Shengji zhi tu/The Pictures about Confucius’ Life (as in note 24).

50. Selected leaves from the album have most recently been exhibited in the United States; see Wensheng Lu and Julia K. Murray, Confucius: His Life and Legacy in Art (New York: China Institute Gallery, 2010), cat. no. 4.

51. The Kuiwen’ge was the Qufu temple’s library. I saw the recently reprinted Shengji tu displayed there on my first visit in 1992, and it was still (or again) on view in 2009. For reproductions of two prints made for the 2010 China Institute exhibition, and of the two-sided woodblock from which the impressions were taken, see Lu and Murray, Confucius: His Life and Legacy in Art, cat. no. 5.

52. E.g., Shengji tu (Wuhan: Hubei jiaoyu chubanshe, 1994); Kongzi shengji tu (Shijiazhuang: Hebei meishu chubanshe, 1996) and a bilingual Kongzi shengji tu/The Sage’s Traces Pictures of Confucius [sic], Liu Ying 劉映, comp. (Beijing: Xianzhuang shuju, 2005); and Wu Jiamo 吳嘉謨, Kongsheng jiayu tu 孔聖家语圖 (1589), Zhongguo gudai banhua congkan erbian 中國古代版畫叢刊二編 (Shanghai: Shanghai guji chubanshe, 1994); there are many more.

53. CCF Deputy Secretary-General Wang Daqian 王大千, quoted in “Confucius Promoted by Cartoon Imagery,” China Daily, May 5, 2007, accessed December 7, 2007, http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2007-05/20/content_ 876382.htm.

ap pl ic ab le c op yr ig ht l aw .

192 Julia K. Murray

54. The funds come from the Propaganda Department of the Shandong Provincial Party Committee, the China Confucius Foundation, Shandong Province Broadcast Film & TV Bureau, CCTV, Shenzhen Chongde Film & TV Media; He Dongxian 何東憲, “Daxing donghua pian Kongzi jijiang bochu” 大型動畫片《孔子》即將播出, Jingji ribao 經濟日報, September 23, 2009, Zhongguo jingji wang 中國經濟網, accessed September 29, 2009, http://paper.ce.cn/jjrb/ html/2009-09/23/content_81672.htm#.

55. In brief: after his mother offered a sacrifice on Nishan, a qilin 麒麟 brought her an inscribed jade tablet predicting his birth, which was presaged by gods and dragons appearing in the sky on the night before he was born, and the baby’s body bore forty-nine auspicious marks, including an inscription on his chest; for annotated illustrations, see Shengji zhi tu/The Pictures about Confucius’ Life, 1–4.

56. The episode was broadcast in two parts, which can be viewed online on CCTV.com at http://space.tv.cctv.com/video/VIDE1254189206723884 and http://space.tv.cctv.com/video/VIDE1254189206723887.

57. As of mid-summer 2010, CCTV had broadcast just the first two seasons of twenty-six episodes each, taking Confucius from boyhood to middle age.

58. He Dongxian, “Daxing donghua pian Kongzi jijiang bochu.” 59. Pang Li, “Hu Mei Brings Confucius to the Big Screen,” China.org.cn,

April 13, 2010, accessed September 1, 2010, http://www.china.org.cn/arts/2010- 04/13/content_19800838.htm.

60. “Chow Yun-fat Saves the Third Kowtow for Confucius,” China.org.cn, January 22, 2010, accessed September 1, 2010, http://www.china.org.cn/wap/2010- 01/22/content_19291174.htm; also see photos posted on “Chow Yun-fat Honors Descendant of Confucius,” accessed September 1, 2010, One Asian World, 2010.

61. “Biopic Movie Stars, Crew Pay Tribute to Confucius,” China.org.cn, January 22, 2010, accessed September 1, 2010, http://www.china.org.cn/arts/2010- 01/22/content_19292257.htm.

62. Ibid. 63. Raymond Zhou, “Confucius Loses His Way,” China Daily, January 29,

2010, accessed September 2, 2010, http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/life/2010-01/29/ content_9396402.htm.

64. David Bordwell, “Confucius Reborn,” Observations on Film Art, April 15, 2009, accessed September 1, 2010, http://www.davidbordwell.net/blog/?p=4269. See also the bilingual publication of essays and photos from the film Fei Mu Kong Fuzi /費穆孔夫子 Fei Mu’s Confucius (Hong Kong: Hong Kong Film Archive Publications, 2010). I thank David Bordwell for sending me a copy.

65. The well-known hymn, attributed to Mi Fu 米黻 (1051–1107; also known as Mi Fei [米芾]), is inscribed on a portrait of Confucius on a stone tablet in the Shengjidian; reproduced in Luo Chenglie 駱承烈, Huaxiang zhong de Kongzi 畫像中的孔子 (Shanghai: Guji chubanshe, 2003), 26. Its lyrics are simple in the extreme:

ap pl ic ab le c op yr ig ht l aw .

193The Sage’s New Clothes

Confucius, Confucius, great is Confucius. Before Confucius, there was no Confucius. After Confucius, there will be no Confucius. Confucius, Confucius, great is Confucius. 孔子孔子，大哉孔子！孔子以前，既無孔子。孔子以后，更無孔子。孔子孔子,大哉孔子！

66. For examples and references, see my more detailed discussion in “ ‘Idols’ in the Temple,” 394–397.

67. A quick search on the Internet turns up a 1-yuan banknote issued in 1938 by the Chinese Republic (see http://www.banknotes.com/CNJ61.jpg); also, a 100-yuan note issued in 1944 by the Japanese-controlled puppet government in Manzhouguo (see http://www.banknotes.com/CNJ138).

68. Zou Le, “Authority Denies ‘New Bill’ Reports,” Global Times, August 19, 2010, accessed September 12, 2010, http://china.globaltimes.cn/ society/2010-08/565101.html.

69. “ ‘Official’ Image of Confucius Sparks Debate among Scholars,” CRIEnglish.com, September 26, 2006, accessed September 1, 2010, http://english. cri.cn/3126/2006/09/26/[email protected].

70. “Confucius Is a Brand Name in Hometown Lottery Promo,” Xinhua English, February 2, 2010, accessed September 2, 2010, http://english.sina.com/ china/2010/0201/302715.html.

71. “ ‘Official’ Image of Confucius Sparks Debate among Scholars.”

ap pl ic ab le c op yr ig ht l aw .