Asia Times reports the debate of constructing a Chinese Cultural Symbolic City in Confucius' hometown in Shangdong during the two-week section of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC). Here's a full story reported in the Asia Times.
This is an good example to illustrate that why this who revival of Confucianism movement is a political project. As the editor indicates, local tourism is an important sources of income for many local governments. Obviously, the Qufu Temple of Confucius is not 'big' enough for the Shangdong government, they want it even bigger.
Wu's question about the representation of Confucianism as the 'Chinese culture' is valid. I see that part of this revival is about reclaiming traditions, but at the same time, these traditions are reinvented in order to gain legitimacy. This sounds very much like the nation-building project in Southeast Asia during the postcolonial period, when Islamic culture/identity were constructed as the core component of the new national identity and everything other than that became marginalized.
However, the context in China is different and that even the government have the same intention, it might not be successful. After all, it is not a post-colonial construction in China. Other intense social forces such as class and rural-urban inequality, internal migration, ethnic segregationist etc. which make this kind of 'cultural/national identity construction project' almost impossible to succeed.
Of course, this is just telling the story from one perspective. We don't know much about the Han Chinese, how they see these kind of 'Chinese culture' and whether they really see that a sources of unification. We only hear the politicians and scholars talk, but not the people who are in those movement, who are sending their kids to learn the Confucians classics etc. Thus, it is still early to have any conclusion.
This is an good example to illustrate that why this who revival of Confucianism movement is a political project. As the editor indicates, local tourism is an important sources of income for many local governments. Obviously, the Qufu Temple of Confucius is not 'big' enough for the Shangdong government, they want it even bigger.
Wu's question about the representation of Confucianism as the 'Chinese culture' is valid. I see that part of this revival is about reclaiming traditions, but at the same time, these traditions are reinvented in order to gain legitimacy. This sounds very much like the nation-building project in Southeast Asia during the postcolonial period, when Islamic culture/identity were constructed as the core component of the new national identity and everything other than that became marginalized.
However, the context in China is different and that even the government have the same intention, it might not be successful. After all, it is not a post-colonial construction in China. Other intense social forces such as class and rural-urban inequality, internal migration, ethnic segregationist etc. which make this kind of 'cultural/national identity construction project' almost impossible to succeed.
Of course, this is just telling the story from one perspective. We don't know much about the Han Chinese, how they see these kind of 'Chinese culture' and whether they really see that a sources of unification. We only hear the politicians and scholars talk, but not the people who are in those movement, who are sending their kids to learn the Confucians classics etc. Thus, it is still early to have any conclusion.
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