home of the ancient sage

1、<p>　　Home of the Ancient Sage</p><p>　　THE hinterland city of Qufu insouthwestern Shandong Prov-ince has made its name as anhonored historical and culturalresort in China, not least for being thebirthp

2、lace of Confucius. </p><p>　　Confucianism, the ethical and philo-sophical system Confucius founded, is thedefining force of all aspects of Chinesesociety, life and culture. Its core value ishumanity, which c

3、an be interpreted aspeace among persons and nations. Otheressential qualities that make a respectableperson include responsibility, royalty, fil-ial piety and credibility. In a hierarchicalsociety where the powerful and

4、rich hadabsolute say, Confucius admonished of-ficials to be honest and lenient, and rulethrough moral </p><p>　　As Chinese reverence for the greatthinker and educator was revived afterthe vandalic "cult

5、ural revolution" (1966-1976), Qufu Iaunched a celebration ofConfucius' birthday in 1984 (around Sep-tember 28 on the Gregorian calendar),and later developed it into what is nowknown as the Qufu International Con

6、-fucius Cultural Festival. </p><p>　　The centerpiece of the annual eventis an elaborate memorial ceremony per-formed in traditional robes and followingcenturies-old rituals. Sideline activitiesencompass tour

7、s of sites relating to Con-fucius, promotion of the Confucius fam-ily dishes and introduction to the Confu-cian culture pervasive in the region, theroot of Chinese ethics and values. </p><p>　　Confucius Resi

8、dence,Temple and Cemetery </p><p>　　The real name of Confucius, or Kongziin Chinese, is Kong Qiu. In ancient timesZi was the honorific for teachers or any-one knowledgeable. Born in 551 B.C.,Confucius spent

9、much of his life teachingand spreading his ideas among the popu-lace. It is said he had 3,000 students and72 of them became prominent scholarsthemselves. </p><p>　　In his youth, this man of noble birthshowed

10、 a strong interest in a diversity ofsubjects, and soon built a reputation forhis accomplishments in several realms.But his academic preeminence didn'tland him any decent position in thepolitical institutions of the t

11、ime. For 14years he wandered the small kingdoms ofChina with his followers, trying to sell hisphilosophy of governance to their rulers. </p><p>　　Confucius was also a prolific editorand writer. He mined the

12、records of pre-vious dynasties and compiled the FiveClassics:The Book of Songs, The Book ofHistory, The Book of Changes, The Bookof Rites, and The Spring and AutumnAnnals. The canon of Confucian thinkingis the Analects o

13、f Confucius, a collec-tion of aphorisms of this great mentorand his disciples. These books round upConfucian principles on ethics, politicsand education, and shaped the way Chi-nese thought and behaved in the post-Confu&

14、lt;/p><p>　　In the centuries after his death thework of Confucius gradually won therecognition of the ruling class he neverconsorted with in his lifetime..In the see-ond century, Confucianism was deemedan adept

15、 tool to enhance the centralizedregime and was elevated to the status ofthe orthodox ideology of the country. Toentrench its position, all other schools ofthinking were brutally suppressed. Confu-cianism therefore rose t

16、o unrivalled domi-nance in feudal China, and on its founderwas conferred the title</p><p>　　Throughout history, memorials toConfucius have been centered on the"Three Kongs," namely the family man-s

17、ion, temple and cemetery of the greatphilosopher, all on the UNESCO worldheritage list. </p><p>　　The residence of the Kong familyin Qufu is a sprawling compound of16o,ooo square meters, the largest homein C

18、hina and eclipsed only by the palacesfor the royal families of the Ming andQing dynasties. The original building wasthe largess of Han Emperor Liu Shi (75-33 B.C.) to Confucius' posterity, but whatstands on the site

19、today was built mostlyduring the Ming and Qing dynasties. Thestructure consists of 152 buildings ofvaried styles and functions, and housesa wealth of cultural relics, includin</p><p>　　The Confucius temple i

20、n the vicin-ity is the venue for the annual birthdayceremony. The second year after Con-fucius' death his disciples transformedhis former residence into a memorialhall, which, with the sage's ascendance,was repea

21、tedly expanded in the followingyears, and is the prototype for thousandsof Confucius shrines inside and outsideChina. The existing buildings are mostlyfrom the Ming and Qing dynasties, andfollow the design of their imper

22、ial pal-aces. The Confucius temple in Qufu,the</p><p>　　The Confucius cemetery, one kilo-meter north of downtown Qufu, is theburial ground of the Kong family harldngback more than 2,500 years. After Con-fuci

23、us' death his admirers and apostlesmourned him in various ways. Some builthuts nearby to guard his tomb, and someplanted trees around. After Confucianismwas endorsed by the ruling elite of thelater regimes, descendan

24、ts of Confuciusbuilt more and more lavish mausoleums,and popping up all over the region weresteles and plaques bearing inscriptionsby</p><p>　　Studded with over 100,1000 tombsand their ornaments, the cemeter

25、y is ascholar's trove of valuable material, onburial rituals, politics, economics, culture,architecture, calligraphy and other artsfrom different periods in ancient China. </p><p>　　Grand National Ceremo

26、ny </p><p>　　Started more than 2,000 years ago,the ceremony to honor Confucius is aprolonged, formatted procedure com-posed of singing, dancing, recital andperformance. </p><p>　　Throughout hist

27、ory many emperorsand senior officials attended this cer-emony during their visits to Qufu, theholy land of Confucianism. Historicalfiles show that Han Emperor Liu Bang(256-195 B.C.) was the first monarch topreside over t

28、he observance and he pro-moted it to unprecedented stature. Afterhim 10 emperors followed suit, partici-pating in 19 sessions of the ceremony.Among them Qianlong bragged about hisunparalleled attendance record - eighttim

29、es. During the Ming and Qing dynas-ties the n</p><p>　　Lauded as the "grand ceremony ofthe nation," the pageant began a steadygrowth in length and dimensions, par-ticularly in the Tang Dynasty afte

30、r Con-fucius was given a lordship (739), andreached its zenith of elaboration in theQing Dynasty. It was usually the emperorwho poured over and decided on thespecifics of the ceremony, such as whatmusic would be played a

31、nd which ritualobjects presented. </p><p>　　W-hen the ceremony was restored in1984, it was conducted as a family affair,and not until 20 years later did it becomea government program. The live broad-cast by

32、CCTV got a warm response fromChinese communities worldwide. In2005 a global celebration was organized,with the traditional ceremony in Qufu asthe lynchpiu of the affair and lesser, cor-responding galas in several locatio

33、ns inChina and abroad. The next year the cer-emony was selected one of the first na-tional intangible cultural herita</p><p>　　Cuisine Fit for a Kong </p><p>　　While busy advocating approachesto

34、 building a better country and world,Confucius elaborated on such mundaneaffairs as dining. In the Analects he wasquoted as saying that the more refinedthe food is, the better. He never ate any-thing that was discolored,

35、 of bad odor,ill cooked or out of season. He even ob-jected to meat that was not cut properlyor what was served without the appropri-ate sauce. He also determined etiquette:no speaking while eating and other goodtable ma

36、nners, as well as no conve</p><p>　　Following his instructions his scionsestablished a family cuisine that placedequal emphasis on content and context,the culinary and the cultural. </p><p>　　In

37、 1055 Kong Zongyuan, the 46th-generation descendant of Confucius, hada title conferred upon him-Yansheng- gong (literally Duke for Perpetuating theSage), since inherited by heirs of latergenerations. This was among the

38、topeivil official designations awarded in feu-dal regimes. The Kongs were thereforedubbed the No.1 Family of China. Natu-rally they had extensive contact with themoguls and barons of the time, and oc-casionally received

39、the emperor at home.Their social milieu gave them the re-s</p><p>　　Traditionally the Kongs kept two teamsof chefs, one serving the family their dailymeals, and the other handling banquetsthrown for distingu