Facts and Details

ORGANIZED CONFUCIANISM

Confucian ritual in Taiwan According to the World Almanac only about 5 million people in the world today—mostly in China and Korea—consider themselves Confucians. This is a small number when considering that there are 1.3 billion people in China and 44 million people in South Korea, plus millions of other people in Asia, that incorporate Confucianism in one way or another into their lives.

Voltaire and his views on enlightenment were influenced by Confucianism. The German mathematician and scholar Gottfried Leibniz wrote that the Chinese should “send missionaries to us to teach us the purpose and use of natural theology in the same way as we send missionaries to instruct them in revealed theology.”

Confucius would have been appalled by the word "Confucianism," a term thought to have been invented in 1862 by European Christians doing an inventory of "religions" in the non-Christian world.

Confucian and Taoism are taught in Chinese school.

Good Websites and Sources: Confucianism religioustolerance.org ; Confucius.org confucius.org ; Confucianism philtar.ucsm.ac.uk ; Confucius .friesian.com ; Confucian Texts Chinese Text Project ; Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy plato.stanford.edu ; Analects of Confucius eawc.evansville.edu ; Cult of Confucius /academics.hamilton.edu ; Chinese Classics China Page ; Confucian Temple China Vista ; Virtual Temple tour drben.net/ChinaReport

Links in this Website: CONFUCIANISM AND CONFUCIUS Factsanddetails.com/China ; CONFUCIAN BELIEFS Factsanddetails.com/China ; HISTORY OF CONFUCIANISM Factsanddetails.com/China ; ORGANIZED CONFUCIANISM Factsanddetails.com/China ; Qufu Wikipedia Wikipedia Travel China Guide Travel China Guide ; Lonely Planet Lonely Planet ; UNESCO World Heritage Site : (click 1001wonders.org at the bottom): UNESCO ; UNESCO World Heritage Site Web site (click the site you want) World Heritage Site

Links in this Website to Different Religions in China: RELIGION IN CHINA Factsanddetails.com/China ; FOLK RELIGION IN CHINA Factsanddetails.com/China ; TAOISM Factsanddetails.com/China ; TAOIST BELIEFS Factsanddetails.com/China ; BUDDHISM IN CHINA Factsanddetails.com/China ;HISTORY OF BUDDHISM IN CHINA Factsanddetails.com/China ; HISTORY OF TIBETAN BUDDHISM Factsanddetails.com/China ; TIBETAN BUDDHISM BELIEFS Factsanddetails.com/China ; CHRISTIANITY IN CHINA Factsanddetails.com/China ; MUSLIMS AND JEWS IN CHINA Factsanddetails.com/China ; MYSTICISM AND SUPERSTITION IN CHINA Factsanddetails.com/China ; FENG SHUI AND QI QONG Factsanddetails.com/China ; IDEAS ABOUT DEATH IN CHINA Factsanddetails.com/China

Confucianism in China and Asia

Confucian philosophy is credited with holding the Chinese government and Chinese society together for 2000 years. Confucianism greatly influenced secular culture in China and provided social code that people were taught in their homes and in schools. In some places Confucianism is treated a religion and there are Confucian temples and rituals.

Confucianism is said to be stronger today in other Asian countries such Korea, Japan and Vietnam than it is in China because Communism was so effective in stamping it out. One study found that the Chinese display less Confucian characteristics such as respect for leaders, ruler of law and the government than South Koreans or Japanese.

In Korea, Confucianism is treated as religion by some people. There are Confucian priests, and Confucian temples were offerings of rice cakes, pears and cow's heads are presented at altars. Korean Confucians wear hats that look like paper bags and perform rites at funerals. See Korea

Confucianism is closely linked with "Asian values" credited by some with spurring economic prosperity in Asia. It has also been used as a justification of authoritarianism, which is misreading of Confucian doctrine. Confucianism does not advocate blindly following and serving the status quo. Rather it teaches one to act decently, honestly and justly. People have the right to question authority if the government does not act in the best interests of the people.

Leading New Confucians include Tu Wei-ming, professor of Chinese history and philosophy at Harvard's Yenching Institute.

Confucian Rituals

Confucian ancestor ritual in Korea Confucians view rituals and sacrifices as necessary to pay respects to the spirits and the forces in the heaven. There has not been a whole lot of elaboration on the subject. Social matters have generally been regarded as more important.

Confucian sacrifices have traditionally been performed within families to family members, rivers and mountains and heavenly bodies. During a sacrifice participants are expected to bow three times before offering a pig, a bullock and a goat. Rooted in animism and shamanism these sacrifices are regarded as means of maintaining order in the natural world. Rituals and sacrifices directed towards ancestors have traditionally been expressions of reverence, not spiritual acts or ways of seeking help from the ancestors. Hsun Tzu wrote: “the motives of sacrifice are remembrance and longing. By it loyalty, faith, love and reverence reach their utmost, and the emotions moderated and refined by ritual are most fully expressed. No one except the sage can understand it.”

Rituals have traditionally been performed by the state and family. A great emphasis has been placed on music as an accompaniment for certain rites. According to the Book of Rites: “Music issues from within, the rites act from the outside. Serenity is the result of music issuing from within; refinement is the result of the rites acting from outside. Great music must be simple; great notes must be easy. When music is it at its best there is no resentment, when the rites are at their best we do not contend.”

Many of the rituals performed by the Chinese Emperor had their roots in the idea of maintaining order within the natural world. If the order of the natural world was disrupted then famines, floods, rebellions and other disasters would occur. The emperor presided over special religious ceremonies conducted over a special Altar of Heaven that only he alone was allowed to perform. During these ceremonies the emperor approached the altar barefoot, accompanied by an orchestra playing hymns, and prostrated himself before the celestial deities. It was believed that whether or not the coming year was to be good or bad was determined by how skillfully he performed the ritual. The performance of these ritual was critical to receiving the Mandate of Heaven. See Mandate of Heaven.

Confucius's Birthday

Confucius's Birthday is commemorated on September 28th or the 27th day of 8th lunar month with offerings made at Confucian temples all over China. The largest observation of his birthday is held in Confucius's hometown of Qufu, in Shandong Province, where, a 15 day celebration is held. People visit the Confucius Mansion and Confucius Temple; ride through Confucius Woods in ancient horse-drawn carriages; attend a reenactment of an ancient Memorial service at Confucius's tomb; watch a special dance performed by a 36-member folk troupe, using long feather wands and accompanied by a orchestra that plays solemn music on 20 different kinds of antique instruments. Rites are offered three times. Everything is done exactly as it was the first year after Confucius's death.

In 2005, a large celebration—with tens of thousand of participants, costumes and 100 scholars discussing the relevance of Confucian—was held in Qufu. In 2007 over 3,000 people showed up in Qufu to celebrate Confucius's 2,557th birthday with speeches, dances, recitations and sacrifices of a pig, a bullock and a goat. The dancers wore costumes like those worn 2,000 years ago in the Han Dynasty and prostrated themselves in front of the sage’s statue.

Confucian Temples

Inside Confucian Temple Like other Chinese temples, Confucian temples are often comprised of many buildings, halls and shrines. They tend to be situated in the middle of towns and have north-south axises. Large halls, shrines and important temple buildings have traditionally been dominated by tiled roofs, which are usually green or yellow and sit atop eaves decorated with religious figures and good luck symbols. The roofs are often supported on magnificently carved and decorated beams, which in turn are supported by intricately carved stone dragon pillars. Many temples are entered through the left door and exited through the right.

The main feature of the Confucian Temple in Beijing are the rows of steles in the front that honor scholars and bureaucrats who passed the imperial civil service exam.

The Confucius Temple in Qufu has halls that are laid out along a symmetrical north-west axis. In the 22-acre temple grounds are many large trees and small gardens as well as 28 stone columns and bas-reliefs of clouds and dragons. The Terrace of Apricot, a tile-roofed platform, is where Confucius used to give lectures to his disciples. Offerings are regularly made at altars around the temple.

In the Mao era, temples were often used as storehouse for the local production team. Many were destroyed by Red Guards during the Cultural Revolution. The Confucian temple in Qufu was sacked as Confucius was denounced as a class enemy. An enormous statue of Confucius was dragged through the streets and smashed with sledge hammers. His grave was dug up to sho he wasn't there. The temples have since been restored but statues and the ancestral tablets destroyed by the Red Guards have not been replaced.

Priests in Confucian shrines in China are generally little more than caretakers.

Comeback of Confucianism

In recent years, Confucianism has experienced something of a revival as the government has changed its tune, welcoming the philosophy of obedience to authority. A sign of that turnaround came with the reintroduction of an ancestor worship festival on the Chinese calendar this year.

Wealthy entrepreneurs pay thousands of dollars and travel thousands of kilometers to Qufu, to attend classes on Confucian philosophy and dress in the robes Confucian scholars and participate in millennia-old rituals at the city’s Confucian Temple in which participants bow and drink Chinese wine from a bronze goblet surrounded by smoke from burning incense. A wealthy metals trader who paid $12,000 to do just that told the Washington Post, ‘Any businessman with some success wants to do more than just get rich. [Source:Andrew Higgins, Washington Post, May 18 2010]

In 2010, the first service at Beijing's Confucian temple was held since the Communists took power in 1949. Hundreds of schoolchildren gathered to pay their respects. Dancers in red robes and students in flowing black drifted through the courtyards of the 14th century temple complex in central Beijing. [Source: Tania Branigan, The Guardian, September 28, 2010]

Confucian teacher Yang Ruqin told The Guardian, ‘Confucianism has always been in Chinese people's blood. Although negated for many years, it is still there and when the environment is right, it will come back. I think it is a very good thing, especially in today's materialistic society,’ he said. ‘Most people now are just curious about it instead of really understanding the theory, but that's okay: as time goes on, they will know better. Plus Confucianism is something really suited to the Chinese people.’ [Source: Tania Branigan, The Guardian, September 28, 2010]

Dr Daniel Bell, a scholar at Tsinghua University and author of China's New Confucianism, said: ‘[Historically] it was part of political legitimation  and maybe that helps to explain the revival now to the extent [China's leaders] appeal to Confucianism for legitimacy. Obviously they don't want to become liberal democrats, but Marxism does not really grab people any more.’ But he added: ‘The revival is happening at different levels of society, with some [Confucian theorists] having a much more critical way of thinking. In Imperial China it was a conservative tradition, but always had a critical edge; Confucius and Mencius were social critics.’ [Source: Tania Branigan, The Guardian, September 28, 2010]

Many who support the trend are elderly. Li Gengwu, a retired newspaper employee attending the service, studied Confucius as a child before the revolution. ‘All the good traditional values were abandoned. Now it seems more people are interested. Confucius advocates loyalty and trust and caring for others. In today's society, all people care about is money, so it's good to promote these values.’ Younger people were less enthusiastic. ‘Confucius is an important part of Chinese culture, related to everyone,’ said Han Bing, 30, a musician at the event. But she was ‘not really sure’ how he was relevant. Xue Wenjuan, 23, was swift to quote ‘Learning is our belief,’ but added: ‘That's a commercial for a language training center.’ [Source:Tania Branigan, The Guardian, September 28, 2010]

State- Supported Comeback of Confucianism

Once ridiculed by Mao, Confucianism is making a comeback with state support. Confucian temples and schools have not only been allowed to open up and carry on a wide range of activities they sometimes receive government money and support to do so. Kong Xianglin, deputy director of the state-financed Confucius Research Center in Qufu and 75th-generation descendant of Confucianism told the Washington Post, ‘If Confucius were alive today he would probably join the Communist Party.’ [Source: Andrew Higgins, Washington Post, May 18 2010]

In recent years Confucius and Confucianism have been the subject of numerous novels, television dramas and films, including the multimillion dollar bioepic Confucius . The Communist Party has promoted the trend as a way of building national pride and promoting a common heritage and give some credence to the Chinese way of looking at government and offering that as an alternative to foreign ideas such as democracy. “ [Ibid]

On the campus of Beijing's prestigious Tsinghua University there used to be a statue of Chairman Mao. Even as President Hu Jintao's key slogan, Goujian hexie shehui (to build a harmonious society) has its roots in Confucian thought. ‘Confucius said, 'Harmony is something to be cherished',’ Hu said in a speech February 2005. ‘From Confucius to Sun Yat-sen,’ averred premier Wen Jiabao a couple of years later, ‘the traditional culture of the Chinese nation has numerous precious elements’, among which he mentioned ‘community, harmony among different viewpoints, and sharing the world in common’. In a book called China's New Confucianism, the political theorist Daniel Bell quips that the Chinese Communist party might one day be renamed the Chinese Confucian party.

Confucius has reappeared in school textbooks. A Confucian quote formed a key part of the lavish opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics. The government is also investing in Confucius Institutes abroad to promote Chinese culture. Even prison inmates are reportedly being taught Confucian philosophy.

Confucianism in the Modern World and What It Means

Timothy Garton Ash wrote in The Guardian, ‘There's a simplistic way to read this renaissance of Confucianism, and a more interesting one. The simplistic way is to seek in Confucianism the key to understanding contemporary Chinese society, politics and even foreign policy. This is an instance of what I call Vulgar Huntingtonism, a dumbed-down version of the cultural determinism that you find in Samuel Huntington's Clash of Civilizations: ‘Chinese are Confucians, so they'll behave like this ...’ [Source:Timothy Garton Ash, The Guardian, April 9, 2009]

“Well, for a start, there are many contrasting versions of Confucianism. Bell distinguishes liberal Confucianism, official or conservative Confucianism, left Confucianism, and depoliticised pop Confucianism (the Yu Dan chicken soup). More important, Confucianism is just one ingredient in the eclectic mix characteristic of China today. Many features of its society and political system can be described without any reference to Confucianism, and some would have the master writhing in his tomb. Beside Confucianism, you can discern elements of Leninism, capitalism, Taoism, western consumer society, socialism, the Chinese imperial tradition of legalism - and more.

It's precisely the mix that defines the Chinese model, which is anyway not yet fully formed. For China is still a developing country, in every sense of the word. Only when it is more developed will we know exactly what the Chinese model is. Meanwhile, if we must seek a single label for China today, then a better candidate than Confucianism would be Confectionism. The secret is in the confection...It follows that it's a great mistake to conceive of a political and intellectual conversation with China as a ‘dialogue between civilizations’. In this conception, we westerners put on the table what we call ‘western values’, the Chinese put on the table what they call ‘Chinese values’, and then we see which pieces match and which don't.

Stuff and nonsense. There is no such thing as a pure, unadulterated, separate western civilization or Chinese civilization. We have all been mixing up for centuries, especially over the last two. Cultural purity is an oxymoron. Yes, Confucianism is more important than Catholicism in China, and Catholicism is more important than Confucianism in California; but there's more of the west in the east and more of the east in the west than most people imagine. Moreover, even 2,500 years ago, when China and Europe really were worlds apart, Confucius was addressing some of the same issues as Plato and Sophocles, because these issues are universal.

So the interesting way for westerners to engage with Confucianism - in a conversation that China's official Confucius institutes would do well to support - is quite different. This way starts from a simple proposition: here was a great thinker, who still has things to teach us today. Rich schools of scholastic interpretation over more than two millennia not only reinterpreted Confucius for different times; they also added thoughts of their own. We should read him, and them, as we read Plato, Jesus, Buddha or Darwin, and all their interpreters. This is not a dialogue between civilizations but a dialogue inside civilization. Human civilization, that is, the thing that makes us better than beasts.

For this conversation, most of us must depend on translators. Here in Beijing, I have been re-reading Simon Leys' translation of the Annalects of Confucius, with its notes full of vigorous cross-reference to western writers. With Leys's help, I find the Annalects infinitely more accessible, enjoyable and rewarding than the central text of another cultural tradition with which we Europeans must engage: the Qur'an. Of course, some passages are obscure or anachronistic, while others - stressing the rule of men rather than the rule of law, for example - are in stark contrast to contemporary liberalism. But many of the sayings attributed to Confucius breathe a remarkably fresh secular humanism.

I prefer his cautious formulation of the golden rule of reciprocity - ‘what you do not wish for yourself, do not impose upon others’ - to the Christian one. What should government do? ‘Make the local people happy and attract migrants from afar.’ How should we best serve our political leader? ‘Tell him the truth, even if it offends him.’ Best of all: ‘One may rob an army of its commander-in-chief; one cannot deprive the humblest man of his free will.

If these are familiar thoughts in an unfamiliar place, there are also very distinctive emphases, such as that on a kind of extended family responsibility to generations both past and to come. Not such a bad idea, at a time when we are ravaging the planet that our grandparents left us. Earlier this year, one of Britain's education ministers reaped some mild satire for suggesting that English schoolchildren could benefit from studying Confucius. But why not? Couldn't we all? We would not merely learn something about the Chinese. We might even learn something about ourselves.

Confucian Schools

A number of Confucian schools have opened up in recent years. The head of school in Shanghai told Reuters, ”Parents send their children here mostly because they are keen on Chinese culture. Modern teaching using traditional Chinese methods failed because the schools abandoned the ancient approach to education, which asked students to read, read and read.”

Students spend much of their time reciting Confucian classic texts, with children as young as three memorizing passages of The Analects. The father of a 11-year-old at a Confucian school told the Washington Post, “I don’t want my son to be like all those poor kids who have to take exams all the time. My son is more polite after attending this school, and I don’t have to push him to study.”

Describing a Confucian school outside Shanghai, Mark Magnier wrote in the Los Angeles Times, “At the Chrysanthemum Study school...primary school children sit cross-legged at traditional foot-high desks, brush and inkstand at the ready. Their teacher, dressed in a Han dynasty robe with long hanging sleeves, instructs them in Confucian precepts. Respect your parents. Eschew bad habits. Show deference.”

At some universities student are required to take morality and respect for parent classes. For homework students have been asked to wash their parents feet. One student who was asked to do this told the Los Angeles Times, “ It think it’s a bit outdated. Parents can go to the foot massage salons themselves if they really want. They don’t need us to do it.”

Camp Confucius

The Analects of Confucius was the focus of a student activity camp being held in Beijing, Yunnan and Guangdong provinces in the summer of 2010. The Wang Caigui Classic Reading Guide Center recruited 1,000 college students for the one-month reading and calligraphy course. The students paid 660 yuan ($97) for the experience, which was setin the peaceful and isolated environs of city suburbs. [Source: Pan Yan Global Times, May 26, 2010]

Over one-month students read the classics for seven hours every day, plus spent two hours practicing calligraphy. Teachers hoped that through extended reading of The Analects the students would discover how to apply their own meaning to the text, and see how it relates to their individual life experiences. Through being immersed in the free reading environment, it was hoped the students will realize the enviable skill of being able to recite parts of the classic off by heart, and even gain spiritual enlightenment. Natural History magazine

“The Analects used to be a must read book for Chinese people. But nowadays, few people, especially young people can read classical Chinese writing without much difficulty. Through this activity, we hope that young Chinese can get access to Chinese classics and improve their language ability,’ said Zhou Yuxin, the director of the center. “ [Ibid]

Xiao Xiaojun, a student at Tsinghua University in Beijing who signed up said, ‘I used to read The Analects to pass exams...The free reading gave me a new view on the classic. The deepest impression I got was how fascinating Chinese language was...A simple sentence can have a deep meaning about life and society. A month of reading didn't instantly develop a taste for literature, but the activity for me was just the beginning. I will try to read more Chinese classics in the future.” [Ibid]

Yu Dan and Feel Good Confucianism

Confucianism has been embraced as an answer to the spiritual vacuum that exists in China today. Scholar Kang Xiaoguang, a major advocate of Confucian education, told Newsweek, “Chinese society today is at its worst ever. The problem is that there are no moral standards to regulate how people treat each other, their business partners, their friends and family. Relationships are ambiguous and we have no way of judging what makes for a happy life.” Kang wants Confucian education to be mandatory at all schools.

Yu Dan, a media-savvy female professor at Beijing Normal University, helped popularize Confucius with a popular series of television lectures and a book, Insights of the Analects, that packaged Confucianism in an easy-to-digest, uplifting format but, according to some religious scholars, simplifiesConfucianism into a feel-good, fast-food morality and philosophy. More than four million copies of the book—twice as many as the latest Harry Potter book— were sold in a few months and Yu was in high demand on the lecture circuit.

In her book Yu wrote: “The essence of Analects is to tell us how to live a happy life that our souls crave for. Don’t assume we shouldn’t look up to it...it is simply about orienting yourself in modern life.” Daniel Bell, a professor of political philosophy at Qinghai University told the Los Angeles Times. “Not only is this simplifying Confucius, it is a very misleading interpretation. Confucius is about social and political commitment. She provides a feel-good apolitical version that goes against the main message of The Analects.”

Professor Yu Dan has done a book tour in London, where the English translation of her phenomenally-successful discourse on Confucian ideas was launched with due fanfare.

Yu Dan says things like, ‘Now that everyone is busy, it seems that the things that actually make people happy are drifting further away from us. A child should have a dream. This is all related to what Confucius says in ethics.]

Sentiments was the top selling book in the summer of 2008. The work starts with a discussion of filial relationships in present-day society. Confucius said he wanted the elderly to have peace, for friends to trust him and the young to remember him fondly. Everything in a person's life is based on their relationship with these three kinds of people, Yu writes.

See Bestselling books

Yu’s book is based on a series of lectures she presented on CCTV's Lecture Room. An estimated 6 million pirated copies have been sold

Yu admits her book and lecture series are for the masses. ‘And I don't have the right to tell people what to do.’ Therefore,rather than taking only a political view, she says, she tries relating Confucian thoughts to one's everyday life experiences and explores how individuals might develop and work toward a more spiritually-inclined life, informed by wisdom. [Source: Chitralekha Basu, China Daily, June 9, 2009]

She began her study of Confucianism at the age 6, assisted by her father, a scholar of literature and philosophy. She said ‘When I was about 10, I loved lines like 'shi bu ke yi bu hong yi, ren zhong er dao yuan' (an educated gentleman cannot but be resolute and broad-minded for he has taken up a heavy responsibility and a long course)... When I reached 30, I was taken by the expression, 'ren zhe bu you, zhi zhe bu huo, yong zhe bu ju' (the wise are not puzzled, the benevolent are not worried, the brave are not afraid). It told me to pay attention to my soul...When I reached 40 I had children as well as parents to look after, and 'lao zhe an zhi, peng you xin zhi, shao zhe huai zhi' (The elderly are comforted by him [the ideal person], friends trust him, juniors get cared for) appealed to me.” [Ibid]

She does not feel that interpreting Confucius for the masses is a burden or an enormous responsibility. Nor does the fact that she is a huge commercial success - when Confucianism is essentially concerned with the virtues of non-material wealth - bother her. ‘I believe in that which is gained beyond commercial success. I haven't changed a lot in the last three years. I still wear the skirt I bought two years ago, as it feels comfortable. After one has reached one's 40s, I don't think one's values change easily.” [Ibid]

Criticism of Yu Dan and Confucius for the Masses

Several academics from Peking and Tsinghua universities are highly critical of Yu's work, seeing it as no more than a watered-down, feel-good, apolitical version of The Analects. Some have dismissed her book as Chicken Soup for the Soul. Professor Daniel Bell of Tsinghua University has dedicated an entire chapter of his book, China's New Confucianism, (Princeton University Press), to Yu's work. He says, ‘She doesn't just dumb down but also depoliticizes, making use of Confucian language to promote Taoism.’ He also alleges that Yu's depoliticized version of Confucius falls in line with the government's policies. ‘At the end of the day, Yu's interpretation supports the status quo, which may not be the Confucian view,’ says Bell. ‘If Yu downplays social responsibility and political commitment she might not be committed to Confucian thought.’ [Source: Chitralekha Basu, China Daily, June 9, 2009]

“But the depoliticizing was deliberate,’ protests Yu. ‘If we try to understand Confucius in terms of politics, we cannot learn much, because back in Confucius's time the foundations of society lay in feudal ethics whereas contemporary society is built on modern rules. There's no comparison between the two. I feel only the part of Confucius that allows us to talk to different cultures in a harmonious way is relevant to contemporary society.” [Ibid]

As for the charge of supporting the status quo, she says, ‘I think we should understand and accept a society before trying to change it.’ Referring with admiration to the incident of Confucius bringing along three students from the southern provinces to deliberate on politics with the emperor, Yu suggests she can appreciate dissent. ‘Only a person who understands humanity, accepts reality, has a sense of mission and can take responsibility for his fellows and his country would know how to bring about change.” [Ibid]

Chow Yun-fat Plays Confucius

In 2010 a state-backed film about Confucius was released with Chow Yun-Fat, better known as a tough guy in Hong Kong gangster movies, playing the great master. Chow is best known for his role in the Oscar-winning Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, but he made his name in high-octane Hong Kong gangster fare such asHard Boiled and A Better Tomorrow. [Source: The Guardian]

The film was directed is Hu Mei, one of the best known female directors of China's vaunted fifth generation. Her a conductor for an army orchestra, was imprisoned by the Red Guards, while her grandfather died in custody.

The film is said to have had a budget of 150m yuan (£16m). Shot in Hebei province and at Hengdian studios in Zhejiang, it was is one of a number of films put together to celebrate 60 years of communist rule.

Image Sources: 1) Taiwan Confucian Temple website; 2) Seoul Searching website; 3) Temple, Columbia University ; 4) Inside temple, Great Learning com ; 5) Confucian school. Telegraph; YouTube

Text Sources: New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Times of London, National Geographic, The New Yorker, Time, Newsweek, Reuters, AP, Lonely Planet Guides, Compton’s Encyclopedia and various books and other publications.

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© 2008 Jeffrey Hays

Last updated February 2011