(Question about East and West) Chen Xiaoxia: Confucian Temple and Confucianism have an influence on the geometry of Eastern and Western civilizations?
China News Service, Beijing, September 26th, title: Confucian Temple and Confucianism, influence the geometry of Eastern and Western civilizations?
Author Chen Xiaoxia, Deputy Dean and Researcher of the Confucius Institute at Nishan World Confucian Center
Confucius was a great thinker and educator in China, and the founder of Confucianism. He was honored as the sage of Confucius, the most saintly teacher, and the teacher of all ages by the later world.
The Confucian temples all over the world are ceremonial buildings dedicated to Confucius. The inherited Confucianism has had a profound impact on the host country.
Data map: A student in an elementary school passes by a Confucius sculpture on the campus.
Photo by Wang Dongming
Chinese Confucian Temple and its inherited Confucianism
The world's first Confucian Temple was born in Qufuque, the hometown of Confucius.
According to the "Records of the Confucius Family", "the disciples of the former residence lived in the temple, and later generations stored Confucius' clothes, crowns, piano, and car books." After Confucius died, his former residence was changed to a sacrificial temple.
In October of the 12th year of Emperor Gaozu of the Han Dynasty (195 BC), Liu Bang made a special trip to the Confucius Temple to sacrifice to Confucius, the first emperor to offer sacrifices to Confucius.
Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty deposed a hundred schools and respected Confucianism. Confucianism became the guiding ideology of the country, and Confucius was enshrined in a national school.
Since then, various dynasties have continued to expand Confucian temples. By the time of the Qing Dynasty, there were more than 1,740 Confucian temples at all levels in China, including Guozijian, Fuxue, State, County, Department, and Township Schools, which became the most widely distributed national rituals. temple.
The architectural form of the Confucian Temple permeates and embodies the Confucian thoughts such as the "ritual system", "the Golden Mean", "Great Harmony", and "Harmony between Man and Nature".
Confucius believes that society is balanced in a certain hierarchical order, and society is harmonious and orderly, and etiquette systems should be used to restrain people's behavior.
In the architectural form of the Confucian Temple, the main building is commensurate with the outbuildings, the monuments to dismount the horses on both sides of the temple, the strict ranking of the worshippers, a large number of ritual and sacrificial vessels, and the different specifications of the Dacheng Hall building are fully reflected. The "ritual system" thought; the symmetry between the Depei Tiandifang and Daoguan Gujinfang, the symmetry of Limen and Yilu, etc., fully embodies "the right way in the world, the law of the mediocre in the world", impartiality and mediocrity The not easy doctrine of the mean and the idea of "university under heaven".
Confucianism advocates "the unity of nature and man" and pursues the harmonious unity of "man-architecture-natural environment". The Confucian Temple appropriately uses traditional courtyard combinations and environmental rendering techniques to become an important carrier for expressing philosophy and enlightening wisdom, and puts people in the body. In the Confucian Temple, touch the scene and give birth to emotions, and feel the ideological realm of the "sage".
Most Confucian Temples in China are built in the city, generally located in the southeast, east or northeast corner of the city, and most Confucian temples are located on the east side of the south gate or the north side of the east gate.
The layout has four forms: front temple and back study style, left temple and right study style, right temple and left study style and temple study separation style.
Generally, the front courtyard of Dacheng Gate, the courtyard of Dacheng Hall, and Chongsheng Temple enter the courtyard.
The Confucian Temple where Confucius was enshrined was included in the national ceremonial ceremonies, and the principal and accompanying figures were unified across the country.
Data map: Coming-of-age ceremony held in Nanjing Confucius Temple.
Photo by Gu Changwang, China News Agency Photo source: CNSPHOTO
Confucian Temples in Asian Countries and Confucianism Inherited
Since the Han Dynasty, the Confucian Temple went abroad, and its spread was mainly in the Korean Peninsula and Vietnam.
On the Korean peninsula, in June of the second year of the Kobayashi Beastmaster (372), “established Taixue to teach children”, imitating the establishment of Taixue, the highest school of temple and learning in China. In 1398, the Confucian Temple (Sungkyunkwan) was established in Seoul, and King Shengdeok in Silla In the sixteenth year (717), the image of Confucius and his disciples was placed in Taixue, and Confucian thought was introduced to the Korean Peninsula and gradually became the orthodox thought of feudal society.
According to statistics, there are 362 ritual Confucian temples in the history of the Korean Peninsula.
A few Confucius Temples in North Korea were built inside the city, and most were built on the hillside outside the city.
The Confucian Temple of the Vietnamese School is generally built inside the city, and some are also built outside the city.
According to Vietnam’s "Da Yue Shi Ji Quan Shu" Volume 3, in the second year of Li Chao Shenwu (1070), he built the Confucian Temple, sculpted Confucius, Zhou Gong and four statues, painted seventy-two sages, and enjoyed worship at four o'clock. The first Confucian Temple after independence.
In 1076, the emperor of the Li Dynasty built the Imperial College and Confucian Temple in Hanoi to worship Confucius.
After the import of Confucian Temples, it was quickly spread across the country. According to statistics, there were more than 160 Confucian Temples in Vietnam's history.
During the Sui and Tang Dynasties, the Confucian Temple spread to Japan.
During the Western and Eastern Han dynasties, the Confucian classic "The Analects of Confucius" was spread to Japan with far-reaching influence.
Japan began offering sacrifices to Confucius in the first year of Dabao (701) and included the sacrifice of Confucius in the national ceremonial ceremonies, imitating the ritual system of the Tang Dynasty, and making sacrifices in the name of the emperor.
During the Edo period, the Tokugawa shogunate regarded Confucianism as the holy religion, and Confucius temples were widely established in the school. According to statistics, there were more than 100 Confucius temples in Japanese history.
Under the strong advocacy of the rulers, Japan has formed a social atmosphere in which everyone learns Confucianism.
Japanese "Ling Ji Jie" Volume 15 records that "Xue Ling" clearly stipulates that "Fan University and Chinese Studies are laid down in the first sage Kong Xuanfu on the second month of spring and autumn every year."
Some of the Confucius Temples of the Japanese Academy of Sciences were built inside the city, but more were built outside the city.
From the beginning of the 15th century, with Zheng He’s several voyages to the West and China’s liberalization of sea bans, people from the south went to Southeast Asia to earn a living. Confucius Temples and other buildings began to spread to more Southeast Asian countries. Has a positive impact.
In 1899, the Indonesian Chinese worshipped Confucius in a Chinese school. The Indonesian Confucian Church set up more than 100 branches across the country and built more than 100 buildings dedicated to Confucius.
In 1819, Penang, Malaysia, established the Malacca Sambao Temple College. Since then, there have been Confucian church organizations in almost all major cities, including the Confucian Temple and other buildings dedicated to Confucius.
Singapore established the Shideli Confucian Church in 1914 to promote and revitalize the Confucian education and moral culture, support the peace of the nations, and support the various academic and charitable deeds of Gezhi.
Data map: Exhibition in the Confucius Institute.
Photo by China News Agency reporter Han Haidan
The Confucian Temples in European and American Countries and the Confucianism Disseminated
The Confucian Temple spread to European and American countries in the 16th century.
The Italian missionary Matteo Ricci (1552-1610) first introduced Chinese thought and Confucian culture to Europe.
The encyclopedia leader Holbach (1723-1789) praised Confucius’ political views of governing the country by virtue, the Physiocrats leader Quesnay (1694-1774) praised the Confucian patriarchal views, and the Enlightenment thinker Voltaire (1694-1778) believed China’s politics, philosophy, ethics, and science are perfect. “It’s really unfortunate that we can’t be like the Chinese.” He advocated that France should also use Confucianism to govern the country.
In the 19th century, British missionary Legge spent many years in China. He spent more than 20 years translating the Four Books, Zhouyi, Shangshu, The Book of Songs, the Book of Rites, and Zuo Zhuan into English.
He believes that "Confucius is the preserver of ancient writings and deeds, the annotator and interpreter of Chinese golden age maxims...representing the most beautiful ideals of mankind with the best and the most lofty status."
Britain built the first and only Confucian Temple in Europe by the Duke of Kent.
In the early 1990s, Germany erected a bronze statue of Confucius in a Chinatown near Cologne.
At the end of the 19th century, the German missionary Hua Zhian believed that some ethical concepts in Confucianism can be cohered with "the doctrine of Jesus", so he combined the ethical concepts of benevolence, righteousness, courtesy, wisdom, and faith with Christianity to preach .
Beginning in the 19th century, the Confucian Temple spread to the United States.
Li Jiabai, an American missionary who came to China in 1883, praised Confucianism as the foundation of the people.
In 1965, the Confucius Temple was built in Sacramento, the capital of California. Since the 1970s, statues of Confucius have been erected in New York, Los Angeles, Honolulu and other places. In 1982, San Francisco initiated Confucius birthday celebrations for the first time. Since then, grand Confucius commemorations have been held every year on Confucius’s birthday. The ceremony attracted many Chinese and American dignitaries to participate.
The German missionary Wei Lixian (1873-1930) compared Confucian thought with Western thought and believed that Confucian thought has many advantages. He gave the title "Confucianism can bring great harmony" at the opening lecture of Confucianism University. The speech said that "every so-called economics and social doctrines are inferior to Confucianism. The Western countries only know about patriotism, there is no family under the country, and the world above the country is lacking. Confucianism cannot make up for it." It can lead to Datong, because it has no view of the masters and slaves of various religions, but it can adapt to the time and adapt to changes in the environment, and the teachings are growing day by day." American missionary Wei Sanwei wrote in "China General Theory" : "Compared with the precepts of Greek and Roman philosophers, Confucius's writings have a good general purpose. When applied to the society in which it is located and its superior practical properties, it exceeds that of Western philosophers."
The "Declaration of Human Rights and Citizenship" enacted by France at that time also cited Confucius’ aphorism as the moral limit of freedom: “Freedom belongs to all people’s right to do everything that does not harm the rights of others. Its principles are nature, its rules are justice, and its The guarantee is the law, and its moral limit lies in the following maxim: Do not do to others what you do not want it to."
According to Yang Huanying’s book "The Spread and Influence of Confucian Thoughts Abroad", in 1945, US Secretary of State Stephen Steinius said in a radio broadcast: "To deal with the future world peace should be the seal of the last time. The only way is to promote mankind. Morality is to inculcate the moral spirit of benevolent people, but morality must target Chinese Confucian morality." Not only have many countries been deeply influenced by Confucianism in history, many contemporary countries have also integrated the Confucian civilization spirit into their own national development.
As an important carrier for the spread of Confucianism, the Confucian Temple has had a positive and far-reaching influence on the development of civilizations in some countries in East Asia and Southeast Asia and Western thinkers.
Confucianism is not only an important part of Chinese traditional culture, but also a treasure of world culture.
In 1988, many Nobel Prize winners gathered in Paris, France. Some scholars pointed out that for human beings to survive in the 21st century, they must look back at 2,500 years and seek wisdom from Confucius.
The wisdom that Confucius left to future generations will help solve various problems facing human society today. It belongs not only to China, but also to all mankind.
(over)
About the Author:
Chen Xiaoxia is currently the deputy dean and researcher of the Confucius Institute at Nishan World Confucianism Center, and is a distinguished professor of many universities.
He has long been committed to research on history and culture, the development history of Confucianism, the development of cultural industries, and youth education. He is especially good at the innovative development of traditional culture such as Confucianism.