Since the fall of 1984, the Shangdong (northern part of China) government organizes the annual ceremony for Confucius’ birthday and a series of performing arts program under the name of ‘Journey of Confucius Birthplace’. In 1990, the program changed its name to ‘China Qufu International Confucius Cultural Festival’ and it was described as ‘an international tourism program that integrated the commemoration of the late philosopher, cultural exchanges, tourism, academic exchange, promotion of trade and economic development’. Over the years, the program expanded from one day to ten days. Ceremony for Confucius’ birthday, performing arts/cultural programs, trade shows (especially for ‘cultural’ products such as office stationeries, publications on the Classics and calligraphy) and academic conferences on Confucianism were included in the program. The politically meaning of this event had significantly shifted in 2004, when the Central government of PRC officially sponsored the event – commemoration of Confucius once again became the ‘state event’. In 2007, for the first time in history, the ceremony was co-organized by the Central government and the local government.
At the first glance, the involvement of the Central government it seems to be an attempt to establish some kind of political legitimacy by presenting itself as one chapter in a historical narrative of descent and authenticity. The party-state replaced the role of the emperor in this ancient ritual. However, the historical relations of the Communist Party with the imperial state and feudal system have been too antagonistic to make that argument plausible. While Confucianism was seen as the obstacle of China’s development in the earlier 20th century and the rotten ideology that meant to be destroyed, how can we understand this dramatic change of state attitude towards Confucius in contemporary era?
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