'We respect Confucius, but we do not try to court favour of him'

This is a statement made by Chen Han, one of the writers for the Hu Mei's 2009 version of , in respond to the criticism of their new movie (ready to be released in Jan 2010) mainly from the posterity of Confucius (the Kong's family). (see here for the original article publish on Chen Han's blog, in Chinese)

I'm actually very excited to see this article -- I have this crazy and unorganized thoughts about how this kind of interpretation of Confucius and Confucianism and its 'sacredness' (very different from what I saw in the 1940s version) demonstrate the shift of 'power' of culture interpretation. It's like, 'hey dude, Confucius is cool, but he is not necessary who YOU think who he is!' The reasons why Confucius is a sage to us maybe be different from yours, but that does not we do not respect him.

Highlight from the discourse about the 'sagehood' of Confucius in the film by Chen Han:

• 'We try to emphasize the humanity of Confucius in the film and avoid too much emphasis on his sageness. Confucius' greatness is based on his human character and contribution to the culture. He is not perfect as a divine being. As our director and Chow Yunfat had came to this shared understanding: no halo' (电影中的孔子尽力去圣而还原为人，他之所以伟大，在其人格和文化上的成就，他不是完美得像神一样毫无瑕疵的。正如导演和周润发公开表示过的共识：不要光环)
• 'Jesus and Skahyamuni had all been tempted in the wilderness. They overcame the temptation, which at the same time reinforced/ justified their divine nature. Therefore,by illustrating how Nanzi seduces Confucius in the film, we are actually emphasizing the classical chapter that highlights Confucius's sagehood'.(耶稣、释迦牟尼都在荒野上受到了诱惑，他们超越了，所以更显其神性、佛性。其实，写南子诱惑孔子，才是写伟人的经典一章，才更显其为圣者也)

What are the things that the posterity of Confucius upset about in the film (or, to be specific, in the trailer!)?

1. Since Confucius is historically recognized as the sage for Chinese people....your company should stick with the fact as stated in history and protect the image of Confucius as sage, and should not destory the image of Confcuis as 'the teachers for thousands of generations' for commercial purpose'　(一、孔子作为中华民族的圣人地位，是历史公认的。他的事迹和形象，是千百年来历史记载和流传下来的，不容篡改和歪曲。贵方拍摄《孔子》电影，应当尊重历史，尊重史实，维护孔子圣人的形象，不应只顾及商业利益而做出有损于孔子“万世师表”形象的行为。)
2. Based on the 45-second trail, we suggest the following changes in the film: a) to cut all the dialogue that does not reflect the 'factual' historical background of Confucius. Original quotes and dialogue of Confucius from historical documents and the Analects should be used. (.删除“给个话儿”等明显不符合历史背景和孔子本人形象的话语。尽量采用史书和《论语》中所记载的孔子原话); b) to delete all the conversation between Nanzi and Confucius that are disgraceful, lack of historical support, and destructive to the image of Confucius as the sage (删减孔子与南子的暧昧对白等明显缺乏史实依据并严重有损于孔子圣人形象的内容); c) to delete excessive war and fighting sences that Confucius involved in the filim, instead, emphasize more on Confucius' demeanor as sage and his teaching about kindness and love. (削减片中“孔子”过多的武戏和战争戏，重点突出孔子的仁爱精神与圣人风范
3. Your company should respond to our request immediately and positively, and halt all other activities that will destroy Confucius' image. Otherwise, we will manipulate all possible legal means to protect the image of Confucius as the sage. (贵方应当对我们提出的改动要求立即做出积极处理，并立即停止其它一切有损于孔子形象的举动。否则，我们将在必要的时候不排除诉诸法律手段，以维护孔子“至圣先师”、“万世师表”的圣人形象)

Souces: http://www.xwhb.com/news/system/2009/12/11/010079287_01.shtm

Confucius protrayed in Chinese Movies

In 2009, one of the most 'eye-catching' events that highlight the revival of Confucianism could be the release of the movie 'Confucius'. The Hong Kong actor Chow Yunfat plays the role of Confucius. I am still looking forward to the releasing of this film in the US, so that I'll have the chance to see it. ( <The Confucius>, directed by Hu Mei)

In September, I went back to Hong Kong to see a showing of another movie about Confucius directed by Fei Mu, one of the leading film directors of China before 1949. The film was lost for decades and had recently been restored by the Hong Kong Film Archive.

I am not a film aesthetic person nor a film critic. However, what interested me are the socio-historical context and how it related to the cultural and social symbolic meanings of these two films. I am all ready for serious work for comparison, but I can only do that when I have the chance to see the 2009 version of 'Confucius'.

To look at the historical context, 1938-40 when Fei Mu's version was being made and released, China was still in the middle of WWII with Japan. The message of yearning ( for peace; for a 'savior' for the nation; for 'restoration' of the 'values') and condemning (war; traitors; the fall of morality) were not subtle at all in the movie. And it made so much sense once you look at it together with the historical context.

2009 -- China is 'rising' to be one of the largest economic powers in the world. There is no war (at least, not for the Chinese). Yet, Do they still need a 'savior' to salvage their declining morality? if so, is Confucius the person to do so? I doubt it. Not that I disagree that the Confucius is lack of the cultural capital to do so (and his possibility being transformed into the ultimate moral symbols for the nation by those who are able to). I just don't see that the current regime (who also control the film industry, btw), will allow Confucius to be transformed as such role in a movie. And by 'such role', I mean, a sacred sage for the nation.

The sacredness of Confucius in Fei Mu's version can be found at the very beginning of the film -- in which the birth of Confucius was being narrated together with the birth of Jesus and Buddha. Throughout the film, Confucius always dominated in the 'sacred' places among his students (on top of the hill; on top of teaching altar etc) and the kind of suffering they experienced together after Confucius decided to travel around and preach his teachings is (to me, at least) highly resembled the kind of master-disciple sufferings that we read in the bible story. A normal citizen was being tortured and killed, and he cried out 'Oh Heaven*! Please send a sage to save us the people!'. And this sacred role of the Confucius is further reinforced towards the end of the film, with a song dedicated to Confucius that says 'Confucius, Confucius, the Great Confucius! your teachings will be passed on for thousands of generations, and it will be around in this world'.

Portraying the sacred does not make Confucius 'other-worldly', after all, he is still human. In fact, in Fei Mu's version, the story of Confucius continue -- he failed his preaching work, returned home, and suffered the loneliness of aging (when most of is disciples left and only his grandson had stayed with him). He did not got raised up to the Heaven by the supernatural power and left this world, he stayed here and suffered just like all of us. And that probably added the sacredness to the morality that he preached, as he had stood firm to it with his life.

I wonder how the same story will be told in the 2009 version. Or, would it be a 'same' story at all. Can these sacredness still exist? I seriously doubt it. The meaning of 'being religious' had been transformed drastically since 1949 in China. The inferiority of being religious is not just condemned by the elitist intellectuals of the Chinese Enlightenment era that highly influenced by secularism, but it is administratively challenged under the atheistic regime. Marxist scholars, including the recently deceased and former chairperson of the Institute of World Religions in the Chinese Social Science Academy Ren Jiyu, had identified that Confucianism is a religion. Therefore it is as problematic as the other religions and required strong administrative order (if not complete destruction, like what happened during the cultural revolution) to control it. As Julia Ching states, 'Marxist scholars have shown sensitivity for discerning religious directions and sentiments in tradtional philsophical teachings. Presumably, this effort is motivated by the insistence on atheistic humanism, accompanied as this is by the need t osearch out religious trends if only to manipulate or oppose them' (Ching 1990: 126).

Since sacredness easily give people (especial social scientists like US!) the impression of 'religious' (and does constitute the quality of being religious, sociologically speaking), it is alarming to have too much of it. So what kind of 'Confucius' they will portray in the movie? or to put it in a profane way, will Confucius have an affair with Nanzi in the movie? I can't wait to see!!

More reviews of the 2009 Confucius:

http://twitchfilm.net/news/2009/12/new-trailer-for-confucius-hits-all-the-right-notes.php

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YgiM1ubNCYc -- Trailer

Reference:

Ching, Julia. 1990. Probing China's Soul: Religion, Politics, and Protest in the People's Republic. San Francisco: Harper & Row.