"有朋自遠方來、不亦樂乎?"- Confucius, The Analects, Chapter 1
It's an understatement to say that Confucius is important to Chinese society. A vast understatement. Though the relationship has often been fraught with tensions, China continually revisits Confucianism, usually seeking answers about how society should be structured and how it is proper to act as a member of society in good standing. While those who talk about East Asian governments as all being essentially "Confucian" in nature may simply or generalize too much about the culture of this part of the world, one should not underestimate the very complicated way in which Confucius exerts sway on leaders and intellectuals in China (and all of East Asia for that matter) even now. Today, some in China advocate a Confucian revival. Especially in the last 30-35 years (during the Era of Reform and Opening), Chinese society has looked back to Confucianism and tried to understand how the sage's ancient philosophy corresponds to contemporary Chinese life. Some of the current business and governance ethos of China does indeed bear a strong Confucian stamp. People profess to study and follow the words of the old sage, even if they're only barely aware of what Confucius actually wrote or advocated.
Nanjing's Confucian Temple complex, the FuziMiao is a bustling hub of activity. In the era of the Confucian examination system that determined who could serve as an official in the Imperial Government, this place served as a major center of learning and scholarship. People who desired to sit at court came to the FuziMiao from the entire JiangNan (South of the Yangtze/ primarily Jiangsu, Zhejiang) region to sit their exams. This place was centrally important to the administration of China's government, and perpetuation of a Chinese system of law, education and culture. It's one of the reasons that the place fascinates me in its current form. Confucian ideology was downplayed after 1949 (for reasons that one might imagine), and was treated with outright hostility during the Cultural Revolution as the PRC attempted to modernize China by leaving behing "old" ideas and systems of belief. That Confucianism has come roaring back to life since 1978 is a testament to its influence. But I've always been intrigued by how China represents this culture today. What do people make of the values that Confucius espoused? How do people take in the places that venerate Confucius? Afterall, describing the relationship of the people to Confucius might well be like describing the American public's relationship to the Founding Generation (Washington, Jefferson, Madison, etc.), if only these men were semi-divine and worshipped in a manner resembling a religion (two asides here: 1) I'm fully aware that some of you may suggest that there are some Americans that DO treat the founders this way. Fair enough. 2) Confucianism is usually discussed in "Into to World Civ" type textbooks as being a religion. This isn't, strictly speaking, true. Think of it more like an ideology. And think of Confucius' writings as being roughly analagous to Plato. Plato doesn't have a cult that venerates him today. But he does talk about the way to live a good, just, honorable life. Confucius does this. And because it involves veneration of ancestors, he is venerated like a Saint. It's a subtle but important difference).
Though I've been informed by my students that many local Nanjingers do not consider the FuziMiao a "cool" place to hang out, the sheer number of people who can be found there on any given night would suggest otherwise:
And not just at night either. The area is just as crowded during the middle of the afternoon. There's a Chinese idiom that describes this kind of massing of humanity: 人山人海. People Mountain, People Sea. In other words: people everywhere. Looking at the FuziMiao at night, it's not difficult to understand how this idiom was devised. People spill out of shops into the lanes that surround the temple. Hordes of domestic tourists, all wearing identically colored baseball caps and following a leader carrying a flag and holding a megaphone march through the streets. Waves of people carrying selfie sticks crowd the bridges that overlook the QinHaui River, posing for pictures, soaking in the sights, and basking in the neon glow of the lights added to the temple as they reflect off the water. Laughing tourists in rickshaw style sedan chairs fly past, pulled by men wearing yellow, silken robes meant to evoke the Republican Era, when Nanjing was the capital of China.
So the Fuzi Miao has become an area of neon glow, shopping opporunities, and commercialism. The temple itself is lined with shopping stalls, and is just down the street from a Starbucks, a KFC, and places to buy Nike, Adidas, Gucci and Armani. When I showed these photos to a friend of mine, a scholar of ancient Chinese literature, he remarked; "Confucius himself would collapse frothing at the mouth." Personally, I'm not sure what the sage would make of this turn of affairs. Whether or not the FuziMiao is a tourist trap or center for cultural heritage is something that I'm not sure I have a really strong opinion on. Afterall, as someone who doesn't tie my own heritage to China or to Confucian tradition, I don't really have a dog in this fight. However, I do think this area says volumes about how China today sees and understands what it means to be Chinese. Alongside the temple, you can buy various knick-knacks that evoke Chinese traditional culture. You can buy full Mandarin costumes, painted fans, Confucian official hats, etc. Often these things are child-sized, so your kid can play-act at being a Confucian scholar.
These items clearly evoke a bygone era. One of mandarins and Confucian exams. One of Imperial Courts. The problem, as I've discussed in previous posts, is identifying which past is being portrayed here. The Confucian exam and mandarin system was a hallmark of Imperial China, and is an important part of Chinese heritage, to be sure. But, the system of Imperial examinations lasted for almost 2,000 years. It only ceased in 1905. The picture from Fuzi Miao is an amalgam of a huge swath of time. If there's something quintessentially Chinese about the Confucian system that is captured here, it's useful to ask not what it is, but rather when it is. Indeed, it may be that the past captured at Fuzi Miao isn't any one period, but rather transcends them all. As China figures out what kind of contemporary power it is going to be, and how it will both build a better China and join in the global task of building a better, stronger global community, understanding what heritage China is drawing on is revealing. At sites like the Fuzi Miao, where China grapples with the meaning and legacy of Confucius, and other symbols of the past, the course for the future is also being charted.