ForJamesP.Geiss(†)andHartandJoeGravesMichael

Formyteachers,PeterBennett,HermanMast,andEdwardCh’ien,

whoshowedmethepath,Thomas

Contents

Acknowledgments

1Kongzi,inSimaQian’sShijiandtheAnalects(MN)

2KongziandHisCritics(MN)

3Kongzi,theUncrownedKing(MN)

4TheCanonicalConfuciusfromHanthroughSong(TAW)

5TheSupremeSageandtheImperialCults:

RitualandDoctrine(TAW)

6TheCulticConfuciusintheImperialTempleand

AncestralShrine(TAW)

7AConfusionofConfuciuses:

InvokingKongziintheModernWorld(MN)

Epilogue(MN)

AmericanPerceptionsoftheChinese

Notes

Acknowledgments

Iwould like to thankRobertJosephLitz,NaomiNobleRichard,andWillisBarnstone—threesuperbwriters—fortheirhelpfulcommentsonthismanuscript.

—MICHAEL

I have benefitted greatly from the comments of my students andcolleagues at Hamilton College, Michael Nylan, and Naomi NobleRichard. I am grateful to Jeni and Richard Hung for their help inQufu.

—THOMAS

T

1

Kongzi,inSimaQian’sShijiandtheAnalects

HEDISCIPLEHADN’T SPOKENWITH THEMASTER FORALMOSTadecade.Thelasttimethey’dseenoneanother,Kongzi1(Confucius)wassendingZigongsouthtoserveasministerattheChucourt.

IntheearlyfifthcenturyBCE,theCentralStateswereachaosofcivilandinterstatewars.Ofthemorethanonehundredstatesandcity-statesthat once had submitted to the scion of the Zhou as overlord, amerefortyhadsurvived—eachvirtuallyindependentandallatwaroronthebrinkofwarwiththeirneighbors.Overthecourseoftheprevioustwoandahalfcenturies,thirty-sixrulershadbeenassassinatedandfifty-twodomainsbrutally conquered.Allianceswere formedonly tobebroken;renegotiated only to be violated. The courts of each state had becomeplaygrounds for would-be traitors. As the fortunes of powerfulhouseholds waxed or waned, factions moved quickly to betray actualand suspected enemies. To an aspiring statesman like Kongzi, suchturbulentconditionsrepresentedbothanopportunityandanightmare.ThediscipleZigong,nowinhisprime,haddistinguishedhimselfasa

diplomatforsometenyears;themasterhadnot.Inhiswanderingsfromstate to state in search of employment, the master was frequentlyreducedtobeggingforfoodandshelter.Severaltimesthemasterandhisdwindlingentouragehadconfrontedseriousdanger;oncehe’devenbeenclappedinjail.ItwasearlyspringwhenZigongmadethelongtrekfromChuinthe

south to Kongzi’s home in Lu , the state to which the master hadreturnedafteralltheyearsontheroad.Theseventy-three-year-oldmanwhofinallyhobbledtothedoorwasleaningheavilyonacane.Atfirstglance he bore little resemblance to the tall, commanding figure ofZigong’s memory. If ever there was an occasion for an affectionatereunion,thiswasit.Butinsteadofawarmgreeting,themasterscoldedhis disciple for having waited so long to come. Then, “the master

sighed.”SimaQian,thegreatesthistorianChinahaseverknownandthefirstto write a formal biography of Kongzi around 100 BCE, resisted theimpulsetoexplainthatsigh.Simasimplyinvitesustointerpretit.Butaswhat?Regretathavingspokensosharplytoabeloveddisciple?Sorrowoverhisownfailedcareer?Disappointmentthatathisadvancedagehehad no one to entrust with the management of his household? Aprofound acknowledgment of mortality? All of these? Whatever thesigh’smeaning,withhisnextbreathKongzibegantochantafewlinesfromoneofhisbelovedOdes.Asbefittedamanof sucherudition, themaster had chosen the passage well. It richly evoked all the manyemotionsthatcrowdedin:

Ah!MountTaiiscrumbling!Thepillarisfalling!Thesageispassing!

Thesongreducedtheoldmantotears.Afterall,Zilu anotherdisciplefromtheinnercircle,hadrecentlydied,andthatdeathcouldnothavebeenfarfromthethoughtsofeitherthe old master or the middle-aged Zigong. Equally important, Kongzilamented the moral chaos of their world, a world of wars that wasdominatedbygreed,aworldpainfully inneedofmoralguidance.Andthentherewasthemaster’sownpoorfate.Notonerulerinallthestatesof the Central Plain even paid lip service to his values, let aloneimplementedhispolicyproposals.Acutelyawareofhisfailures,bowedby a lifetime of frustrated ambitions, Kongzi the eloquent had beenreducedtostifledsilence.Curiously, until these closing passages of Sima Qian’s biography ofKongzi,whenweseeKongzineardeath,Sima’sheroappearstobeaself-absorbed,unlikable,andcrabbedpersonality.Sima’sportraitiscarefullyfashionedtosuggestboththereasonsforKongzi’snear-continualfailuresin politics during his lifetime, and also his final apotheosis. As SimaQian’s story has it, until he was in his mid-sixties, Kongzi was asanctimoniousandarrogantknow-it-all, anadviserapt tohector rulerswhomhe sought to instructand tocondescend tocontemporarieswhocame to studywithhim.Hehad to struggle to concealhis resentment

againstthosewhosucceededwherehehadnot.Understandably,fewofthose in power wanted to employ him, and often those who didregretted it. Even faithful disciples occasionally bridled under hisautocraticmanner. Though hemay have beenmore learned andwisethanothers,themaster’spresumptionofsuperiorityrankled.Onlylateinlife,with his ambitions dashed, didKongzi finally become the kind ofmanSimaQiancouldportrayasasage:amanwhoseeagernesstolearnexceededhiseagernesstoteach.Inorder toachievethemaximumimpact fromthenarrative thathe,theImperialArchivist,hadcomposed,SimaQian,thegreateststorytellerevertowriteinChinese,chosetorelateaflattaleofKongzi’syouthandmiddle age, wagering that the biography’s dramatic conclusion wouldincitemoreempathyforhissubject if thebeginningandmiddleof theaccount seemedutterlyunremarkable.Whencompleting theRecords inwhichthebiographyofKongziappears,SimaQiandidnotneedtotellreadersthatKongzihadbeenpronouncedthe“uncrowned[orshadow]king” of the ruling Han dynasty, then in power for slightly over acentury.Kongzi was portrayed by many as the patron saint whose preceptsostensibly ordered the empire. Temples had been erected in Kongzi’shonorandsacrificesoffered,sothatthemasterhadbecomepopularlyademigodwith an unblemished reputation for integrity, embodying theidealsofsupremecivilization.SomeeventhoughthimamanifestationoftheastralBlackGod,brieflycomedowntoearthtoestablishanewidealdispensation through theHan house. The old texts and oral traditionsassociated with his teachings had been elevated to secure canonicalstatus.Asanexemplary teacher,Kongzibecame, inwritingandpublicspeeches, an acknowledged authority to be reckoned with by allpoliticians, thinkers, and persuaders, regardless of their ethicalorientations.Aseveryoneknew, the fourcenturiesafterKongzi’sdeathin479BCEwitnessedhisgradualcoronationalongwiththeconstructionofanextensivegenealogyfabricatedbyinterestedmembersoftheKongfamily.WhatSimaQianhoped to conveywere the reasonsbehind themingleddevotionandantipathythatKongzi’snamecontinuedtoinspirefourcenturiesafterhisdeath.InKongzi’schantingoftheodetoZigong,therefore,therelurksparks

of anger and resentment signaling themaster’s fear of obscurity. SimaQianthenhasKongzitellZigongofadreamhehad—apremonitionthathis corpsewouldbe placedon a bier between twopillars in themainhallofKongzi’shouse,inthepreciserituallocationinwhichtheancientShang had placed their dead a millennium before. The details of thedream, at first hearing needlessly pedantic, ultimately serve to makeKongzi’s argument: this master who had spent a lifetime praising themodeloftheDukeofZhou,brothertotheZhoufounder,tracedhisowndescentfromtheveryShangpeoplewhohadbeenconqueredbyZhou;thecultureofrefinementwasfatedtobetransmittedthroughtheweakandhumbled,orRu 2Amanforwhomthetimewassupremelyoutofjoint, Kongzi, in bearing witness to his own mortality, had situatedhimselfwithinanancestrallinereachingdeepintothearchaicpast.Hecould hardly have predicted his unparalleled influence over futurehistory.Seven days after Zigong’s arrival, Kongzi died. It was April in the

sixteenthyearofthereignofDukeAiofLu,479BCEbyourcalendar.Theduke’seulogybemoanedtheimmeasurablelosstohiskingdomthatthe sage’s death represented: the head of state could no longer availhimself of the master’s wise counsel. Zigong, deeply offended by theduke’s hypocrisy, retorted tartly that the duke had never once offeredthe livingKongziapositionof realauthority.Soeven in the firstdaysafter the master’s death, ambitious princes were scrambling toappropriate his name to shore up their own reputations. Accordingly,Sima Qian, in the closing lines of the biography, records his implicitcondemnationofthosewhohaveneglectedtheteachingsofhishero.North of the city, near the river, Kongzi’s disciples gathered for the

burial.(OverthecenturiesKongziwouldbecreditedwithhugenumbersofdisciples,butthisfirstbiographymentionsameresevenoreightloyalfollowers in fairly constant attendance upon the sage, most of whomseem to have been roughly the same age as themaster.) Most of thedisciplesstayedinLuforthecustomarythreeyearsofmourning,thoughZigongtendedthegraveforafullsixyears.SoonahundredfamiliesorsofromLumovedtothevicinityofthemaster’stomb,andoverseveralgenerationsthesmallsettlementcalledKongVillagegrewintoasizabletown. A temple erected in honor of themaster housed a collection of

Kongzi’spersonalbelongings—hiscaps,gowns,musicalinstruments,and(supposedly)his library.Onthetemplegroundsanacademywasbuilt,where devotees met informally to discuss their choices andcommitments. Festivals and archery contests regularly commemoratedthe sage’s life and teachings. Kongzi’s followers served as hisdescendantsinspirit.GenealogywasimportantinSimaQian’sworld,forhonorspaidtooneman became the basis of the family fortunes. To inherit an illustriousancestorwas tobeblessedwithapatrimonythroughwhich land,highrank, and wealth could be obtained. Some cynics spoke of the Kong“family business.” In Sima Qian’s account, however, Kongzi’s realdescendants were not the members of the Kong family, his bloodrelativeswhocontinuedto live inLu,batteningonhisgoodname.Histrue descendants were his disciples and their ethical followers whomaintained the cult to Kongzi and circulated story cycles about themaster. [Jesus in the gospel of Matthew bitterly observes that one isneveramasterinone’sownhouse,butonlyinthefieldwiththosewhobelieve.]They,thenobleinspirit,ultimatelycreatedagreat“ancestor”asaniconintheirownimage,sothatKongzi,amanborninrelativelyhumblecircumstances,wouldultimatelyenjoygreaterrenownthananyother figure in the history of China. Sima Qian seems to find in themanifestfailuresofKongzianinspirationforallwhofailtoreceivethefame they deserve. Sima Qian’s own tragic story is certainly germanehere:castratedforhisquietbutcourageousdefenseofageneraloutoffavor at court, Sima Qian in his humiliation could hardly help butidentifywiththemaster.Hence,SimaQian’sdecisiontofinishhisShijibiographyofKongzionapersonalnote,citinganotherpassagefromtheOdes:

HighisthemountainIlookuptoAndbrighthisexampleforemulation!ThoughIcannotreachtheheightsMyheartleapsuptoit.3

In early adulthood,Kongzimade the long journey fromLu (present-dayShandong)totheZhoucapitalontheYellowRiver(nearpresent-dayLuoyang)—just about the distance from Tucson to San Francisco—in

order to study the rites. Reversing the course taken by Kongzi, SimaQian traveled from the Han capital to Kong Village in Lu in order togather materials for his biography of Kongzi. He visited the temple,where he gazed upon—perhaps even fingered—the precious robes andcaps supposedlyworn by themaster.He consulted the local classicistswhoclaimedKongziastheirinspirationwhileimmersingthemselvesinthe studyof the rites andpolitical history. There, in the very place ofKongzi’sbirthanddeath, SimaQianwouldhave tried to imaginehowthemaster looked and acted, sincemeditating upon a subjectwas theproper prelude to both the offering of sacrifices and the writing ofhistory. In recounting his pilgrimage to Kong Village, Sima Qian hasreaders recall an earlier passage in his biography in which Kongziconjures up, through the disciplined study ofmusic, the image of theDuke of Zhou as composer of several odes reflecting the finest moralprinciples.Sima Qian concludes his biography with the following observation:

“Throughout history, there have been emperors, kings, and greatmenwhose awesome reputations perishedwith them. Yet Kongzi, themanclad in a common gown, became the acknowledged master ofgenerations of advisers, the ultimate authority in the execution andinterpretationofallsixpolitearts,thereputedauthororeditorofpartsor all of the Five Classics.” The unsettling possibility existed that ifKongzi had in fact won high rank at any of the many courts in theCentralStates,hemightwellhavebeenforgotten.Byhisdespairingturnfrompoliticstowritinghistory,Kongziensuredthathewouldbecomeatonce the author, subject, and object of history. Most memorably, hedefinedanewkindofheroism—ofspirit rather thanbody—andanewkind of power based on unswerving commitments to ethical decency,whichcharismaticpowerbydesignoffset,ifnotreplaced,bruteforce.SoKongzi rescued from oblivion, both by his writings and by his ownexample,suchunlikelyexemplarsasBoYiandShuQi,tworecluseswhohad died unattended on Shouyang Mountain. Perhaps justice wasobtained after all, notmanifested in a single lifetime but after a longinterval.ThoughKongziaimedtobeastatesman,intheendhe,likeSimaQian,

won fame as an archivist-historian. Perhaps that is why Sima Qian

adopted the same formulae of subtle “praise and blame” that Kongzipurportedly applied so judiciously inhis compilationof theSpringandAutumnAnnals.Bothmenclaimedcomparablemoralauthoritytoactasunerring arbiters of history. In drawing bold parallels between hisdouble, Kongzi, and himself, Sima Qian sought to restore his ownfamily’sreputation.HewoulddignifyhisabysmalfailuresatthecourtofHan Wudi (r. 141–87 BCE) by linking them with the lastingaccomplishments accorded the fabled Kongzi. But only in the lastpassagesofthebiography,sketchingthemaster’s lastdays,his funeral,and his posthumous fame, does Sima Qian give an inkling that heregardshisprotagonistas“theHighMountainI lookupto.”Inweakermoments, as Sima Qian struggled to endure the inevitable slightsoccasioned by his mutilated state, he apparently took comfort in thefarfetchednotionthatonedayhe,too,wouldhavetemplesbuiltinhishonor (as indeed happened in later centuries). After all, Kongzi wasknown forwresting triumph from ignominy. To secure his reputation,Sima Qian need only, like Kongzi, write a history to serve as anintelligentandpersuasiveguidetomattersgreatandsmall.

EXAMINING THIS FIRST BIOGRAPHY of Kongzi, composed by SimaQian about 100BCE,weseeasubtleclearstructure.Atbirth,Kongzihadnohighstatusorimportantfamilyconnectionsasidefromdistanttiestoarulinghouseextinguishedabout fivecenturiesearlier.Despitepovertyandprobableillegitimacy, auspicious signs might indicate that he was destined forgreatness.However,itwasKongzi’sself-disciplineanddeterminationtoprovehismettlethatreallydidthetrick.Asachild,Kongziwasanavidstudentofhistory,ritual,music,andpoetry.Intheprocessofcultivatinghimself, he developed an overweening ambition to rectify social rolesand relations along with the self-righteousness that often goes withambition.NowondertimeaftertimeKongziwasintrouble.Perhapshebroughtsomeorallofitonhimself.But late in middle age, after a long string of reversals and

disappointments, we note a change in the Kongzi of Sima Qian’sconception. As a young man, Kongzi had been sharp, impatient, andoftendismissiveofothers.Heneverlistened.Asanolderman,heshedthe mantle of omniscient master to become again a humble student,

compensatingwith intense effort in areas forwhichhehadnonaturalaptitude.We see this change first in thedevotionKongzi brings inhislater years to the study of music—a study all the more impressivebecause his abilities as amusicianwere clearly limited. Evidently thecultivationof truehumanitydependsmoreon truededication thanoninheritedgifts.Whereonceheledhisstudentswithconfidence,Kongzinowconsultshisdisciplesonthepropercourseofaction,regardingthemas peers and companions along life’s journey. Most strikingly, hedevelops a sense of humor, especially about himself. All this happens,accordingtoSimaQian,afterhehasbeenforcedtoabandonhislaudablecareergoals,whenbynecessityhemustbecontenttospendhisdaysinservicetotheunseenWay,reading,studying,andperfectinghimself intheartsofsociality.SimaQian’sterseaccountofthesage’slifetakesupfewerthanforty-five pages in translation. Nowadays, almost any scholarly book aboutKongzi—andtherearethousands—wouldboastatleastthatmanypagesofendnotes.YetSimaQian’sportrayalofKongziholdsaspecialplaceinChineseliterature—andnotonlybecauseitistheearliestextantattempttopulltogetherknownfactsaboutKongzi’slifewithinasinglenarrative.As chief archivist at the Han court, Sima Qian had access to a hugecollection of anecdotes about Kongzi—a collection that may haveincludedtheAnalectsorSelectedSayingsascribedtoKongzi,whichseemstohavebeencompiledjustaroundthetimeSimaQianwaswriting.SimaQian also knew the Zuo zhuan, a romance often employed ascommentaryonKongzi’sAnnals—oratleastheknewsomeofthesourcesthat inspiredtheZuo.4AndfinallyhehadaccesstotheMencius,atextascribed to a self-proclaimed champion of Kongzi who lived a fullcenturyafterthemaster.SimaQianhadmoreovervisitedtheoldcapitalareasofXia,Shang,Zhou,andLu, to see the sightsand inquireof theelderswhattheyhadheard.SimaQianwasfreetoselecthismaterialsashe chose, given that his masterwork was a labor of love and filialdevotionundertakenforhisfatherandnotintendedasanofficialhistorydesigned to exalt his superiors. Often Sima Qian borrows stories thateither parallel or draw upon theAnalects—we don’t knowwhich—buthisversionsofmanyofthesestorieshighlightthefoiblesofthemaster.InSimaQian’sversion,too,themaster’sconversationswithhisdisciples

often take the formofpithypostmortemson the sage’s absurdly futileencounters with power-hungry schemers. Occasionally the passagesdepict this so-called sage as petty or out of touch with reality. Notsurprisingly, Kongzi is ignored or scorned, mistaken for a notoriousbandit,or runoutof town.Whydohisdisciplesputupwithhim?wethink.He’ssimplyawful.As inallofhis “HereditaryHouses” chapters,5 SimaQianbeginshisportraitofKongziwithagenealogy,tellingusthatKongziisdistantkintoalateralbranchofaonce-distinguishedfamilydrivenoutofthesmallandpowerfulCentralStatesdomainofSong—astrikingcontrast totheusualstatementsmadeinlateimperialChina,inwhichKongzifiguresasthe illustrious scion of kings. Sima Qian names the only three knownancestors (no lengthy list of noble forebears here): Kongzi’s great-grandfather(KongFangshu),thefirstinthefamilytomovefromSongtoLu;hisgrandfather(Boxia);andhisfather(ShuliangHe),whoheldtherelativelyminorpostofprefectinasmalltownnearthecapitalofLu,inQufu.In551BCE,thetwenty-secondyearofDukeXiangofLu,Kongzicameinto the world, a product of a union—apparently illicit—between theelderly prefect and a young girl from the Yan clan. Kongzi wasconceived“inthewilds”[i.e.,inthesuburbsofthecity,outsidethecitywalls, rather than in thehonorablemarriagebedof theKongancestralhome].Bornwitha“hill-shaped”deformityonhis forehead(wemightsay “shovel-shaped”), the newborn was named Zhongni (“Middle-sonHillock”)andgiventhestylenameofQiu(“Mound”).Shortlythereafter,theprefectdied.IfSimaQianistobebelieved,thechildZhongnididn’tevenknowhisfather’sname,thoughthelocalprefectshouldhavebeenwellknowninthevicinity.Oddlyenough,Zhongni’smotherrefusedtorevealhisfather’snameorwherehisfatherwasburied.Wedonotknowwhether the boy Kongzi was upset by his mother’s recalcitrance, butSima Qian’s narrative shows the boy Zhongni entertaining himself byperforming elaborate make-believe rites and sacrificial offerings.ObviouslythisforeshadowsKongzi’sfutureprominenceasritualmaster,butitalsoallowsusaglimpseintohismentalformation.Solonelywasthechild thathesoughtcommunionwithhisunknownancestraldead;sobereftofordinary social relations thathe fashionedhimselfaschief

officiantinaseriesofrites.Sometimeafterhismother’suntimelydeath,anelderlywomaninthe

village finally decided to reveal toKongzi his father’s name.Eager forsomeshredoflegitimacy,Kongziwenttoconsiderableexpensetohavehis mother buried alongside his father, Shuliang He, at Mount Fang.Once he had performed these rites, he could claim to be the son of agentleman;andassuch,hewasashi,a“knight,”amemberofthatestategrantedtheright tobeararms inservice to theruler.Equippedwithanewfamilyname,areputableenoughlineage,andboththeknowledgeandthewilltoperformtheall-importantmourningceremonies,Kongziwithhisnewfoundstatusexpectedtomeetopportunitieshithertodeniedhim.But,inSima’saccount,nosoonerdidtheyouthKongzimoveontothepublicstagethanhewasbrutallysnubbed.Kongzi came to a banquet for all local gentlemen hosted by the Ji

clan, one of the three powerful families ruling Lu, only to be turnedawaybyYangHu,thestewardoftheJiclan,themanwhovirtuallyranthe state of Lu from 505 to 501 BCE. “Tiger” Yang doubted whetherKongzicouldclaimranksufficientlyhightoqualifyforadmittancetotheparty.Notethepatternsetbythisanecdote:thecynicalrepresentativeofan illegitimatepower excludes theverymanof integritywhowill onedayfigureasthefinalsourceofalllegitimacy.(YangHupopsupseveraltimesinSima’snarrativeasawould-beadventurerdeterminedtousurppower under the weak Duke Zhao, and once because Tiger Yang’senemies—inanironyof ironies—mistakethesageforYang,sincebothmenwereunusuallytallspeakersofLudialect.)Next, Sima Qian relates a highly improbable tale—one whose

improbabilities would have been patent to anyone familiar with thehistoryofLu.MengXizi,ahighofficialinLu,onhisdeathbed,adviseshissonandheirtogostudywithayoungmanofseventeennamedKongQiu(i.e.,Kongzi).MengXizisaysthatKongzi,asadescendantofsages,probablywillsomedayattainsagehoodhimself.MengXizi’ssondutifullyassents to his father’s dying wish and, accompanied by another localman,NangongJingshu,goesofftostudytheriteswithKongzi.Butthetraditional dates for the birth of Kongzi and Meng Xizi’s son—not tomention the date ofMengXizi’s death—makeKongzi amature thirty-four years old at the time of Meng Xizi’s death, not a teenager of

seventeen.6Of course,anexperienced teacherwasamuchmore likelytutor for the heir to a minister than was an unknown and untestedteenager. But the transposition ofMeng Xizi’s deathbed scene in timeaccomplishestwothingsforSimaQian:itprovidesasharpcontrastwithTigerYang’sinabilitytodiscernKongzi’sinherentnobility,and,indoingso, reminds readers that not all the tales told about the sage areaccurate.Thenarrativejuxtapositionbetweenbrutalrejectionandwarmapprobationprovidesimmediatesatisfaction:scornfortheshortsighted,praiseforthediscerning.Pettyfoolswhospurnthehumblewillsoongettheircomeuppances!Inhisfirstappointment,Kongziworkedinthegranaryofthepowerful

Ji clan, where he inventoried the millet and wheat collected by taxagents.Hisnextassignment,onlymarginallybetter,wastosupervisetheanimals grazing the Ji clan pastures. The sheep and cows reportedlyflourished—aniceindicationthatKongzi,likeJesusofNazareth,wouldtake upon himself a pastoral role. Then, for reasons never fullyexplained,KongzileftLuforQi.The first great period of Kongzi’s wanderings had begun.

Unfortunately, no sooner did Kongzi arrive in neighboringQi than hewasexpelled.SongandWei treatedhimnobetter,andhehad troublecrossing the border between Chen and Cai. Fourteen years of suchsetbacksoccurredbeforeKongziturnedbacktowardLu.InLu,atleast,Kongzistillhadcontacts,oneofwhomwasNangongJingshu.ItwasthissameNangongwhohadfirstsecuredpermissionfromtheDukeofLuforhimselfandKongzitotraveltotheZhoucapital,wheretheystudiedtheancient rites andceremonies.Thedukegraciously condescended,uponthat occasion, to lend two horses and the services of a page for thetravelers. It may be significant that it is not Kongzi himself who isgrantedtheextraordinaryfavor.Asweshallsee,thoseinKongzi’scirclewereemployedfarmoreoftenthanwasthemaster.Naturally,whilevisiting the sights in theZhoucapital, the twomen

fromLumetwiththe“oldmaster” inchargeofthearchives.(SinceHan times, at least, this old master has been identified as Laozi, theputative author of theDaode jing.) On parting, Laozi offered Kongzi apieceofadvice:articulateandopinionatedadvisers likeKongzialwaysposeadanger to themselves since they can’t refrain frompointingout

the flawsofothers.Thepriceofplain speakingcouldbemutilationordeath.Kongzipaidnoheed to theoldmaster,and,asSima’snarrativeunfolds, Kongzi’s life seems to illustrate the perils of ignoring Laozi’ssolemnadmonition.Upon his return to Lu, Kongzi was able to attract more students,

presumablybecausehehadacquiredspecializedknowledgeoftheritesduringhissojournattheZhoucourt.Kongziwasthirtyorso.Ifwecanbelieve the Analects, Kongzi proudly declared, “At thirty, I took mystand.”Forthefirsttime,inanycase,Kongzisteppedontothepoliticalstage,readytoadviseanylocalruler.The leaders of the state of Lu, which was cruelly hemmed in by

stronger rivals,knewthatanalliancewithanyonegreatpowerwouldinvitethewrathoftherest.IfevertheDukeofLuneededsagecounsel,this was the time. But when Duke Jing of Qi, accompanied by hisministerYanYing,cametoLuonastatevisit,weseeKongziemployinghismasteryofhistoricalprecedents inself-servingways.UponmeetingDukeJingincourt,KongziimmediatelybringsupeventsofthepreviouscenturyinthedistantstateofQin,whentheassumptionbytheQinrulerofahegemon’sroleastheheadofaconfederationofstatesresteduponhiswise promotionof the very ablestman to thehighest office in theland.KongzimeansbyhisspeechtodomorethanjustflatterDukeJing,who longs to become hegemon in his own era. He is transparentlyangling for theduke’s favor,askingDukeJing toallowhim to replaceYan Ying as chiefminister at the rival court of Qi. Inmaking such apitch,hegainednothingexceptthelastingenmityofYanYing,themostcelebratedministerofhisday.Shortlythereafter,Ludescendedintoturmoil.Inthewakeofaquarrel

overacockfight,Lu’s threemajorclansrebelled,andDukeZhaoofLubeat a hasty retreat to Qi, with Kongzi not far behind. While in Qi,KongzionceagainsoughtemploymentascourtadvisertoDukeJing.Atfirst,DukeJingdidn’tseemtonoticehimatall.NotuntilKongzi

threw himself wholeheartedly into a study of the ancient musiccelebratinglegitimatesuccession,concentratingsodeeplythat“forthreemonthshedidnotknowthetasteofmeat,”didhefinallyattractDukeJing’s attention. In audience with the duke, Kongzi was repeatedlyquestionedaboutgoodrule.Herepliedwiththeprinciple,nowinanely

termedthe“RectificationofNames,”thatonewhoborethetitleofkingwould do well to learn to behave like a king, and ministers likeministers,fatherslikefathers,andsonslikesons.Initiallythedukelikedwhat he heard. He could readily grasp the basic concept, and heapprovedKongzi’sotherriffsonthevirtuesof frugality.Afterall, ifhereducedthestateexpenses,hemightwellhavemoremoneyleftforhisarmy.Inanycase,thedukewassufficientlyimpressedtogiveKongziasmallareatoadminister.ThenYanYing,sensingapotentialthreattohisownposition,complainedatlengthtothedukethatadviserslikeKongzimake unreliable bureaucrats. Coming from out of state, their trueloyaltiesmaylieelsewhere.Theyhaveatasteforexpensiveantiquarianobjects and practices. They are eager for handouts. And because theyinsist on elaborate rituals, especially funerals, their policies actuallyunderminefrugalityratherthansupportit.Theywouldhavetheirrulersdrain the resources of families and bankrupt the state, heedless of thelong-term consequences of such activities. Far better to employ thestate’scoffersintheoldways,andtherebystrengthenitsarmies.YanYingcondemnedKongziasanelitist.(Itwashardlythelasttime

thatKongzi’sopponentswoulddeclarethattheyalonehadthewelfareofthecommonpeopleatheart.)ThedukepromptlywithdrewhissupportfromKongziandneveragainconsultedhimonmattersofpublicpolicy.Kongzi’sprospectshadbeenadroitlysabotagedbyawilieradviserthanhe. Realizing that therewas nothingmore he could accomplish inQi,Kongzireluctantlyheadedhomeagain.Now forty-two, Kongzi still had no secure position, nor any

kingmaker’sear.HisprospectsinLuweredim,forLu’sthreeministerialclans, the Ji,Meng, andShushun, continued theirmutual intrigues forsupremecontrolofthestate.Hisopinionsweresolicitedonlyonarcanematters:theoriginandidentityofastrangehermaphroditiccreature,ofalargedinosaurbone,and,muchlater,ofastrangelymarkedarrow(seebelow).Kongzi’sanswers,whichprovedcorrectineachcase,tendedtounderscorehisvastknowledgeofobscurefacts.Hecameoffasasmugpurveyor of trivia, increasingly oblivious and irrelevant to the largerpolitical struggles tearing his region apart. Meanwhile, Yang Hu, thestewardwho,decadesearlier,hadexcludedKongzi fromagentlemen’sbanquet, becamemore openly ruthless, arresting his rivals andworse.

Kongzi had no choice but to withdraw temporarily from public life,returningtohisworkonpoetry,music,history,andritestransmittedinoralorwrittenform,andimprovinghismostmarketableskills.Andstill,theysay,thenumberofhisdisciplesincreased,somecomingfromfar.Eight years pass before Sima Qian picks up his story again, just as

Kongziturnsfifty.AnobleinleaguewithYangHurebelledagainstDukeZhaoofLu,andwhentheirrebellionfailed,thetwoescapedtonearbyQi. When the noble asked Kongzi to come see him, Kongzi’s eagerreactionwasentirely inappropriate.Hewasready togoatamoment’snotice to work for a traitor on behalf of his old nemesis, Yang Hu.Apparently,Kongzihadbeenpreparinghimselfforaministerialpostforso long that he had forgotten why he wanted to serve his country.OriginallyhehadplannedtorectifypoliticsinthestateofLuasthefirststep toward restoring just rule by Lu’s overlord, the reigning house ofZhou.A justmanforfeitedhis reputationbyserving traitors,andso inorder to justify his willingness to consort with just this sort of men,KongzilikenedhiseffortstothoseofthelegendaryfoundersofthegreatZhou house, Kings Wen and Wu—two heroes who led a successfulrebellionagainsttheirliegelordandthenwentontoexpandtheirsmalldomaininthefarnorthwestacrossthewholeoftheYellowRivervalley.Kongzi’smostoutspokendisciple,Zilu,chastisedhimforsuchdelusionsof grandeur, and in the end Kongzi could come up with no furtherrationalization for serving the rebels.He reluctantly declined the offerandstayedinLu,adecisionthatprovedadvantageous.ForsoonthenewDukeDingofLuappointedKongzistewardforthe

walledcityofZhongdu.Withinayear,accordingtoSimaQian,KongzihadtransformedZhongduintoamodelcity.Inrecognitionofhistalents,thedukepromotedKongzitotheofficeofoverseerofpublicworksandjudge. Kongzi seized the chance to move onto the bigger stage ofinterstate diplomacy when Duke Ding made Kongzi a member of hispartyduringapeaceconferencewithDukeJingoftherivalstateofQi—thesameDukeJingwhomKongzihadbeggedforajobnearlyadecadeearlier. Kongzi demonstrated the indisputable value of eruditionwhenhe cited ancient precedents to persuadeDukeDing to bring amilitaryescort to the treaty-signing. Kongzi then proceeded to supervise therituals.NosoonerhadtheinitialritesbeenconcludedthanaQiofficer

rushed forward with a suggestion that musicians and dancers shouldperform. Duke Ding raised no objections. But Qi had brought noordinarymusicaltroupetotheborder.Theyhadbroughtskilledmartialartistswho swung their staffs andbanners to thedrummusic, leapingand twirling their weapons. Alert to the impending danger, Kongziintervened—with exquisite politesse. The solemnity of the peaceconference, he suggested, would be diminished by acrobatic displays.When the troupe (probably by design)moved nonetheless to continuetheiract,Kongziintensifiedhisobjections,politelybutsofirmlythattheDukeofQihadnochoicebuttoacquiesce.Undeterred,anotherofficerasked thatat least theQipalacemusiciansbeallowed toplay.Kongzicountered that request by ordering the swift execution of all theperformers involved, including actors, singers, and dwarves. In SimaQian’s version of the story (only one of many), the Duke of Qi wasmortified because his more civilized counterpart from Lu had causedhimtolosefacebeforehispeersandunderlings.Toerasetheignominy,theDukeofQipromised,inanunexpectedshowofgenerosity,toreturnsome lands thatQi had once stolen from Lu. In this instance,Qimayhavehadthepower,butLu,thankstoKongzi,hadthebrains.PerhapsSimaQiandidn’tneedtoremindreadersthattheQipartyhadintended to kidnap or assassinate the Duke of Lu. After all, the ZuoalreadydepictedKongziinthemostfavorablelightpossible:asasuperbstrategist using his ritual expertise, military authority, and rhetoricalskillstoavertacatastropheforLu.IntheZuostory,thedramatictroupewas cut downbecause itwas trained to kill. The question is,whydidSimaQianleavesuchdramaticincidentsoutofthestoryhecrafted?TheKongzioftheZuoisabrillianttacticianofexquisitecourtesyyetbrutaleffectiveness,anearlyZhouEnlai.Bycontrast,theKongziofSimaQian’sShiji isharshatbest.Hedenounces thedancers asbarbarians, andhisswiftcalltoexecutethedwarvesfromQiiscruelandcunning,evenifitiswarrantedbythecircumstances.Mostlikely,SimaQianwasshapingaportrait of Kongzi that would focus on his slow and somewhatimprobable development as a sage. A life in progress. If the ImperialArchivisthadwantedtoemphasizethepotentialforgrowthinKongziaseveryman, the potential that Kongzi represented for even the least ofhumanbeings,itwouldbecounterproductivetorevealKongziinmiddle

ageasafullyperfectedhumanbeing.Freshfromthisdiplomatictriumph,Kongzihadnonethelesstowitnessyetanotherindignityinflictedupontherulinghouseofhishomestate:the three powerful clans in Lu began to constructwalled fortificationsaround their home bases. In no uncertain tones, Kongzi told the dukethatinawell-orderedstate,nosubjectshouldbeallowedtomaintainaprivatearmyortofortifyhisterritories.ThedukeassignedZilu,oneofKongzi’sfollowers,tothedangeroustaskofrazingthethreestrongholds.TheJiclancompliedwithZilu’sorders,buttheMengfamilyrefusedtheordertoremoveitstowersandparapets.Thedukethenlaidsiegetothecitywhere theMeng clanmade their base, despite the city’s strategiclocation inacrucialbufferzonebetweenLuand itspowerfulneighborQi. Although the siege utterly failed, the duke—quite inexplicably—promotedKongzitothepostofsikou,apostoftenrenderedas“MinisterofJustice”butmorelikelytobelocal“justiceofthepeace.”At theageof fifty-six,Kongzihad finallyachieved thehighestofficehe could reasonably expect to attain, given his lack of aristocraticconnections.OneofhisfirstofficialactswastohaveYangHu’sbrother,Shaozheng Mao, then holding a high position at court, executed fortreason.AnditwasnotlongbeforeLubegantothriveasthelivesofitssubjects improved. The Lu meat merchants, for example, no longercheatedtheircustomersatmarket;trafficonthestreetsbecameorderly;andlostobjectsweredulyreturnedtotheirowners.Visitorsfromotherstates were deeply impressed by this evidence of Lu’s increasingprosperityandgoodorder.“WhenclientsfromthefourcornerscametotheLucapital,theynolongersoughtofficialstobribeortoseekredressfor crimes committed in Lu. Theymerely gave in the goods they hadbroughtastributeandwenthome.”UnderKongzi’sgoodinfluence,thelocalauthoritiesnolongertriedtofinetravelersontrumped-upcharges.ButanorderlyandstrongLuwasathreattoneighboringQi.Lumightwell restore itself to the exalted place it had enjoyed during the earlyyears of theZhou empire, some fivehundredyears previously. Such aprospect badly frightenedQi, its neighbor and themain power in theregion. To forestall that resurrection of Lu prestige and power, Qiworked to undermine Kongzi’s influence at the Lu court. A simpleexpedientwas found.Qisent toDukeDingofLueightyof itsprettiest

dancinggirlsandmorethanahundredofQi’s finesthorses.Theduke,nottomentionotherhigh-rankingmembersofhiscourt,quicklybecameso besotted with nonstop sex and hunting that they neglected theirofficial duties. The dukewas even too distracted to participate in themostimportantannualsacrifice,theonededicatedtoHeaven—anhonorgranted toLualoneamong theCentralStates,byvirtueof itsgloriousdescent from the illustrious Duke of Zhou. This neglect of duty wasespeciallygallingtoKongzi.Disgustedbyhissuperiors’abandonmenttodalliance, Kongzi sneered, “I have yet to see anyone pay as muchattentiontovirtueastheydotosex.”Hethenwentintovoluntaryexile,headingwesttothestateofWei,wherethebrother-in-lawofhisdiscipleZiluenjoyedameasureofinfluence.This poignant failure—Lu coming so near to fully implementingKongzi’s ideals and yet retreating from the verge of success—raises asmanyquestionsaboutKongzi’sministerialabilitiesasitdoesaboutLu’sreigningduke.KongziblamedthespeedycollapseofhisreformsonthehaplessdancinggirlssenttoenticetheDukeofLu.Yetthisunfortunateepisode would surely have brought to the minds of Kongzi’scontemporariesacelebratedcounterexample:theoutstandingZichanofZheng,whowasable, inamuchshorter time(threemonths,not threeyears), to turn around the customs of his state and to make all suchenthusiastic supporters of his sound policies that even rival states andtheiragentswerepowerless toassault the integrityofZheng’sborders.The seedofdoubtwasplanted.DidKongzinotyetunderstandhow towieldthe“giftofspeechmaking” intheartofpersuasion?HadKongzi,anoccasionalpartisanoftheMengclan,movedtooquicklyagainsttheother factions?Or, evenmore fundamentally, had he ignored his owninjunction to be “mindful of the limitations of others” (shu )7—amindfulnessthatheeventuallytermedthe“onethread”runningthroughhismatureteachings?Inanycase,theDukeofWei,hearingofKongzi’sarrivalinhisrealm,offeredtomatchKongzi’soldsalaryinLuifhewouldagreetostayonashis adviser.Kongzi accepted theoffer, butbefore long someoneat theWeicourtslanderedKongzi.RatherthanlosefacebydirectlyexpellingKongzi,thedukesentanarmedofficerunannouncedtostormthegatesofKongzi’sresidence.KongzigotthemessageandleftWeiinahurry.

Headingfartherwest,KongziarrivedinthestateofChen.There,ashepassed through the city of Kuang, he was mistaken for the notoriousYangHu,brotherofthemiscreantwhomKongzihadrecentlyexecuted.Thelocalssurroundedhiscarriageandhauledhimofftojail.Fivedayslater a few of Kongzi’s entouragewho had lagged behindmanaged tolocatetheirmasterinprison.ForthefirsttimeinSimaQian’snarrative,KongzicallsdirectlyuponHeaventosavehim:“IfHeavenintendedsuchcultureasHis toperish, those livingafterKingWenwouldneverhavecome in contactwith it, as I have done.” Luckily for bothKongzi andHeaven’sWay,thecaseofmistakenidentitywaseventuallyresolvedandKongzireleased.Kongzi thenspentamonthinnearbyPubeforereturningtoWei.AssoonassheheardofhisreturntoWei,LadyNanzi(“thedaughterofthesouth”)invitedhimtoapalaceaudience.Tornbetweentheambitiontorealize his political program and his fear lest he be seen as a lackey,Kongzi decided there was no polite way to decline her invitation.Scandalized by his agreeing to meet with Nanzi in her privateapartments, Kongzi’s discipleswere only slightlymollified by Kongzi’sassurances to them that both parties,male and female, had conductedthemselveswiththeutmostpropriety.Then,amonthlater,Kongziwasinvited to join the Duke of Wei and his lady on an outing. As theirentouragepassedthroughthestreetsofthecapital,Kongzi,ridinginthecarriagebehindNanzi,notedhowthecrowdsturnedoutinfullforcetosee this beautiful woman who was the subject of so much salaciousgossip.Nocrowdswouldeverhave turnedout to seeamanofvirtue.Suspectingthathe’dbeenusedbythewilyconsortascoverforhermanyaffairs,KongzipromptlyleftWeiforCao.InCao,KongziranintomoretroublewhenHuanTui,MinisterofWarinnearbySong,decidedthatKongzihadbetterbeassassinatedsoastoprevent the master’s charismatic presence from strengthening Cao.Kongzi had taken to practicing the riteswithhis disciples under a bigtree.WhileKongziwasthusengagedwithhisstudents,Huanorderedhishenchmen to uproot the tree. Badly shaken, the disciples tried to getKongzi to hurry through the ceremonies, but Kongzi, outwardly calm,responded only, “Since it is Heaven that produced the virtues in me,whatcansomeonelikeHuanTuido?”Evenso,themastervanishedwith

hisgroupbeforeHuanTui’smencouldcomebacktofinishthejob.Somehow,intheirhastyflighttoZheng,Kongzigotseparatedfromhis

disciples.“Haveyouseenourmaster?”Thelocalsdescribedamantheyhad seen standing alone at the East Gate of the city: While he hadsomething of the air of the sages of old about him, he also remindedthemof a forlorn dogworn out and addled by neglect “in a house ofmourning.”8 Modestly declining the comparison with the sage-kings,Kongziroaredwithlaughteratthetownsfolk’sdepictionofhimasadogunwantedandunderfoot.“ThatisjustwhatIreallyam!”Zheng’srulerwasthenexttofailtoappreciateKongzi,soKongziand

hisbandcontinuedtheirwanderingsinthewar-ravagedCentralStates,finally landingback inChen justbefore itwas invadedbyWu,Chen’spowerful neighbor to the southeast. Thereafter, in short order, manycitiesofChenfelltothebarbarianarmies.Duringoneparticularsiege,ahawkpiercedby an arrow landed in a courtyardof oneofChen’s lastremaining strongholds. Asked to interpret this omen, Kongzi gaveanotherspectaculardisplayoferuditionandreasoningpower.Thehawkmusthavecome,hesaid, fromsomeplace farawayorhavecomewithsomeonehavingtiestoadistantland.Indeed,thearrowwaslikethatofthedistantShushenpeopleinlengthandtypeofwoodusedfortheshaft,aswellasinthestyleofflintarrowhead.KongzirecalledthatlongagothelegendaryKingWuofZhou,havinghandilydefeatedtheShangandestablishedtheZhou,hadreceivedjustthissortofarrowastributefromthe Shushen. Kongzi predicted that they would find similar arrows inChen’s own arsenal, since King Wu gave the arrows to his beloveddaughteruponhermarriage to the firstDukeofChen. Sure enough, agroupofsimilararrowsturnedupinChentreasurehouses,underscoringKongzi’s belief that the descendants of Chen’s royal housemust neverforget their indebtedness to the royalhouseofZhouand its old allies.ThatthistypeofarrowwouldpiercethisparticularspeciesofhawkmustbeaHeaven-sentreminderofChen’ssharedhistorywithZhou.Even as Chen was swept up in a war between Wu, Jin, and Chu,

Kongzimanaged to stay on there for threemore years. FinallyKongzithoughthemightaswellgohome.Heannouncedtohisdisciplesthathefeared his younger students in Lu needed tending. They were “wild,reckless,andeagerforadvancement.”AsforeignerspassingthroughPu,

Kongziandhispartywerethensurroundedbyhostilecombatants.OneofthoseinKongzi’spartyhadunderhiscommandarmedguardsridinginfivechariots.Hewasraringtobludgeonhiswayout.Intimidatedbythe guards, Kongzi’s would-be attackers relented; they offered to letKongzigo, so longashepromisednot to return to theenemy stateofWei.Kongzidulysworeasolemnoathtothateffect,butassoonashewas freed, Kongzi headed straight for Wei. The disciple Zigong wasoutraged at theMaster’s breachof good faith, butwhenZigong calledKongzionit,Kongzirepliedmildlythatthegodsdonotconsideroathsmadeunderduresstobebinding.HearingthenewsofKongzi’sapproachfromforeignpartsandanxious

toascertain thenewsabout thecurrentmilitary situation, theDukeofWeiracedtotheborderlandstomeethim.ThedukethenproceededtogrillKongzionthesubjectofwhetherPucouldbesafelyattackedatthistime. Kongzi replied that themen of Pu were willing to die for theirstate,andeventheirwomenwerepreparedtoprotectthebanksoftheWestRiver at all costs.Consequently, theDukeofWei abandoned theideaofmovingagainstPu.ButifKongziwashopingthattheagingdukewould offer him an office in return for this information, hewas sadlymistaken. Kongzi complained to his disciples that if he could assumepower for just onemonth, he could put theWei state in order, and ifgiven three years he could realize his vision of just rule. Butwith noprospectsforadvancementinWei,Kongzihadtoconsiderhisoptions.Just at that point, a rebel named Bi Xi sent amessenger to Kongzi

asking for his help in launching an attack on the leading ministerialfamilies of Lu. Once again, Kongzi was about to accept the summonsoverhisdisciple’sobjection:“Haven’tIheardyousaythatagentlemandoesn’t enter the realm of someone who fails to do what is good?”Kongzi eventually relented,but thedecisionnot to join the rebelswasfarfromeasy.“SurelyIamnottobecomesomebittergourdthatistobehunguponthewallbutnevereaten?”heremarkedcaustically.Unemployed and underappreciated, Kongzi found himself with

nowheretogoandnothingtodo.Havingfailedtobecomeanadviser,hedecided to become a student of music, though at first he wasn’t verygoodatthateither.Inpracticingonchimingstones,hestruckthechimeswith all hismight, but still only a single passerby heard him playing.

Then he took up the lute under the direction of the Music MasterXiangzi.Hemadelittleornoprogressfortendays:“I’velearnedthetunebutnottheharmonics.”Themusicmastertoldhimtocontinuewithhispracticing. After ten more days Kongzi had grasped the harmonicschemebutnotthemoodofthepiece.Themusicmastersenthimbackto practice some more. After some fifty days spent in solid practice,Kongzicameto“understandthecomposer.”Inperformingthepiece,hehad so internalized its distinctive features that he had become asimulacrumofhisbelovedKingWen,thepredynastic founderofZhou.Atlastheachieveddistinctioninmusic.Still,thereweretobemanymoredaysofwanderingforKongzibefore

heturnedhometoLuforthelasttime.Wei,Chen,Cai,andSheandbackagain—alltheseplacespassedbeforeKongzi’seyesinablur.Gradually,however, Kongzi came to understand himself. To his disciple Zilu, hegave this intimate self-assessment: “A man who never wearies ofstudyingtheWayandwhonevertiresofteachingothers,amanwhoseexcitementandpleasureover such things is sogreat thathe forgets toeat andeven toworry—oreven to realize thatoldage is almostuponhim.”9 His critics—and they were legion—mocked his “pointless”attempts to change theworld, but still Kongzi persisted, aware that itmightleadtonothing.Believingnotonlyinhisownhumanitybutinthepotential for great dignity and worth in all human beings, he notedsadly,“Onecannot,afterall,joinbirdsandbeasts.”Shortly before his final return to Lu to die, Kongzi thought of

consultinghisdisciples.Whatcouldhebedoingwrong?“Is it thatourWay is wrong? How is it that we find ourselves in this mess?” Ziluanswered with characteristic forthrightness: “Perhaps we are nothumaneenough,andsoothersdonottrustus.Perhapswearenotwiseenough, and soothersdonot employus.”Kongzi recalled two famousexemplars of the past who had starved to death, despite theirfundamental decency. “Howdoyou explain the fate of BoYi and ShuQi?” he asked, implying that as often as not no good deed goesunpunished. Zigong, a second disciple, suggested that Kongzi waterdownhismessage tomake itmore palatable to the average person ofordinary talents and capacity for virtue. Kongzi countered with theobservationthatnomatterhowskilledafarmeris,thecropdependson

Heaven—meaning,onfactorsoutsidehiscontrol.YanHui,theMaster’smost beloved student, had the last word, however: “Why troubleyourselfthattheydonotacceptyou?ThatwehavecultivatedthisWayfor so long yet it goes unused shames only those in possession of thestates.”(ThismovingpassageappearsonlyintheShijibiography,notintheAnalects.)After this honest exchange, Kongzi sends his disciple Zigong off to

Chu,wherehe isaspectacularsuccess.ThediscipleRanYou leaves toleadthetroopsoftheJiclanagainstQi.AndtothosewhoseekKongzi’sadvice,Kongzinowreplies, “Iknownothing.”He setsaboutarrangingritesandmusic.Heseldomtalksanymoreaboutprofitorfateorabstractnotionsofgoodness.Amongthepeopleofhishomevillage,heisnotablymodest. AndwhenKongzi invites people to sing, if they singwell, heasksthemtorepeatthesongsohecanjoinin.This is the Kongzi we glimpse in theAnalects—the Kongzi who not

onlyrecognizeswhatisright,butwhohascometodelightinit,aKongziwho accepts his fate and forgets himself. The opening passage of theAnalectsprovidesalistofthethreepleasuresthatthegoodpersonmayexpecttocommand(pleasureinlearningwhatisgoodandthendoingit;pleasureinfriends;andpleasureinlifeitself,despitelife’svicissitudes).Threading through it is themessage that theWay is notmerely to bepreferred, but to become a source of enduring delight, insofar as itensuresthateachandeverypersonwillpracticeandreceivecourtesyinturn. Thereby all will come to see that they deserve respect as“importantguests”duringtheirtimeonearth.ThesublimeWay,whichsomanyhavefounddifficulttointerpret,consistsinthesimpleprecept,“Withtheaged,oneshouldcomfort them,with friends,be trustworthytothem,andwiththeyoung,cherishthem.”“Isperfectgoodnesssoveryfaraway?Ifwereallywantedit,weshouldfindthatitwasatourveryside!”Astheperfectembodimentofheartfeltsociality,KongziintheAnalects

waseasyinhisconscience.Heknewperfectlywellwhatthecompetingstatesshoulddotoinstituteagoldenage.Theirrulersshouldfirstseetoit that all people perform their assigned social roles, as leaders andfollowers,parentsandchildren.Membersof thegoverningelite shouldalsoacceptthatthegoalofgoodgovernmentistoconferbenefitsupon

the people without asking for returns. Rather than reserving allprerogatives for themselves, they shouldprovide everyopportunity forothers to get ahead, since this is precisely what they would wish forthemselves. Thankfully, “taking one’s own feelings as a guide” alwayssufficeswhendecidinghowtoactinofficialandprivatematters.Kongzioutlinedacoherentprogramdesignedtoeffectgoodruleinas

short a timeaspossible.Those in chargeof a large statemust “attendstrictly to business, punctually observe their promises, be frugal, showaffectionforthosebelowthem,andbesparingofthewaystheyemploytheir laborers.” This program, apparently too radical for anyadministration to implement, then or now, stipulated that thegovernment have at its command “sufficient stores of food, sufficientstockpilesofweapons,andtheconfidenceofthecommonpeople.”Whenaskedwhichofthethreeshouldtakepriority,themastersaid“foodandtheconfidenceofthepeople.”Apparently,weaponsweretobeusedonlyasalastresort,inwarsofdefense.TheoppositionofKongzitowarsofaggression could hardly bemore obvious in theAnalects.When askedabouttroopformations,Kongzicutoffallfurtherdiscussionbyhiscurtreply: “I know something about sacrificial vessels. But I never studiedmilitaryaffairs.”“Ifitisreallypossibletogoverncountriesbyritualandgraciousness,thereisnomoretobesaid,”heinsisted.Particularinstitutionscouldvarywithplaceandtime.Themainthing

wasfor the leadersof thestate tokeepfaithwiththecommonpeople,ascertaininghowbest to free them to earn their livelihoods and “easetheirlots,”becauseitisonlytheeconomicallysecurewhoarelikelytoengage in the polite arts that Kongzi saw as the jewel of humanexistence.Hence Kongzi’s dictum that the ruler should first enrich hispopulace and only then instruct them. “To lead into battle anuninstructed people is simply to betray them!” “Puttingmen to deathwithout ever having taught them the Right, that is savagery!” AndKongziheapedscornuponthosewhopreferredanemptyreputationtoareal concern with the plight of the poor. Once when Yuan Shu wasappointedgovernor,hewasofferedasalaryofninehundredmeasuresofgrain,whichheproudlydeclined.Kongziupbraidedhim:“Couldyounothavefoundpeopleamongyourneighborsorinyourvillagewhowouldbegladtohavehadthegrain?”

Before leaving the Kongzi of 100 BCE, perhaps a word on Kongzi’sattitudetowomenisinorder.Neverhassomuchinkbeenspilledonasingle topic to so little purpose. In the whole of the early traditionsabout Kongzi, women are mentioned only twice—both times inconnection with the notoriously loose Lady Nanzi. First, Kongziremarked,almostcertainlyafterhisinterviewwiththatconnivingminx,“Womenandservantsareveryhardtodealwith.Ifyouarefriendlywiththem, they take advantage, and if youkeepyourdistance, they resentit.”Kongzi’scriticshavetakenthistomeanthathedespisedallwomen,evenifthesinglecommentseemstorepresentalatetraditionappendedtotheearliestbooksoftheAnalects.ItismoretellingthatcriticschargedKongzi’s early followers and associates with treatingwomen toowell!Still,we have no hard evidence to ascertain Kongzi’s attitudes towardwomen,asidefromthecourteoustreatmentheissaidtohavegivenhismother andadaughter. It is obviouswhywomendonot appearofteneither in the Analects or in Sima Qian’s biography of Kongzi: thecompilerof thefirst text focusesonthe interactionsKongzihadduringhistravelswithhisdisciplesandwiththeCentralStatesrulers,whiletheauthorofthesecondtext(acastratedmale,asithappens)takesKongziashismodelforofficialandunofficialrelationsincourtcircles.Womendidnot figure largely incourt settings, forwhateverpolitical influencetheyexertedwasmainly informal. Inanycase, theKongziof theearlystories lived in aristocratic societies—quite unlike our own—wherehereditarystatusnearlyalwaystrumpedgenderinimportance.Judgingbythestandardsofthetime—theonlycriterionthatgoodhistorianscareto apply to the past—Kongzi was no wild-eyed misogynist or asceticrailing against females. Perhaps the worst that the earliest figure ofKongzicanbechargedwithwasafailuretonoticewomenoutsidetheirritual roles, domestic duties, and aristocratic prestige, despite hisoriginalityanddaring incharacterizingmanysortsofhumanrelations.An assessment by Zixia, Kongzi’s disciple, seems relevant, however:Kongzi’sideal,when“seenfromafarseemstobesevere,butwhenseencloseup,isfoundtobemild.”And“TheMaster’smannerwasaffableyetfirm; commanding but not harsh; polite and easy,” according to theAnalects.

CONCLUSION

InthetwothousandyearssinceSimaQian’sbiography,societyhasmadeKongzi by turns into a fortune-cookie phrasemaker, a brilliant moralphilosopher, a fusty antiquarian, a divine sage, an old man with ascragglywhite beard fussing over some detail of ritual, or a down-to-earth thinker with an honest assessment of the human propensity tofalter. Some commentators have chosen to emphasize Kongzi’s moralphilosophy;othershavestressedhispoliticaltheory;somehavefocusedonhisactivitiesasscholarorhistorian;andstillothershaverecountedhis arduous journey along the path of cultivation.10 The image ofKongzi, like that of those other radicals, Socrates, Jesus, Plato, Laozi,Moses, Muhammad, and the Buddha, has been adapted—and sadlytamed—tofittheperceivedneedsofeverysucceedingage.Searchingforthe“authentic”Kongziinhistory,wefindnosingleconvincingportrait,fortheessenceofKongzi’slifeandteachingswasjustashotlycontestedin100BCE,inthecourtlycirclesthatproducedSimaQian’sversionandtheAnalects,asitisinChinatoday.Gu Jiegang, the greatest historian of twentieth-century China, was

right to demand that we consider “one Kongzi at a time.” For thatreason,thisbookwillpresentsixadditionalportraitsofKongzithathaveprovencompellingtosuccessivegenerations:thoseofKongziasthebuttof criticism; the exalted Kongzi of Han; the Kong Family Man; theSupremeSageofTrueWayLearning; theKongziof late imperialcults;and the confusion of politicized Kongzis bandied about today. Theultimatequestionmaybe“WasthereaKongzi?”AswiththeBuddhaandLaozi,onecansaywithcertitude,“Thereweremany.”Butwewillnotgofarwrong,perhaps,ifweconsiderEzraPound’sthirteenthCanto:

Kungwalkedbythedynastictempleandintothecedargrove,andthenoutbythelowerriver.

SimaQian’sbiographyofKongziendswithastirringeulogy:TheImperialArchivistsaid,‘ThereisthisinanOde:

Atallmountain,onelooksuptoit

Abroadroad,onetravelsforthonit.’

WhenIreadthewritingsofMasterKong, I longedtoseewhatkindofpersonhereallywas.SoIwenttoLuandtookacloselookathistemple,hall, chariot, robes, and ritual vessels, as well as the many studentspracticingtheritesattheappropriatetimesathisgrave.Itarriedthereawhile, awestruck. The world has known many rulers and worthyofficialswhowerefamousintheirowntime,butnothingoncetheydied.Kongziwasalowlycommoner,butaftermorethantwentygenerationsheisstillreveredbyallthosewhoarecultivated.Fromtheemperorandkingsondown,everyoneintheCentralStates,whenspeakingofthesixpolitearts,takestheMasterasthestandardofperfection.HeisrightlycalledtheUltimateSage.The end of the story is somewhat darker, however, according to

witnessesthreecenturiesearlierthanSimaQian.Mencius,afollowerofKongzi-the-local-hero who hailed from a small principality within anhour’s walking distance of Qufu, gave this testimony about whathappenedafterKongzidied:

When the three-year mourning period had elapsed, his disciples packed their bags andpreparedtogohome.TheywentinandbowedtoZigong[hisdisciple,whohaddecidedtoprolong his ownmourning for theMaster for three more years]…. One later day, Zixia,Zizhang,andZiyu[threeofthemostfamousdisciplesofKongzi]wantedtoserveYouRouastheyhadservedKongzibecauseofaphysicalresemblance.TheyeventriedtoforceZengzitojointhem,butherefused,saying,“Thatwillnotdo.WashedbytheYellowRiverandtheHan,bleachedbytheautumnsun,so immaculatewashethathisblazingwhitenesscouldnotbesurpassed!”

Marvelousteacherthoughhehadbeen,hisowndiscipleswerereadyto abandon the memory of Kongzi-as-master and serve another soonafterhisdeath.ThenextchaptertellsushowKongziwascatapultedfromthestatusof

mereteachertothatofUltimateSageandperfectspokespersonfortheMiddleWay.Tolearnthatstory,onemustreadon.

SUGGESTEDREADINGSThreetranslationsoftheAnalectsarerecommended:TheAnalectsofConfucius,translatedby

ArthurWaley(London:G.AllenUnwin,1938);AnalectsofConfucius,translatedbySimonLeys(NewYork:W.W.Norton,1997);TheAnalectsofConfucius,translatedbyRogerAmesandHenryRosemontJr.(NewYork:BallantineBooks,1998).

OnSimaQian,seeStephenW.Durrant,TheCloudyMirror:TensionandConflictintheWritingsofSimaQian(Albany,NY:SUNYPress,1995).

OntheearlyhistoryofKongzi’sclan,seeRobertEno,“TheBackgroundoftheKongFamilyofLuandtheOriginsofRuism,”EarlyChina28(2003):1–41.

ForgeneralbackgroundontheWarringStatesperiodinrelationtoclassicism,seeGeoffreyLloydandNathanSivin,TheWayandtheWord:ScienceandMedicineinEarlyChinaandGreece(NewHaven:YaleUniversityPress,2002).

MichaelNylan,Five“Confucian”Classics(NewHaven:YaleUniversityPress,2001).

NicholasZufferey,TotheOriginsofConfucianism:TheRuinPre-QinTimesandDuringtheHanDynasty(Bern:PeterLang,2003),PartI.

ForanotherviewofConfuciusintheZuozhuan,seeAnn-pingChin,TheAuthenticConfucius:ALifeofThoughtandPolitics(NewYork:Scribner,2007).

W

2

KongziandHisCritics

Eversincemancameintothisworld,therehasneverbeenonegreaterthanConfucius.

—MENCIUS2A/2

ITHOUT HIS CRITICS, CONFUCIUS WOULD BE NOTHING. Like a portrait bustsculpted by subtraction, the face of Kongzi emerging in theHanandpre-Hansourcesisdefinedbytheswiftstrikesaimed

attheMasterbyhismanydetractors.Thesesameenemiescaptureandcaricature his likeness. Since nasty critiques and backhandedcompliments forced continual reassessments of Kongzi’s Middle Way,they also throw into relief the sheer monumentality of this otherwisesomewhat shadowy figure. Inevitably the figure of Confucius loomslargerinthemind’seyebecausetheConfuciusofthelateWarringStatesand Han traditions seems miraculously to have anticipated, andcountered, every serious objection to his teachings, including theremarkable degree of self-sacrifice and imagination required toundertaketheall-importanttasksofcultivationofcharacterandelegantself-presentation. So fifty years ago Arthur Waley wrote that theincredible successofKongzi’smessagewas“that itcontrived toendowcompromise [i.e., the Middle Way] with an emotional glamour.” Thecareful craftingof thatmessagebyKongzi’s early adherents entailed aseriesofusefulcompromisesmadeinthenameoftheMaster.ReadingthecriticsofKongzi isvital foranotherreason: it iseasyto

forget that in the centuries leading to the unification of “all-under-heaven”in221BCE,itwasneverclearthatKongziwouldeventuallybehailedasuniqueand themost important figure inChinesehistory.Wecan trace our enduring sense of Kongzi as Ultimate Sage to the Handynasty (206 BCE–220 CE) events and institutions (see chapter 3).However, inthecenturiesafterKongzi’sdeath,theteachingsofseveralrivalthinkersheldequalorgreaterappealformembersofthegoverning

eliteintheCentralStatesregion.InparticulartheteachingsofMoziandYangZhuexertedfargreaterinfluenceuponthecourtsandcourtiersofthe fourth and third centuries BCE than did Kongzi’s ideas.1 WhileConfuciusremainedafiguretocontendwithinLutradition,hewasalsothebuttofjokes,lightheartedandcruel,instoriesthatcirculatedoutsideLu. Such storiesmadehim into a lazy dreamer, a shrill pedant, and alaughablefailure.OnlytheelegantdefensesoftheMaster’steachingsbyMencius (a century after his death) and by Xunzi (a century afterMencius)rescuedtheSagefromoblivion,orsotheHandynastysourcessay.ForMenciusandXunzi,Kongziwasalocalhero.MenciuswasfromZou,amorning’swalk fromQufu,Kongzi’shometown,andXunziheldthepostoflibationerinnearbyLanling.ButneitherMenciusnorXunziwas a direct disciple of Kongzi, so both thinkers had to translate andadapthisteachingstomakethemrelevanttothevividquestionsoftheirowndays. Thanks toMencius andXunzi, the figure of Kongzi becamemore “glossy and appealing.” They accomplished this portrait bycleverly equating a commitment to self-cultivation in the moderateConfucian Way with the arduous course of training that noblesunderwentinpreparationforbattle.ThinkersofthefourthandthirdcenturiesBCEnowholdthecollectivename“theHundredMasters.”LikeKongzi,mostof thesemasterswerefreelanceadvisers,learnedmenwhosoughtthepatronageofrulersandministersandlookedtoattractdisciplesoverthecourseoftheircareers.With the possible exception of Zhuangzi (a pen name adopted bypossibly more than one figure), these masters were highly skilledconsultants in thebusinessof selling theirpainfullyacquiredhistoricalknowledge of precedents to the highest bidders. To distinguishthemselvesfromcompetitors, themastersoftenwroteacerbicsatiresofoneanotherandotherwell-knownfigures,includingKongzi.Indeed,toshowofftheirownpolicyproposals,togetinveiledcriticismsofcourtandcommoners,theycontrastedtheirnotions(seelaterinthischapter)with those of Kongzi. In doing so they reveal Kongzi’s many faces asteacher, adviser, thinker, and private person. After all, as Kongzi’sstature grew after his death (thanks to several highly placed discipleseagertopromotehisreputation,whichwouldalsoembellishtheirownstanding), no policymaker could entirely avoid engaging with the

legendaryKongzi.Nordidtheywantto.Likequarrelingbiographers,eachmaster tendedto locateadifferentmessageorflawintheConfucianWay.Theyborrowedfreelyfromhimand generally reshaped his image to suit their own needs. Somedefended what they saw as the compelling vision behind Kongzi’steachings against less demanding interpretations of his Way. OtherslampoonedtheSage,portrayinghimasaself-important,self-promotingfussy antiquarian, as a dangerousdistraction from real reform, or as amanutterlyirrelevanttothetaskofgoverning.Evenastheyattackedorpraised and cadged material from Confucius, the real targets of theircritiqueswere his disciples and disciples of disciples,withwhom theycompetedforofficialfavoratthecourts.GiventhecenturiesofattentiontoKongzi’s teachings, it isnot surprising thatearlycriticsattacked thepoints where they found the Sage’s character and teachings mostvulnerable:hisinsistenceontheprimacyofthefamilyoverthestate,onthecriticalneedtopreserveone’sintegrity,eventodieforit,andonthevalueofgrand-scaleritualperformances.Inreadingtheseancientmasterstoday,theirwritingsstillconveytheirsense of urgency, their determination to bring order out of chaos;moralityoutofrape,pillage,andtreachery;andcivilityoutofbrutality.Thetimeswereperilous,notonlyforthestatesandtheirrulersbutalsofor therulers’advisers.Fromtheeighthcentury to theendof the fifthcentury—dubbedthe“SpringandAutumn”(Chunqiu)eraafterKongzi’sown chronicle—it seemed to many that conditions could hardly getworse. But even while Kongzi watched the events of his day, therelatively low-casualty skirmishes and gentlemanly jousting that hadonce characterizedwarfare in theNorthChinaPlainbegan to yield tomassive military campaigns employing tens of thousands and evenhundredsof thousandsof footsoldiers.Before long, somehundredandtwentystateswerereducedtoamereforty,butthoseneatfiguresmaskfarmessierrealities,forinsuchwarsthedefeatedlosttheirlands,theirtitles,andoften their freedomor their lives.Still, itwas the rare rulerwhodidnothopetoexpandhisterritorieswhilefendingoff incursionsby predatory neighbors, coups d’état by powerful families, and localpeasant rebellions, and so the two and a half centuries after Kongzi’sdeathin479BCEhavebeenaptlycalledtheWarringStatesperiod.By

then only seven major states contended for supreme power in theCentral States, but the battles grew larger in scale and fiercer indestruction, involving up to a million combatants, until the bloodyroundsofconquestsandannexationsfinallyendedin221BCEwiththeunificationofavastterritory(roughlythatofpresent-dayChina,minustheAutonomousRegions)undertheleadershipofasinglestateofQin,fromwhichChinagetsitsname.ThebrutalityoftheThirtyYears’Warin Europe provides an apt comparison for this Warring States period,except that thewars in theCentralStatesandsurroundingareas ragedformorethantwocenturieslonger.We know little about the day-to-day operations of court and state

duringthecenturiesafterKongzi’sdeath,exceptthateachdomainwasoriginally ruled by a single family. As the generations proceeded,however, power seldom remained in the hands of the original rulingfamily.Afterall,highmortality rateswere thenorm(withasmanyasthree children out of five dying at birth), and thosemen andwomenwho were lucky enough to survive to adulthood faced a variety ofadditional challenges, not least of which were bearing children andfighting wars. Frequent intermarriage among the noble clans, no lessthan incompetence and lack of interest among the scions of rulinghouses,meant thatan individualcourt’spolicywas frequentlydirectedlessbythenominalrulerofthestatethanbyhishereditaryministers.InConfucius’sownlifetime,aswehaveseen,thedukesofLuseldommadea move without first “consulting” the heads of three such families,especially the Ji clan. Thus the few accounts that we have from theperiod show great statesmen and rulers determining policy andconductingdiplomacyinwaysthatenabledtherealms,howeversmall,toholdtheirownorevengainterritoryamidthelargergeneralconflicts.If life was perilous for rulers, it presented as many challenges to

itinerantadvisers-for-hire—alongwithtremendousopportunitiesfortheambitious.HanFeizi,shortlybeforeunificationin221BCE,discussesthegravedifficultiesofpersuasion.Hecites thenecessity topander to theruler’sintereststogainahearing,butnottopandertoomuch,lestoneincite the suspicionsofhisministers.Withall this,wartimeconditionstendedtomakeforanunprecedenteddegreeofsocialmobility,upanddown, and the adviser whose advice worked reliably would, in most

cases,befavoredabovehishighborncounterpartwhocontributedlittletodecisionmaking.Meanwhile,thebirthandbackgroundofthewarriormatteredlessthanhisabilitytowinbattles.Advisersandgeneralswereultimately concernedwith praxis—what particular set of habits wouldmostdirectlyleadthepersonandthestatetothedesiredgoals.Withinthe state, the central questionwas,Whatparticular actswill bring thegreatestordertothegreatestnumberinsocietyinthequickestpossibletime with the fewest unintended consequences? Even the most“metaphysical” of the Hundred Masters, in their investigations intohumannature, delved into suchquestions in order to provide a soundbasis for theactions they recommended.Whatwenowsubsumeunderthatpaleabstractionof“ethicalconcerns”oncedroveeffortstosurviveandprosperinageswhenlifewasnasty,brutish,andshort.OnereasonwhythewritingsoftheWarringStatesmasterssurvivetothisdayisthattheywroteinamemorablestyleandraisedquestionsofenduring importance: (1) What are human beings like and whatmotivatesthemtoact?(2)Whatrolesdorituals,traditions,modelsfromantiquity, or laws play in effecting ormaintaining order? (3) If rulersandstatesmenplayacriticalroleinthehealthofthebodypolitic,whatkind ofman isworthy to lead? (4)What do the young need to learnfromtheirelders if theyaretoplayproductiveroles inthecommunityand transmit thenormsof civilized societies? (5)How iswealth toberedistributedsoastoachievethemostjustandstableorder?And(6)inthe general tumult occasionedbywars of all against all,what policiesoffer the best chances for achieving dominance or, at the very least,survival?Kongzi had addressed only some of these questions. His teachingswere premised on three linkedpropositions: humans are social beings;constructivesocialrelationsprovideamoralbasisforpoliticalorder;andpolitical stability and economic justice are absolute preconditions forteachingmostpeoplehowtobehaveinsociallyconstructiveways.Everyearly account we have of Kongzi portrays him as a teacher whoadvocated ritual and humaneness, rather than punishment and self-aggrandizement, as the only path to the sort of personal and socialcultivation that commands admiration, that being themost direct andplausible route to conventional success. But Kongzi, we are also told,

refusedtospeakatlengthaboutcertaintopics,includingfate,thespiritrealm, and, perhapsmost tellingly, human nature itself. About humannaturetheAnalectshasKongzi remarkingonly thathumans tend tobeverymuchalikeatbirth,butthetrainingtheyreceive,firstundertheirparentsandteachersandthenontheirown,makestheirhabitsdivergewidelyovertime.By the Warring States period, however, every master deemed it

necessarytotacklethetrickyquestionofdefininghumannature,evenifthey could only devote part of their energies to that task. Since theywere all urging particular courses of action upon rulers andministers,theyhad to couch theirarguments inwhat they thoughtwashumanlypossible for rulers and also for subjects. After all, the set of choicescollectivelymadebyindividualsasparents,farmers,andsoldierswouldfinallydeterminethestate’sriseorfall.Mothersandfatherscouldraisetheirchildrentobeloyalandproductivecontributorstothecommunityorbeutterlyself-serving;farmerscouldplanwellorignoretheseasonalchanges and fail; soldiers could meet the enemy bravely on thebattlefield, or they could turn and run. In the Warring States thesesimpleobservationspropelledtheHundredMasterstobeginwithhumannaturewheninquiringhowtoproduceamorepeacefulandproductiveworld. Most assumed that peace would only come when North Chinawas unified under a single banner, but which state would ultimatelyprevail and what kind of state it would be depended upon humanqualitiesandcapacities.

TWOOBVIOUSBROADSIDESleveledagainstKongziwereattributedtoacertainJieYu,acontemporarywhohadchosentoliveasarecluseinthesouthernstate of Chu. In one encounter with Kongzi, Jie Yu warned him thattrying to teach others was risky and likely to end in misfortune. IfConfuciuscontinuedtopreachwhenthetimeswereoutofjointandtherulers dismissed his talents, he was hardly to be admired for hisintelligence.Suchpersistenceashedisplayedtotheverydayhedieddidnot mark him as a man of indomitable will, but rather as an old,stubborn,deludedfool.Hereisthestoryofthatencounter:

WhenConfuciuswent toChu, the eccentric JieYuwandered byhis gate, and called out,

“Phoenix!Phoenix!Howhasvirtuefailed!Thefutureyoucannotwaitfor.Thepastyoucanno longer pursue. When the world has the Way, the sage succeeds. When the world iswithouttheWay,thesagelookstosurvival.Intimeslikethepresent,wedowelltoescapepunishments. Good fortune is light as a feather, but nobody knows how to pick it up.Misfortuneisheavyasearth,butnobodyknowshowtostayoutofitsway.Leaveoff!Leaveoff—thisteachingvirtuetomen!It’sdangerous,quitedangerous!Fool!You’reafool.Don’ttry topreventmefrommakingmyownway. Iwalkacrookedpath….Becausecinnamoncanbeeaten,itgetscutdown;becauselacquercanbeused,itstreegetshackedapart.Allmenknowtheuseoftheuseful,butnobodyseestheinherentutilityofbeinguseless.”

In a second tale, the same Jie Yu reiterates his condemnation,suggestingthatmenlikeConfuciusarepeddlingbogusvirtue.Theyseekto influenceothers,neverhaving learned togovern themselves. JieYucharacterizedKongzi’sattemptstoadviseonerulerafteranotherinthefollowingwords:

Thisisbogusvirtue!Totrytogoverntheworldlikethisisliketryingtowalktheocean,drillthroughariver,ormakeamosquitoshoulderamountain.Whenthesagegoverns,doeshegovern what is the outside? He makes sure of himself first, and then he acts. He makesabsolutelycertainthatthingscandowhattheyaresupposedtodo.That’sit;thereisnothingmore than this.Thebird flieshigh in theskywhere itcanescapeharmfromarrows.Thefieldmouseburrowsdeepunderthehillsoitwon’thavetoworryaboutmendiggingandsmokingitout.Haveyougotlesssensethanthesetwosortsofcreatures?

Jie Yu’s caricature of Kongzi as a self-righteous windbag fails todiscern his true character, which comes through the Analects as “animpulsive,emotional,andinformalman,amanwithwitandhumor,amancapableofsubtleironywithanacutesensibility.”InthischapterweexaminefiveothercriticsofConfucius,alldeemed

masters by theirmany followers, in roughly chronological order:Mozi(tradit. 470–390 BCE), Yang Zhu (370–319 BCE), Han Feizi (280–233BCE),Zhuangzi(thirdcentury?BCE),andWangChong(27–92CE).Onlyfor Wang Chong do we have somewhat firm dates. Aside fromWangChong, it isdoubtfulwhetheranyof the foregoingmastersactuallysetdown in writing the traditions later ascribed to them. The writingsassociatedwiththeirnameswereprobablycompiledafterunificationin221BCE, some even as late as 26BCE, near the endofWesternHan.OnlyMoziamongthecriticsdaredtolaunchafull-scale,head-onattack

upon Kongzi himself. Mozi-the-reformer held a position within theConfucian tradition analogous to that of Martin Luther withinCatholicism, in that he wanted to reform theMaster’s teachings frominsidethetradition, lesseningthepompandcircumstanceandfocusingmore on essentials. The earliermasters, whowere contemporarywithKongzi when the legendary Master was just beginning to be takenseriously by those outside Lu, often attacked Kongzi through proxyfigures, thestrawmencalledRu,self-proclaimedspecialists inclassicallearning and the arts. By such ruses, themasters obviated the risk ofoffending Kongzi’s admirers when pitching new programs. The latermasters, perhaps not surprisingly,were inclined to view the legendaryKongzi as a kindred spirit whose genius they shared. Given theinnumerable dangers that beset the bold advancement of new policyproposals,otherpersuadersfounditmorepolitictocharacterizetheRuaswell-meaningadvisersnotquiteup tograsping the totalpicture.Bylabelingrivalplanspartial,deficient,andincomplete,theyimpliedthatnewerviewswouldbemoreinclusive,exhaustive,andeffective.All advisers, however—not just the professional classicists who sawthemselves as Kongzi’s latter-day followers—identified Kongzi as aprofessional“ancestor,”afounderofthelineoffreelancespecialistswhopossessedanenviablemasteryof theartsandliterature,ofhistoryandprecedents, of ritual and music, or of administration and militarystrategy.Tothetrueclassicist,knowledgeofthelivesofthegreatmenofhistoryillustratednotonlythecodesofconductworthyofemulationbutalso the larger patterns operating in the knownworld. One looked toappropriategestures,dress,andspeechtomakeanawesomedisplaysothatone’sownperformanceandthatofone’srulermightbeallthemoreimpressive.Acommandofcourtprecedentswasanotherprerequisiteforthe good adviser. And because Kongzi had edited the Annals, subtlyweavinghistoricalevents togetherwith“praiseandblame,” thosewhoprided themselves on their insights into “knowing men” invariablyconsideredthemselvestobeKongzi’sspiritualheirs,whethertheywere“Confucians” in the strict sense of “ethical followers of the Way ofKongzi” or just astute persuaders who judged history to be the mostreliable guide for thinking about present circumstances. Of course,rhetoricians intent upon advertising their fresh views tended to mock

predecessorsasabsurdholdoversfromabenightedage,butthatdidnotmeanthattheglibspeakersnecessarilywantedtodisplaceKongzifromhispositionasanearlymaster.By trade, all the classicists were rhetoricians and persuaders, andsuccess in their profession depended upon a knowledge of history, forthe “common wisdom” peddled by the masters and their disciplesclaimed to represent a practical understanding of the ways the worldworked, buttressed by evidence aboutwhat had or hadnotworked inthepast.Thebestoftheclassicistsaddedadistinctmoralcomponenttotheir recommendations while urging their rulers to consider thefeasibility of new approaches to governance. All were clever, erudite,and ambitious enough to employ a range of rhetorical ploys in theirtreatmentsofConfucius.

MOZI ONCONFUCIUS

Mozi, or Master Mo, was born either in Lu or in nearby Song,approximately a century after Confucius and shortly before Mencius.Legendhas it thathebegan lifeasanartisan,most likelya carpenter;thatatsomepointhewasbranded(mo )foracrime;andthathehadoncebeenamostdevotedfollowerofKongzibeforebecomingoneofhisfiercestcritics.Likeanothercarpenterfromanothertimeandplace,Moziis famousforteaching“universal love”(jian’ai),whichMozidefinedas“lovingothersimpartially”and“workingtobenefitall,”ratherthanonlyone’sownfamilyandfriends.Suchqualities,inMozi’sview,lethumansimitate Heaven, which shines on all equally. According to Mozi,partialitywastherootofallevil,andMozi,likeKongzi,wasdeterminedtoimprovetheworld.ThestoryhasitthatwhenMoziheardthatChu,themost powerful state of his time, was planning to attack a smallerstate,hewalkedstraightthroughfortendaysandtennightstodissuadeChu’s ruler from thisactof aggression.LikeKongzi,Mozialso insistedthat rulers often did not know their own minds: they claimed theywantedtheirdomainstoberich,theirpeoplenumerous,andtheirruleeven-handed, but they condemned their commoners, hard-pressed bytaxesandlaborservices,tolaborinthefieldslikedraftanimalsandtodieinbattlefieldsfarfromhome.Lifeforthevastmajoritywashellish—

allthemoresowhentheadministratorsintheirjurisdictionswerevenalor incompetent. The common people lacked any means to defendthemselvesagainst suchdenialsof their fundamentalhumanity;havingnomeansbywhichtoadvancethemselves,theycouldneverbeofrealusetothemselvesorothers.Forthisreason,saidMozi,thestrongmustnotbeallowedtobullytheweak.Mozi’s followers boasted of him, “Even if therewere nomen in the

world, Master Mo’s sayings would still stand.” Many of Mozi’s ideasborrowed or built directly upon the ideas of Kongzi, however. Kongziwas no respecter of persons, when issues of social justice wereconcerned; theAnalects had him saying, for example, “A gentleman inhisdealings…hasneitherenmitiesnoraffections;heonlyrangeshimselfbeside the Right, wherever he sees it.” Kongzi andMozi placed equalemphasis upon loyalty to superiors and consideration for others; alsoupon the ruler “honoring the worthy” over inheritors of high rank,suggestingthatbothsetsofteachingsweremeanttoappealtothoseinthe lower ranks of the hereditary aristocratic class. Citing the sameexamplesofthesamesage-kingslaudedbyConfucius,Moziinsistedthat“when the ancient sage-kings administered the realm, they …nevershowed particular favor to their kith and kin, or to those possessingwealthandhonor.”KongziandMoziwereoneinexcoriatingthehawksatcourtwhosoughtto“leadtheuninstructedmassesintowar.”SohowisitthatMozi’steachings,whichsupposedly“filledtheworld”

inhisowntime,camesoontobeperceivedasafundamentalattackonKongziandhisWay,ratherthanasacontinuationoranextensionofit?Mozi was anathema to Kongzi’s followers not only because his famerivaledorevensurpassedthatoftheLuMaster,andbecauseMoziwas,in contrast to Kongzi, a very effective politician. More important,perhaps, Mozi questioned two basic tenets of belief associated withConfucius: the primacy of the family inmoral training, and themoralutility of ritual performances on a grand scale. Mozi, dripping withsarcasm, pointed out that the natural family is not “naturally”harmonious.WhereasKongzihademphasizedtheprimacyofthefamilyinmorallife,believing,first,thatitwastheparentswhotransmittedthemostpreciousgiftof life to their childrenand, second, that the familyrepresentedthe“base”ofvirtue, theplacewherethechildwastrained

to respect and love others and communicate those feelings throughcivilizedspeechandbehavior,Moziinsistedthattoprivilegethefamilyabove all others was, in fact, to be less than fully human (ren ). InMozi’seyesthetrulygoodpersontreatedeveryoneofhisacquaintancewithequalbenevolence; theneighbor’s fathermightaswellhavebeenhisown.Consequently,intheeyesofKongzi’sethicalfollowers,fullacceptance

ofMozi’s teachingsentailed“livingas ifonehadno father,”or indeedany kith or kin at all! Had not Mozi enjoined the ruler to ignore allfamily connections when delegating authority to those in hisadministration? By Mozi’s reasoning, any fool could see that it wasbetter to entrust the care of one’s own family members to a societywhose members had been trained to see beyond their own narrow,selfishinterests,foronlyinsuchasocietycouldone’sparents,intimesofcrisis,expecttobecaredfor.Thatbeingthecase,itwasinthehighestfilial interest of any child to “first make it a point to benefit otherpeople’sparentsinthesamewaythathewouldhaveothersbenefithisparents.” Individual and family interests were apt to undermine thegeneralgood.Thegreatfamiliesinparticularactedaspowerfulspecial-interestgroups,preventingequalitywithin theirown ranksandwithinsociety at large. Such selfishness had already, time and time again,proven to be completely counterproductive, for “within any givenfamily,fathersandsons,olderandyoungerbrothers,hadgrowntohateone another so that the families split up, and meanwhile, out in theworld, people resorted to using water, fire, and poison to harm oneanother.”Itwasobviously“thedutyofbenevolentmantotrytopromotewhat

benefitstheworldandeliminatewhateverinjurestheworld.”Tocounterthe divisive influence of family loyalty, Mozi in his own lifetimeorganizedhisadherentsintotroupeswhosemembers—allofthemmale,we think—lived and worked together under the direction of ahandpicked leader like himself, to whom they pledged absoluteobedience.Atthe leader’sdeath, themanagementof thetroupepassedto that member whom the leader judged most capable. Familybackground or influence was not to be taken into account. In thetroupes,solongasamanhadability,hewouldbepromoted,evenifhe

wereafarmer,anartisan,oraformerconvict.TheadvantagesofMozi’searlyversionofaffirmativeactionwererealenough:eachtroupecouldbemobilizedatamoment’snoticewhenitwasneededforlocaldefenseorforproduction.Thetroupesalsoepitomizedandengenderedasenseoffairplay.Moreover,groupactionwaslikelytobemoreeffectivethanindividualefforts;thefamilyunitwassimplytoosmall,toofragile,toopartial,andtooparochialtoascertainandthenactinthebestlong-terminterestsofitsmembersorofsocietyatlarge.Betterthatstalwartmenofvariousfamiliesbandtogetherinacommoncause.Andifthebandsofmen were diligent enough, though a fraction of the population, theycould transform the entire society, so long as rulers reinforced, byjudicious use of punishments and rewards, the lesson that unselfishbehaviorwouldbenefitsocietybest.Peoplewouldsooncometoprefertheprincipleofuniversallove(i.e.,workingforthebenefitofall)totheprincipleoffilialdevotion,because“universallove”alonecouldcreateasenseofcommonpurposeamongpeoplewhowerenotrelatedbybloodormarriage:

Well,onewhocaresforotherswillinevitablybecaredforbythem;onewhobenefitsotherswillinevitablybebenefitedbythem.Andonewhohatesotherswillinevitablybehatedbythem;andonewhoharmsotherswillinevitablybeharmedbythem.Whatisdifficultaboutanyofthis?

“Confrontedwithsuchchoices,thereisnoman,woman,orchild”whowillnotprefertokeepcompanywiththosewhoseconcernforothersiswide-rangingandstrong.Thus it is that“onewhocares forotherswillinevitablybecaredforbyothers.”OfthisMoziwascertain.Mozi was right. People did come to see the practical logic of his

teachings, and if Mozi had not struck a second blow at the heart ofConfucian teachings, it is doubtful whether Kongzi’s followers wouldever have gathered sufficient strength to launch a series ofcounterattacks(themostfamousbyMencius).ButMoziwenttoofar,intheir view, when he argued that the grand performances of rites andmusicatcourtwereworsethanuselesstothegoodruler,evenastoolsbywhichtherulerestablishedhisawesomeauthority.Mozibeganwitha simple observation followed by a question, “What the people wantmost is life;what theyhatemost is death.”Askingwhat are thebasic

conditionsthathumansneedinordertosurvive,letaloneflourish,Moziansweredthatpeopleneedfood,clothing,andshelter,but theycannotbegintoearnthebasicnecessitiesifthestateisalwaystakingawaythefruits of their labors in high taxes, interrupting their farm work, orsending themoff toprosecute foreignwars.Anysurpluswealthshouldberedistributedinsuchawayastosupportthecommonpeopleintheirendeavors, rather than being spent on luxury items. In short, power-holderswouldhave togiveupcollecting thingsand territories, so thatthe amount of food, clothing, houses, defensive weapons, boats, andcartswouldfinallybeenoughforall.The greatest good for the greatest number, Mozi argued, would be

achieved if the ruler were to redistribute the vast sums expended oncourt performances among the common people; the sage by definition“eliminates needless expenditures.” Once the ruler no longer activelyoppressedhis subjects, but rather secured their livelihoods, the peoplewouldwholeheartedlycontributetheirbesteffortstohisservice,andthestatewouldcometoknowthatenviableconsensusofopiniononethicaland practical issues that the classical literature identified with thegoldenageofyore.Andwhilethekingwasdoingawaywithallsortsofcounterproductiveritesandmusicalperformances,hemightaswellridhis court of florid rhetoric, for it, too, represented wasted time, evenwhen it did not actively subvert good sense. The phrase-makers, infillingtheking’sheadwithvisionsofglory,onlywhettedhisappetiteforabsurdwarsofaggression.Plainlanguagemakesforbetterpolitics,Moziinsisted, and facilitates communication between the ruler and hissubjects. Thus the followers of Kongzi, in defending the very policiesthatunderminethehealthofthebodypolitic,“confusedwhatishabitualwithwhat is proper, andwhat is customarywithwhat is right.”Moziclaimed that his prescriptions—not those of Kongzi—would restoresimple dignity to his fellow human beings while following the truemean:

Acoffinthreeinchesthickisgoodenoughtoburyrottingbones;threepiecesofclothingaresufficienttocoverrottingflesh.Theholeinthegroundshouldnotbedeepenoughtoreachthe water table, nor so shallow that the vapors of the rotting flesh escape. A moundsufficientlylargetomarkthespotwherethecorpseisburiedisallthatisneeded.Mournersmayweep going to and from the burial, but after that, they should devote themselves to

makingaliving.

“Thegentlemenoftheworldtodayunderstandsmallmatters,butnotlargeones,”Mozisniffed.Kongzi’s followers, of course, cried foul when Mozi ridiculed their

persons and attacked the very rites and music that represented thefoundationoftheirprofessionalstanding.Kongzi,byMozi’saccount,hadhimself sometimes lacked the basic scruples, in that he acceptedwineand meat without asking where they came from, being in this nodifferent, really, from traitors and rebels: “He racked his brain andexhaustedhiswisdomincarryingoutsuchevildeeds.”AndwhenMozicharged that the classicists were lazy to boot, “behaving like beggars,stuffing food away like hamsters, staring like he-goats, and walkingaroundlikecastratedpigs,”itwastoomuchtoswallow.Even inpassageswhereMoziadoptedamilder tone, retreating from

his ad hominem attacks, he struck hard at the classicists, as in thefollowingtiradeagainstmusic:

When thebenevolentmanmakesplans tobenefit theworld,hedoesnot considermerelywhatwillpleasetheeye,delighttheear,gratifythemouth,andgiveeasetothebody.If,inordertogratifythesenses,hehastodeprivethepeopleofthewealthneededfortheirfoodand clothing, then the benevolent man will not do so. Therefore, I condemn music notbecause the sound of the great bells and rolling drums, the zithers and pipes, is notdelightful…butbecauseifweconsidertheworld’swelfare,wefinditbringsnobenefittothe common people. Therefore, I say, “The rulers employ youngmen and youngwomen,takingthemawayfromtheirplowingandplanting,theirspinning,weaving,andproducinglargequantitiesofhemp,silk,andotherfibers—thesetheirrightfulduties!…”ThereforeIsay,“Itiswrongtomakemusic!”

Moziwas arguably tone-deaf. In reply, the classicists offered a verydifferentKongzi fromtheonesuppliedbyMozi: theirConfuciusprizedmusicandritesnotonlyasthechiefcivilizinginstrumentsavailabletogentlemenand to commoners alike, but also as a sourceof comfort tothe poor, aged, and infirm. Theworldwould be a drab place indeed,were there no gorgeous silks, superb food, and colorful spectacles tobreak themonotonyofeveryday life.Humanbeingsare farmore thanthesumoftheirphysicalneeds.2

The classicists argued thatMozi’s teachingswere repulsive not onlybecausetheydemandedwhatisunfilial,butalsobecausetheyaskedforthe impossible: that humans love strangers asmuch as their close kin.Worse,Moziinsistedthatghostsandspiritsdoexist,andthattheytakean active interest in human lives, bestowing good or ill fortune uponpeople according to their just deserts, all appearances to the contrary.(Moziwassurethatatheistsandagnosticscommittedmorecrimesthanbelievers.)Stillothersobjected toMozi’sunthinkingelitism, for inonespeechheproclaimed,

Thecommonpeopledevotetheirstrengthtocarryingouttheirtasks,buttheycannotdecidefor themselves what is right. They have gentlemen to do that for them. The gentlemendevote their strength to carryingout their tasks,but they themselves can’tdecidewhat isright.Thereareministersandofficialstodothatforthem.Theofficersworkhardtocarryouttheirresponsibilities,buttheycannotbeallowedtodecidewhatisright.Therearethethreehighministersandthelordstodothatforthem.

Aswithsomanyconservatives, thepaternalisticandthepietisticareclosely intertwined in Mozi’s thinking. Defining Heaven as “pureeminenceandpurewisdom,”Mozibelievedthat“thereisnotsomuchasthe tip of a hair which is not the work of Heaven.” Thus it must beHeaven “who establishes kings and lords to reward the worthy andpunish the wicked…so that the people may have enough food andclothing.”Godmustbeinheavenandallisrightwiththeworld.Kongzi,bycontrast,whiledeeplyimmersedintheritualandreligiouslifeofhisera,wasdistinctlyaverse topontificatingabout the roles that fateandsupernatural agency play in determining the course of a human life.WhensomeoneaskedforanexplanationoftheAncestralSacrifice,heissaidtohavereplied,“Idonotknow.AnyonewhoknewtheexplanationcoulddealwithallthingsunderHeavenaseasilyasIlaythishere”(andthen he proceeded to lay his finger on the palm of his hand). Whenaskedbyadisciple toexplainwhatdeathwouldbe like,herespondedgrimly, “You’ll know soon enough.” He nonetheless maintainedthroughoutanattitudeofreverence,insistingthatonewho“putshimselfinthewrongwithHeavenhasnomeansofexpiationleft.”While Mozi’s solution for social anarchy is social hierarchy and itscoercive punishments, Kongzi insists on the need for cultivating social

ties through an enhanced ability to rule oneself. Still, Mozi andConfucius were very much in agreement about the importance of theruler’sexampleforhissubjects:ifarulersetsanexample,thecommonpeoplearesuretofollowit.Sothequestionwasnotwhatastatecouldpersuadehumans todo for the sakeof loveormoney,but ratherhowthe ruler of the state should act, so as to benefit those inhabiting hisdomain.Exemplaryfiguresroutinelyperformsingleactsthatwouldseemtobemuchharder than“loving”all thingsallof the time.But thecourseofrevolutionneverdoesrunsmooth,forafteratimeordinaryhumansfeeltheir spirits flagging. So Kongzi clearly has the last word in thisparticular debate because he recognizes in the craving for beauty anatural impulse to be encouraged, not suppressed, and because hebelieves that “loving everybody”—regardless of people’s relation tooneself,regardlessoftheiractions—istooforeigntohumannature.

YANGZHUONCONFUCIUS

Yangzi, a man ofWei, lived in the earlyWarring States period, afterMozibutbeforeMengzi.ThoughYangZhu’steachingswereamongthemost influential during the Warring States period, today we knowsurprisingly little about his thinking—only that Yang articulated aphilosophy that struck at the very heart of Confucian and Mohistmorality,andthatYangZhu’sideasweresuppressedtosomedegreebytheQinandHanrulinghouses.YangZhu’steachingsseemtohavebeenrelativelysimple.Asoneearlytextputit,“YangZhuvaluedhisperson.”Hereishowonetextexpandsuponthatslogan:

YangZhusaid,“Themyriadcreaturesmaybedifferentinlifebutthesameindying.Inlife,theymaybemorallyobtuseorworthy,honorableorbase,andsotheydiffer.Indeath,theyall stink, rot,disintegrate,anddisappear,andso theyare thesame….Thenoblemanandthe sagedie; thewickedand theobtusedie. In life, theymayhavebeenYaos andShuns[sages];indeaththeyarerottingbones.Thustheyallarejustthesame….Letusenjoyourlifeinthepresent.Whyworryaboutwhatcomesafterdeath?”

FourpointsinthisstatementascribedtoYangareimportant:(1)deathis the end; (2) death is no respecter of persons; (3) the conventional

“goods”ofthislife—fame,wealth,longevity,andhighrank,tonamethemost coveted—confer upon humans no lasting benefit, and so theyshouldnotbepursued;and (4) the simplepleasures in this life shouldtherefore be pursued more avidly. In the cruel confidence gameemployedbyambitiousstates(thenasnow)toproducefearlesswarriorsand selfless subjects, death is cast as a gain. In Yang Zhu’s view, theworld will achieve good order only when everyone finally refuses tosacrificehimself or others for the sakeof the supposed commongood,because then no one will seek short-term advantages from serving it.Keeping oneself intact so as to protect one’s integrity and wholeness,refusingtoletone’sbodybeensnaredbyabstractidealsandambitions—these, to the consternation of the Confucians, were the teachings thatYang Zhu advocated. Kongzi’s followers (mis)characterized Yang Zhu’steachings as gross egotism, a self-absorption that was bound toundermineanawarenessoftheprofounddebtsofgratitudeowedfirsttoone’s familymembers and second to one’s ruler. Themost strident ofKongzi’s followers condemned Yang’s attitude as “bestial” and worsethanthatofthebarbarians!HadKongzilivedlongenoughtoknowYangZhu,hisrefutationmighthave been quite different. Kongzi would have objected to Yang Zhu’sassertionthatthehighestgoodispreservingone’sownlife,whateverthecost.KongziwouldhaverefusedtoacceptthegrossmaterialfinalityofYang Zhu’s vision of life and death. Yang Zhu saw humanity ascomposedofcapacitiesthatwereeasilydamagedorweakened,throughanexcessofdesires,throughlackofconsiderationforone’sownhealth,orthroughphysicalassaultsbyothers.Sincethosecapacitieswerewhatallowed humans to live out their allotted days, damage to themnecessarilyendedinashortenedlifespan.AsYangwrote,

Therefore, the sage’s attitude to sounds, sights, and tastes is that when they benefit hisnature,hechoosesthem,andwhentheyharmhisnature,herefusesthem.ThisistheWayofkeepingone’snatureintact.

Especiallyworrisomewas the loss of one’sqi, the configured energythought to be the very stuff of life and health. A powerful argumentcouldbemade thatnothingwasmore important, even from themoralpointofview,thantheconservationofbodilyqi:

We love riches and honor, ease and fame, forwhich others praise us, on account of ourbodies.Itisonaccountofourbodiesalsothatweabhorpovertyandbasestatus,dangerandshame, forwhichothersdespiseus.Andofourbodies,what ismostvaluable?Nothing ismorevaluablethanqi.Whenapersongetsqi,helives;whenhelosesit,hedies.Hisqiisnotgoldorsilk,pearlsorjade,anditcannotbesoughtfromothers.Itisnotpaintedclothorthefivecereals,anditcannotbegotbypurchase.Itexistssolelyinourownbodies.Onecannotbut be careful. As theOdes say, “Intelligent and wise he is / In protecting his physicalperson.”

Thus, in Master Yang’s view, “The possibility that events may leadeither topovertyor towealth iswhat injures aperson’s character [bymaking him greedy or fearful]. The possibility that events may leadeithertolifeordeathiswhatinjuresaperson’scourage.”3YangZhuwasnotnecessarily immoral; to risk injury to life and limb for the sakeofmere things or fleeting sensations would be to forget that we shouldneverdisdain thepreciousgiftof life fromHeaven.According toYangZhu,eachofuscanexperiencegenuineemotionsandfeelings,andtheseprobablyconstitutethebestavailableguideswehavetowhatweneedto sustain life.Ourdesires topossess thingsandpeople reflect societalnorms, and thegreater thenumberofourpossessions, themore likelywe are to indulge inworries that harm the body. Then, too, artificialceremonies,alongwithother formsofacculturation,candamageus tothedegreethattheyweanusawayfromthenaturalself.Acculturationtosociety’snormscanevenalterourpictureoftheworldsodramaticallythatweconsidergivingupour lives for the sakeofhonororaltruism.Heaven,asopposedtothestate,wouldneverrequirethatsacrificeofus.YangZhucouldpointtothelegendofoldDukeDanfu,thefounderoftheZhounobleline,whenhewantedtociteasuitableprecedentforhisbrandofmorality.Whennomadic tribes threatenedhis state, thedukefoundhimselfincapableofsendinghissubjectstowar.Reasoningthatithardlymatteredwhether these sons and brotherswere his subjects oranother’s, he left his state and moved to the foothills of Qishan. Sowidelyadmiredwasheforthisunselfishactthathissubjectsallmovedfrom their former homes to his new lands. The sage-king Yao ofantiquity provided another model for Yang, since Yao had reportedlytriedtocedetheempiretoamanwhowasnothisownson,reasoningthat “only the man who cares nothing for the empire deserves to be

trusted with the empire.” (As it happens, Yang Zhu tells us, Yao’spotentialheirrefusedtheempire,citingprinciplesremarkablylikethoseofYangZhu.)

AccordingtoYangZhu,anyonewhoundertakesacarefulcost-benefitanalysiswillsoonseethatthepersonwhogenuinely“actssolelyonbehalfofhisownperson”willmostlikelydothe least harm to himself and others, for he will seek to avoid all potentially harmfulactivitieswhatsoever.(AdamSmithsaidmuchthesame,ofcourse.)Oneneedstoestimatethetroublesomethingwillcost,anticipatethepossiblereversalsoffortunethatmayaccruefrom a particular act, and calculate whether a proposed action will do damage to one’snature.Ifmenandwomenalwaystookthetroubletomakethatsortofcarefulcalculation,fewwouldeverlookto“improvetheirlots”inconventionalterms.

Supposewehaveamanwhoiswillingtocutoffhisownheadorhishandsandfeetinexchangeforacap;supposewehaveamanwhowilllet himself be executed in exchange for a coat. The world wouldcertainlythinkhimdeluded.Why?Acapisameanstoadornthehead;acoat,toadorntheperson.Iftheadornedendsupbeingexecutedbecausehe was trying to get the means of adornment, he has failed tounderstandwhyheacts.Thepersonwilling todoanything for a singlepossession—whatever

itsvalue—isapersonwhowill stopatnothing, so longas theprice isright.The extreme position attributed to Yang Zhu was that Yang would

refusetogiveupasinglehairofhisbody,evenif itwouldbenefit thewholeworld. By Yang Zhu’s logic, plucking one hair from one’s bodyrepresentsthefirststeponaperilouspath:soononemaybeofferingtosliceoffabitofone’sskininreturnforapieceofgold,orcuttingoffalimbinorder towinastate.Therebeingnonaturalendtothedesireswehave,andnonatural end, in consequence, to thebargainswemaystrike,wemustneverforgetthesupremevalueofthecompletelifeandintactbody.Forahumanlifepassesbyassuddenlyasa thoroughbredsteedgallopingpastachinkinthewall.“Whoevercannot…findnurturefor the years that are predestined—that is not a person who hasfathomedtheWay.”OneriposteinresponsetoYangZhu’srhetoricwasput,appropriately

enough,inthemouthofKongziinanearlyHancollectionofstories:

DukeAiaskedConfucius,“Doesthepossessorofwisdomliveouthispredestinedlifespan?”Confucius replied, “Certainly. There are three ways in which a man dies that are notdeterminedbyfate,butareofhisownchoosing.Thosewhoseresidenceisnottakencareof,those who are immoderate in eating and drinking, those who in toil and idleness go toexcess—thesewillallbekilledoffbysickness.Thosewho,occupyinginferiorpositions,liketo oppose their superiors; those whose desires are insatiable; and those who seek thingsincessantly—theywillallofthembekilledbylaw.Thosewhowithafewopposethemany,whoinweakness insult thestrong,whoinangerdonot takestockof theirstrength—theywillallofthembekilledinconflicts.Thustherearethreewaysinwhichamandiesthatarenot determined by fate but are due to his own choices. TheOde says, ‘If aman have nomoderationinhisbehavior,/Whatcanhedobutdie?’”4

This anecdote does not simply suggest that one who understandsdestinyaswell asKongziwillnotbedeceived. It impliesalso that theConfucianWaywillnotleadthepersontowrackandruin.Instead,asinAnalects2/18,ConfuciusarticulatesaWaythatservesapersonwellasheorshegoesthroughlife:TheMastersaid,“Hearmuchbutmaintainsilenceasregardsdoubtful

points. Be cautious also in speaking of the rest. That way you willseldomget into trouble. Seemuch, and ignorewhat it isdangerous tohave seen. Be cautious, too, in acting upon the rest. Then you willseldomwanttoundoyouracts.Hewhoseldomgetsintotroubleaboutwhathehassaidandseldomdoesanythingthatheafterwardwisheshehadnotdone—suchamanwillbesureincidentallytogethisreward.Kongzifurtherinsistedthatthemostbasicimpulsebehindmorality—a

profound sense of the emotional quid pro quo underlying humanrelations—isneeded if one seeks to sustain one’s life: “Approach themwithdignity,andtheywillrespectyou.Carryoutfilialdutytowardyourparents and kindness toward your children, and they will be loyal toyou.Promote thosewhoareworthy, train thosewhoare incompetent.This is the best form of encouragement by which to induce ordinarypeopletotreatyouwell.”InKongzi’sview,aselfishconcernwithone’sownlifemayactuallydiminishone’schancesofflourishing.

Behavewhenawayfromhomeasthoughyouwereinthepresenceofanimportantguest.Dealwiththecommonpeopleasthoughyouwereofficiatingatanimportantsacrifice.Donot do to others what you would not like to happen to yourself. Then there will be no

feelingsofoppositiontoyou,whetheritistheaffairsofastatethatyouarehandlingortheaffairsofafamily.

AsMencius, a self-proclaimed adherent of Kongzi, proclaimed, “Thereasonfordislikingthosewhoholdtooneextremeis that theycrippletheWay,insofarasonethingissingledouttotheneglectofahundredother considerations.” Yang Zhu had forgotten that life, howeverimportanttothehumangood,isnotthesupremegooditself.Kongzihadsaid, “In themorning, hear theWay; in the evening, die content.” Ofhumaneness,hehadsaid,

Toprefergoodness isbetterthanonlytoknowit.Todelight init isbetterthanmerelytopreferit….Onewhoreallycaredforgoodnesswouldneverletanyotherconsiderationcomefirst.Hasanyoneevermanagedtodogoodwithhiswholemightevenaslongasthespaceofasingleday?Ithinknot!YetIformyparthaveneverseenanyonegiveupsuchanattemptbecausehehadnotthestrengthtogoon.Itmaywellhavehappened,butImyselfhaveneverseen it.Never for amoment does a gentlemanquit theWayofGoodness.He is never soharriedbutthathecleavestothis;neversototteringbutthathecleavestothis.

HANFEIONCONFUCIUS

Master Han Fei (280–233 BCE), alone among the early Masters, wasbornintothearistocracy.Hewas,however,butaminorprincehailingfromtheembattledstateofHan,whichoccupiedamere fraction—andthemostmountainousandtheleastproductivefraction,atthat—ofthevastterritoriesformerlyinthepossessionofthepowerfulstateofJin.Asprinceinastatepartitionedbyitsownministerialfamilies,HanFeikepta sharpeyeout for thedangersoccasionedby factional strifeat court,and itwasdoubtlesshiskeen senseof theprecariousnessofmany lateWarring States arrangements that made Han Fei such an implacableenemy of the slow, civilizing processes identified with the ConfucianWay.ButsometimeinhiscareerHanFeihadstudiedunderXunzi,thenthe most famous proponent of Kongzi’s teachings. Xunzi would havetrainedHanFeiintheclassicalcurriculumofliterature,history,music,and ritual. Aman of learning himself, Han Fei admired erudition andcivility in others, but his admiration stopped at the pointwhere thesequalitiesmight distract a ruler from giving his undivided attention to

acquiring supreme strategic advantage in all military and economicoperations.Therefore,inthewritingsattributedtohim,HanFeipraisedcultivation,humaneness, andadherence to the conventional notionsofdutyasgoalsworthpursuinginone’sprivatelife.Butwhenitcametothe public sphere—the conduct of state and the shaping of policy—heheld these samevirtues inutter contempt. “Onemustnot loseholdofthevitalpoint,”asheputit:

WereItogiveadvicefromthepointofviewoftheprivateperson,Iwouldsaythebestthingis to practice humaneness and duty and to cultivate the polite arts. By practicinghumaneness andduty, youwill become trusted, andwhen youhave become trusted, youmayreceiveanofficialappointment.Similarly,bycultivatingtheartsyoumaybecomeaneminentteacher,andassuch,youwillwingreathonorandrenown.Thesearethehighestgoals of theprivateperson.But should this happen—well, looking at it from thepoint ofviewofthestate,someonewhohasperformednomeritoriousservicefortherealmreceivesanofficialappointment;andsomeonewhoheldnogovernmenttitleenjoysgreathonorandrenown. A domain so ruled will face certain disorder, and the ruler certain peril. Theinterests of the state and the individual conflict with one another, you see. Both cannotprevailatthesametime.

Withsuchpronouncements,HanFeilaunchedadevastatingattackontheMaster’steachingswithouteveroncementioningKongzi’sname.ByHanFei’stime,sometwocenturiesaftertheMaster’sdeath,Kongzihadalready reached legendary status; in the parlance of the time, he hadbecomeasage.ThatmeantthatKongzi,whoneverattainedhighoffice,was more famous than many a ruler; and his Way reckoned to besuperiortosomeproposalsmadebylaterpersuaders.Inacuriousway,then, theKongziof legendcouldconceivablyconstraintheactivitiesofcontemporaryrulers,preventingthemfromconsideringthefullrangeofoptions before carrying out their plans. More serious still, Kongzi’sadmirerstookittobeanarticleoffaiththatthebest-ruledstateswerethose administered by good men like themselves emulating Kongzi’sexample;Kongzi’sfollowerswerealltooapttolayclaimtotheMaster’smantleof authority inorder tobask inhis reflectedglory. If the chief“difficultyofpersuasion”was“toknowthemindofthepersononewastrying to persuade, so as to be able to fit one’s words to it,” it wascertainly becoming harder for critics to secure a court’s favor after

baldlydenouncingtheMaster.Onehardlyknewanymorewhatpositionthecourtmightadoptonsuchmatters.HenceoneofHanFei’sopeningsalvoscontainedaverybackhandedcomplimenttoKongzi:

Kongziwasoneofthegreatestsagesoftheworld.Heperfectedhisconduct,madecleartheWay,andtraveledthroughouttheareawithinthefourseas.Still,inallthatareatherewereonly seventywho so rejoiced in his humaneness and admired his righteousness that theywerewillingtobecomehisdisciples.Totrulyvaluehumanenessisararething;toadheretoduty is hard. Therefore within the vast area of the world only seventy men became hisdisciples,andonlyoneman—Kongzihimself—wastrulykindandrighteous.

Kongziwas a very greatman, asHanFei concedes. Theproblem is,sagesdonotcomealongveryoften.Theyarehonoredpreciselybecausetheyarerare.Thereforetherulercannotaffordtostandidlyby,waitingforasagetoappear,beforeheacts.

TherewasonceafarmerofSongwhotilledtheland,andinhisfieldstherewasastump.Onedayarabbit,racingacrossthefields,crashedintothestump,brokeitsneck,anddied.The farmer laid aside his plow and took to watching beside the stump, in the hopes ofgettinganotherrabbitinthesameway.Buthegotnomorerabbits,andinsteadbecamethelaughingstockofSong.

HanFeithendrawsthemoralofhisstory:“Thosewhothinktheycantakethewaysoftheancientkingsandusethemtogovernthepeopleoftodayallarestump-watchersofasort!”Havingdrawna laughor two,HanFeicanaffordtolettherulerruminateontheproblemsofscale:IfevenKongzihimselfcouldattractonlyseventymen,greatsage thoughhe was, how in the world is the average ruler, using Confucianteachings,evertoattractenoughfollowerstoruletheage?Therapidlycentralizing states of Han Fei’s time needed to bind millions to theirservice; otherwise theywould not have enoughmen to till their fieldsandman theirarmies.The rulerhadbetternot try to reform the statethroughtheruleofvirtue.

Hardly ten men of true integrity and good faith can be found today, and yet there arehundredsofofficesinastate.Iftheymustallbefilledbymenofintegrity,thentherewillnever be enoughmen to go around; and if the offices are left unfilled, then thosewhosebusinessitistogovernwilldwindleasthenumbersofthedisorderlyincrease.

The Confucian program cannot be implemented, Han Fei argues,becausetherearetoofewidealmentorunthegovernmentinthatway.AnyonewhothinksastateneedstoemploysageslikeKongzihassetthebar toohigh. It is enough to rule a country effectively and efficiently;every millennium or so, the conditions may make for an ideal stateideallygoverned.

Nowadays,when the classicists counsel a ruler, they do not urge him towield authority,which is thecertainwaytosuccess. Instead, they insist thathemustpracticehumanenessanddutybeforehecanbecomeatrueking.Thisis,ineffect,todemandthattherulerrisetoKongzi’slevel,andthatalltheordinarypeopleofthetimebelikeKongzi’sdisciples.Suchapolicyisboundtofail.

Aneasier andmorepredictableway to run thegovernmentmustbeprovided by advisers to the king—and to that subject Han Fei willreturn.Meanwhile,beforedeliveringthefinalcoupdegracedesignedtodestroy the prestige and authority of Kongzi, Han Fei succinctlyillustrates the clear and present dangers of following Kongziwith twoentertaininganecdotes.Inthefirst,whichfollowstheAnalectsofKongziin the setup but not in its conclusion, we’re told that Honest Gong’sfatherstoleasheep.Gongreportedthetheft.Therulerwasgratifiedthatoneofhissubjectsprovedtobe law-abidingtothisdegree,butKongzidisagreed: upon hearing about the case, he commented tartly, “Inmycountry,theuprightmenareofquiteanothersort.Afatherwillscreenhisson,andasonhisfather,which,incidentally,isonesortofrighteousbehavior.” Han Fei then tells us the denouement: Although HonestGong’sactiondemonstratedloyaltytothesovereign’slaw,thepresidingmagistrate,bowingto localcustom,consideredGongsuchadespicablesonthathehadhimsummarilyexecuted.HanFeiconcluded,however,that putting filial piety before obligation to the rulerwas but the firststepon the slippery slopeof ignoringorexcusingall crimes,withdireconsequences to social order. Thus acting on Confucian principlessubvertstheprinciplesofjusticeenshrinedinthelaws.InasecondstorythatrepresentsanequallypointedcritiqueofKongzi,

Han Fei tells of an army conscript who fled the battlefield on threeseparateoccasionsbecausehewas the sole support of an agedparent.Kongzi allegedly praised the man and recommended him for a

promotion.Bycontrast,HanFeiisappalledbysuchdesertionsfromthearmy.Itisobvioustohimthatpublicdutyandprivatemoralitycannotbereconciled.“Toregardthetwoasidenticalwouldbedisastrous—theresultofnotthinkingthingsthrough.”Peoplearenaturallyselfish,saysHan Fei, so they will naturally seek to advance the interests ofthemselves and their families, friends, and allies. The public good,meanwhile, requires that one maximize the country’s potential forwealth,power,andgoodorderwithoutregardtoindividualfamiliesandpersons.Specialintereststhatencroachonstatebusinesswilljeopardizethe lives and the livelihoods of all. No exceptions can be made orexemptionsgiven,ortotalvictorycannotbesecured.Besides, asHanFei continues in barely concealed triumph, the Sage

wasnosageatall,givenhismanyseriouserrorsinjudgmentinselectinghis own disciples. Take Tan Tai Ziyu. At first Kongzi thought him aperfectgentleman,sohewaswelcomedintohisbandofdisciples.Onlylater did Kongzi realize his mistake. And then there was Zai Yu. ByKongzi’s own admission, his disciple Zai Yu was eloquent, butimpractical—and also lazy. If today’s rulers are nomore perspicaciousthanKongzi,andtoday’soratorsasglibandwellspokenasZaiYu,howare rulers ever to arrive at the judicious verdicts on matters of greatimport?To answer his own question, Han Fei resorts to an extended myth

about the past that says a good deal about current dilemmas. “Inantiquity,” he begins, “when men were few and creatures abundant,human beings could not compete with the birds, beasts, insects, andreptiles.Thena sageappearedwho fashionednestsofwood toprotectthe humans fromharm. The peoplewere so delighted that theymadehim ruler of the world, calling him the Home (Nest) Builder.” Aftersecuringshelter,peoplewantedasafersupplyoffood,forinthesecondstage,humankindhuntedandgathered,eatingwhatevertheycouldfind,but the raw food made them sick. Eventually a sage appeared whobrought them fire to cookwith. Like theNest-Builder before him, thisinventorsodelightedthepeoplethattheymadehimruleroftheworld.Inthethirdphase,peoplewantedtoquellthefloods,andinresponseasage appearedwho taught themhow to dig canals and channels. Thisinventor inhis turnwasdulyhailedas “savior”of thepeople,andhe,

too, became ruler of theworld. But, as Han Feiwryly observes, weresubsequentrulerstotrytowinuniversalacclaimbyimitatingtheearliersages in building nests, starting fires, or digging ditches, they wouldbecome laughingstocks.FromwhichHanFeidrawsa starkconclusion:“Thesagedoesnottrytopracticethewaysofantiquityortoabidebyafixed standard. He rather examines the affairs of the age and takeswhateverprecautionsarenecessary”tosecurewhatpeopleneedmostatthetime.For thepeople inHanFei’s timetoenjoyultimatepeaceandprosperity,theirrulersmustsendthemouttoconquerandexterminaterivalnations.Inhisversionofhumanhistory,HanFeiidentifieswhathebelievesto

betheconstantpatterns.First,continuitydoesnotensurestability,sincethe world itself is always changing. Second, living conditions onlyimprovewith innovationsdesigned to relieve somepervasiveproblem.Third,theoriginofthestatederivesfromthepeople’sdesiretosubmittoanypersonwhomanagestoalleviatetheirsufferings.Sage-kingsbasetheirpolicydecisionsonwhatwillmeetpresentneeds;theyneverthinkoftheirinnovationsasfixedprecedentsforthefuture.Continuinginthatvein, Han Fei adds another crucial observation: the further back onegoes in history, the smaller the population and the greater theabundanceoffood,land,andsustenance.Inthepresentera,hebelieves,thepopulationhassimplybecometoogreatfortheavailableresources.

Thepeopleofantiquitycared little formaterialgoods,notbecause theywerebenevolent,butbecause theyhada surplusofgoods.Whenpeoplequarrelandsnatch today, it isnotbecausetheyarevicious,butbecausegoodshavegrownscarce.

Things are getting steadilyworse, inHan Fei’s estimation.Centurieshavegonebywithnoappreciablealleviationoftheaccumulatinghumanmisery by new sages with new creations. As the physical resourcesnecessary to usher in a new golden age are dwindling or nonexistent,peoplemustadoptazero-sumapproachsimplytosurviveinthemodernworld.HencethefutilityofthegentleConfucianWay,whichmayhaveservedsplendidlyintimeslongpast:

Pastandpresenthavedifferentcustoms;newandoldadoptdifferentmeasures.Totrytousethewaysofagenerousand lenientgovernment to rule thepeopleofa criticalage is liketrying to drive a runaway horsewithout using reins orwhip. This is themisfortune that

ignoranceinvites.

How,then,willtherulerproceedinordertowintheheartsandmindsofthepeoplewhosesupportisneededforstablerule?HanFeibelieveshe has the right answer, and it is “laws.”5 The latest in a series ofinnovations in the Central States—thewriting of laws began in Chinaabout the eighth centuryBCE and law codeswere first promulgated amerecenturybeforeHanFei—the lawsproposedbyHanFeiprovideasingle standard against which all phenomena—people, things, andevents—canbemeasuredwith suchprecision that thepunishmentwillalwaysfitthecrime(shadesofGilbertandSullivan!).Thelawsmoreoverallowtherulertomaintainhisprerogatives,inthatheexistsabovethelaw. Arguably, it is also the laws that allow people to “do things bythemselves”—andnotonlybecausethemaintenanceofpublicorderisaprecondition for any private initiative. When good laws are in place,rewardsandpunishments“followthedeed;eachmanbringsthemuponhimself.”ByHanFei’slogic,then,thebenefitsaccruingfromgoodlawsaresogreatthatpreviousrulerswhohadenactedthelawsshouldhavebeenhailedasthegreatestsage-kingsoftheirday.Why,then,dopeopleresentthelawandfeartherulerwhoenforcesit?Whynotcelebratethelawgivers?Thepeoplehaveneverregardedthelawgiverastheirsalvationforthe

simplereasonthatnorulerhaseveryetmadethelawsthesolearbiterofjustice.Norulerhasmadethelawsparticularlyclearortrustedtotheiroperations.Rulershavebeenloathtoletlawsprevail;theyareafraidofgivingupthereinsofpower.Then,too,societyholdssomanycontraryandconflictingvalues(allsportingtheirownprecedents) that the lawshave never been applied fairly, by the ruler or his representatives.Exceptionshavebecomethenorm,thoughthewidespreadperceptionofarbitrariness of the laws adds to the chaos. Finally, the people alwaysunderstand very little about wielding power and ruling states, in thisbeinglikesmallchildren:

Thereasonyoucannotrelyuponthewisdomofthepeopleisthattheyhavethemindsoflittlechildren. If thechild’shead isnot shaved, its soreswill spread;and if itsboil isnotlanced,itwillbecomesickerthanever.Butwhenthechildishavingitsheadshavedoritsboil lanced,someonemustholdthechildwhilethe lovingmotherperformstheoperation.

Still,ityellsandscreamsincessantly,foritdoesnotunderstandthatthelittlepainitsuffersnowwillbringgreatbenefitlater.

Thepeopleonlywanttobeleftalonetoseekprivateadvantage.Theylittle realize that their competitive impulses, if left unchecked, willjeopardizethehealthofthewholebodypoliticuponwhichtheydependfor their lives and livelihoods. The people never want to serve in thearmy, and once conscripted, they show no bravery in battle unlessrewardsforcourageandpunishmentsforcowardicearemandatedbythelaw. The ruler must not adopt their shortsightedness as a model forgovernance.For all the foregoing reasons, the broad reach of the law should becertain,andtheconsequencesoflawbreakingswift.HanFeiadducesatleastfournegativereasonswhytherulerhasnoalternativebuttoadoptimpartiallawashislatestandbestaidingoverning:(1)Theparent-childrelationcannotbeappropriatelyappliedtotheruler-subjectrelation;(2)nothingthatthreatenstheeconomicprogressofthestateanditsarmiesbydepletingscarceresourcescanbegood;(3)noadvicethatleavestheruler “in twominds”canbegood, for it leaves the ruler lookingweakandhesitant,areadypreytoattacks fromwithinandwithout;and(4)noadviserscanbetrusted,sincethemoreeloquenttheadviser,themoreduplicitous and self-serving he is apt to be. Asked to weigh in on acertain policy measure, eloquent advisers respond with so manyprecedents and so many caveats that the ruler feels overwhelmed,flustered,andimpressedbyturns.“Theheightofgoodgovernment,”asdefinedbyHanFei,“istoallowsubordinatesnomeansoftakingadvantageoftheruler.”“Neverenrichamantothepointwherehecanaffordtoturnagainstyou;neverennobleamantothepointwherehebecomesathreat;neverputallyourtrustinasinglemanandtherebyloseyourstate,”hecontinues.Therulermustmonopolizeallthepowerinthestate,ifhemeanstokeepanyofit.“Itisdangerous for the rulerofmen to trustothers, forhewho trustotherswillbecontrolledby them.”Everyonehasanagenda—exceptHanFei,apparently. Consider the interviews that Kongzi had with successiverulersintheCentralStates—nogood!Andthelatter-day,paleimitationsof Kongzi are but parasites gorging themselves at the state’s expense.Like other vermin (inwhich categoryHan Fei also puts speechmakers

with divided loyalties; warriors who assemble personal retinues;merchants exploiting the farmers; andartisansproducing luxurygoodsfortheprivileged),thefollowersofKongziandMoziroamfromplacetoplace, scrounging for patrons foolish enough to supply handouts.Withtheir fancy clothes and rich carriages, they then find ways to gaincelebrityandglory“withoutthehardshipsofserviceinthearmy.”Theyshouldinsteadbeseenforwhattheyare:uselesssubjects,“nodifferentfrom” the wooden or clay funeral figures that are put into graves toservethedeadintheafterlife.Theproblemis,

Ifmenwhodevote themselves tooldwritingsor study theart ofpersuasive speakingareabletosecurethefruitsofwealthwithoutthehardworkofthefarmer,andiftheycangaineminencewithoutundergoingthedangersofbattle,thenwhowillnotinfuturetakeupsuchpursuits? So for everyman who works with his hands there will be a hundred devotingthemselves to thepursuitofwisdom. If thosewhopursue“wisdom”are sonumerous, thelawswillbedefeated,andifthosewholaborwiththeirhandsarefew,thestatewillgrowpoor.Hencetheagewillbecomedisordered.

Likemanywho rail against the “useless” expense of the humanitiestoday, Han Fei insists that support of an idle coterie of scholars is aluxurythatnostatecanafford.To arguments of this sort, Kongzi had responded in the Analects.Tauntedwiththeimpracticalityofrulebyvirtue,Kongziretorted,“Ifitisreallypossibletogoverncountriesbyritualandyielding,thereisnomore to be said”—meaning that thisway of governing, if itwillwork(andnoonehasyethadtheaudacityofvisiontotryitout!),wouldbemanifestly superior to rulebybrute forceandmutilatingpunishments.Facedwith a personwho thought itwiser to employ expediency thanvirtue,Kongziresponded,“Thosewhosemeasuresaredictatedbymereexpediencywillarousecontinualdiscontent.”Therulershouldseethatifhevaluesself-interestaboveallelse, itwillnotbelongbeforethoseofhis subjects who are “daring by nature and suffering from poverty”adopt the same code of values—to the detriment of good rule. “Man’svery life is honesty, in that without it he will be lucky indeed if heescapeswithhislife.”KongziwouldhardlyhavebeensurprisedthatHanFeidiedinprison,chargedwithtreasonbytheFirstEmperorofQin,arulerwhodistrustedhispromisestosellouthisowncountryofHan.

ZHUANGZIONCONFUCIUS

Zhuangzi was by far the subtlest of Confucius’s critics—his critiquesbeing shot through with admiration and even affection.6 Nothing isknownofZhuangzi’slife,thoughsomesaidhewasanativeofSong,thesamestatewherelegendputsConfucius’sdistantancestors.(Duringtheclassical era in China, Song and its people were the frequent butt ofjokes, with the “people from Song” acting in the role of proverbialcountrybumpkins.)Moreoften thannot, Zhuangzi speaks through thefigure of Confucius, as in this famous interchange recorded in chapterfouroftheZhuangzi,entitled,“IntheWorldofMen”:

Yan Hui went to Confucius to ask his permission to go to Wei, whose young ruler hadalreadywonaname forhimselfby“acting ina singularmanner.” “Ihaveheardyou say,Master,‘Leavethestatethatiswellorderedandgotothestateinchaos!Atthedoctor’sgatearemanysickmen.’Iwanttousethesewordsasmystandard,inhopesthatIcanrestorehisstatetohealth.”

Confucius replied, “Oh, you will probably accomplish nothing but getting yourselfexecuted….ThePerfectManofancienttimesmadesurethathehaditinhimselfbeforehetriedtogiveittoothers.Whenyou’renotevensurewhatyou’vegotinyourself,howdoyouhave time to bother about what some tyrant is doing?… Do you know what it is thatdisturbs virtue, or wherewisdom comes from? Virtue is destroyed by fame, andwisdomcomesoutofdisputation….Thoughyourvirtuebegreatandyourgoodfaithunassailable…youwould simplybeusingothermen’sbadpoints toparadeyourownexcellence, if youappeared before a tyrant and forced him to listen to sermons on benevolence andrighteousness. You will be known as someone who plagues others, and he who plaguesotherswillbeplaguedinturn.

“Andsupposeheisthekindofrulerwhoactuallydelightsintheworthyanddespisestheunworthy.Whywouldheneedyoutotrytomakehimanydifferent?Youhadbestkeepyouradvicetoyourself!Kingsanddukesalwayslorditoverothersandfighttowinanargument.You will find your eyes growing dazzled, your face pale, your mouth working to inventexcuses,andyourbodylanguageincreasinglyhumble,untilyouendupsupportinghiminyourmind….Eventhesagescouldnotcopewithmenwhoareafterfameandgain,muchlessapersonlikeyou!”

YanHuipersists,askingifitwouldbeallrightifhewentandshowedagraveanddiligentattitude.“Goodness,howwouldthatdoanygood?”“Well, what if I am inwardly direct, outwardly compliant, and domy

work through the examples of antiquity?” Here, of course, Yan Huiwantstoknowwhetherhecansucceedifhebecomestheperfectstudentof classicism, towhichConfuciusagain replies, “Goodness,howwouldthat do any good?” Finally, after a series of such questions, ConfuciusadvisesYanHuihowtobehave:

Before a sacrifice, one fastswith the body. Instead, fastwith themind…. Listening stopswiththeears,themindstopsonceitrecognizessomething.Butspiritisemptyandwaitsonallthings.

Ardent waiting, watching life unfold in all its myriad wonders,sustaining curiosity about its processes and refusing to be bitter, nomatterone’sfate—that’snotonlywhatZhuangziurgesuponus,butalsowhat Kongzi emphasized when he spoke of “understanding fate andtakingpleasureinHeaven.”In a second justly famous passage, Zhuangzi’s arguments again spilloutofthemouthofKongzi:

Intheworld,therearetwogreatdecrees:oneisfateandtheotheroneisduty.Thatachildshould lovetheparents is fate—noonecanerase this fromtheheart.Thatasubjectmustservehisrulerisduty—thereisnoplaceapersoncangotobewithoutaruler,noplacehecanescapetobetweenHeavenandEarth.Thesearecalledthegreatdecrees.Therefore,toserveone’sparentsandbecontenttofollowthem—thisistheperfectionoffilialpiety.Andtoserveone’srulerandbecontenttofollowistheheightofloyalty.Andtoserveyourownmindsothatneithersadnessnorjoyswaysit,tounderstandwhatyoucandonothingaboutandtobecontentwithitaswithfate—thatisthesupremevirtue.

Livinginapost-Freudianage,weknow,ofcourse,thatnotallchildrenlovetheirparents,andMoziandHanFeirecognizedthis,too.Evenso,withonlyminoremendations,theprecedingparagraphworksbrilliantly.All children, even if they cannot love their parents, are at leastpreoccupiedwiththem.Theyarefatedtobeso.Andallofusmustlivein some society or another that constrains our activities in waysappropriateandinappropriate.Whatisinterestingaboutthispassage—andequallytruefortheKongzioftheAnalects—isthatKongzidoesnotequate filial duty and loyaltywith supremevirtue. (It is a canard thatConfucianethicsrequireblindobediencetoone’sparents.)Thepromisedrewards for virtue, as formulated in the Zhuangzi, recall many an

Analects passage, for example, “If you act in accordance with theprevailing state of affairs and then forget about yourself, what leisurewillyouhavetolovelifeandhatedeath?Actinthiswayandyouwillbeall right!”There isgreat joy tobehad fromdoingwhat is requiredandthenacceptingthewaythingsare.On good days, as Kongzi notes, we all know that life, death,preservation, loss, failure, success, poverty, riches, worthiness,unworthiness, slander, fame, hunger, thirst, cold, heat—these are thealternations of theworld, theworkings of fate….Day and night, theychange places before us and wisdom cannot spy out their source.Therefore they should not be enough to destroy your harmony; theyshould not be allowed to enter the storehouse of spirit. If you canharmonizewiththemanddelightinthem,masterthemandneverbeatalossforjoy,ifyoucandothisdayandnightwithoutbreakandmakeitbespringwitheverything—thatiswhatIcallbeingwholeinpower.Onsuchagoodday,wecanimagineConfuciustakingofffortheriverto bathe with his band of disciples and friends, relishing the springweatheralongwiththeopportunityforeffortlesssocialitythatitaffords.After all, “running around accusing others is not as good as laughing,andenjoyingagoodlaughisnotasgoodasgoingalongwiththingsastheyare…toenterthemysteriousonenessofHeaven.”On bad days, however, as other, more mocking, chapters of theZhuangzisuggest,thissublimevisionofwholenesseludesKongzi.Kongzithen appears as a worthy enough chap, but one whose powers ofimaginationhavebeen clippedby convention and ambition. (Recall intheAnalectsKongzi’sremarkthathehasnoneoftheseeminglynaturalgoodnessofhisdiscipleYanHui.)Seeingclearly,atruesage“doesnotshiftwith things; sincehe takes it as fated that thingswill change, heholdsfasttothesource”—thatsourcebeingtheprofoundinsightthatallthings are one. But sages “wander beyond this realm”whilemen likeKongzi, as Kongzi himself knows, wander well within its boundaries.Kongzi, on bad days, finds it difficult to remember that fame meansnothingandoldageisnottobefeared.Athisworst,Kongzilapsesintoapreoccupationwithmereappearances,withtheresultthathefailstoseethelargerpicture.Kongziatleastadmitstohimselfthatheisneithera“singularman”norafit“companiontoHeaven.”

Still,ZhuangzihadonlyonemajorcomplainttolodgeagainstKongzi.HeplainlyworriesthatKongzi’sbeloved“ritualconsistsinbeingfalsetoone another.” Ritual serves the same function as language, after all,communicating its meaning through special gestures, clothing, andrhetorical formulae. Zhuangzi asks if it is not possible for people tocommunicate better through a simpler means available to all. Kongziand his most famous adherents grant that there is initially somethingartificial about ritual, but they go on to argue that there is somethingartificialaboutall that isbest inhumansociety,andtheseoncehighlyartificial practices soon become “second nature” (as those of us wholearn a foreign language, master a technical discipline, or play aninstrumentknow).Theformsandpotentialsofallsocialrelationsmustbe learned, and all human achievements require a sustained focus, adiscipline, and a will to elevate the mundane to the remarkable. If“falsification”(“refinement”byanothername) isat theheartofall thecivilizing processes, even language and gesture itself, then the humantaskmustnotbetojettisonallinstancesoffalsification,buttoconsiderwhat sorts of refinement most conduce to a social order in which allhumans “achieve their proper place,” enjoying a sense of dignity andself-worth.

WANGCHONGONKONGZI

Critiques of Kongzi continued for long centuries after the supposedapotheosis of theMaster in theHan period (the subject of chapter 3).AttacksonKongzibytheEasternHanskepticWangChongseembroadlyaimedatWang’scontemporarieswhotriedtoclaimaspecialauthoritywhentheytaughttheClassicspurportedlyauthoredoreditedbyKongzi.Wang’scritiqueofKongziboilsdowntofivepoints:(1)theClassicsarejustasriddledwitherrorasotherbooks,sotheyshouldnotbetreatedasinfallible; (2) Kongzi failed to carefully elucidate a great many of hisideas when he conversed with his disciples; (3) Kongzi contradictedhimself fairlyoften,butgood teachers try to sendconsistentmessages;(4)Kongzi’schosendisciplesshowednospecialaptitudeforlearningtheWay,ordisciplineintheircommitmenttoit,whichsuggeststhatKongziwas hardly an inspiring teacher; and (5) Kongzi offered no properpedagogical model, nor did he push his students to clarify their own

thoughts about ethical or practical matters. To illustrate his secondpoint,WangChongciteda famouspassagerecorded in theAnalects, inwhich the disciple Meng Yizi asks the Master about filial piety. TheMaster replied, “Never offend.”Meng Yizi, like later readers, assumedthatKongzimeant,“Neverdisobeyone’sparents.”OnanotheroccasionFanChiwasdrivingtheMaster,andtheMaster,whenaskedabouttheearlier exchange, finally explained what he meant when he used thephrase“Neveroffend”:“Servetheminlifeaccordingtoritual;burythemupon death according to ritual.” Evidently the phrase “Never offend”meant “Do not go against ritual,” rather than “Always obey one’sparents.”WangChongquiterightlyconcludesthatifFanChihadneverasked for an explanation, Kongzi would in all likelihood never haveexplainedhismeaning.Ingivingthesketchiestofinstructionstohisleastable students, Kongzi violated the proverb, “Small talent should beinstructedindetail,andforgreattalentaroughoutlinesuffices.”

THE MODERN WORLD sometimes seems consumed by an epic strugglewagedbetween reason and emotion—or, as some would put it, between theEnlightenment,whichridtheworldofthegrosssuperstitionsobscuringanintelligibleorderofmarvelousdesign,andRomanticism,whichseeshumanbeingsasthesolearchitectsoftheirownfates.Neitherimpulsewhollysatisfies,foritisnotaltogetherclearthatthelightofreasoncandispel all confusion, or that intoxication with life leaves more behindthanrubble.Straddling these twomodels liesKongzi,who foundquietpleasure in the contemplation and practice of a myriad humanexchanges,whoconsistentlyopposedusing“otherpeopleasthings,”asmereobjectstoanend.ThedistinctivecharacterofKongzi’steaching—incontrasttothatofhiscritics—liesinitsconsistentappealstothevalueof the human scale and to sweet reason, appeals lodged mostconvincinglybyhisself-proclaimeddisciples.Every one of Kongzi’s critics charges the Sage with being toounimaginativeandconventional,tooold-fashionedinhisapproaches,ortooreadytocompromise.IntheeyesofJieYu,forexample,Kongzihadthepotentialtobelikethesoaringphoenix,but“hisclarityhadfallen”becauseofhisendlessentanglementswithacorruptworld.Kongziwasaphoenix,however.Thislegendaryfigurerosefromtheashesofdefeatto

persuade people of the practical virtues of everyday existence, whilereleasing them from those dreaded conventions that prove “unwieldly,slow,heavy, andpale as lead.”That surprising triumph is the storyofthefollowingchapterontheMaster.

SUGGESTEDREADINGSForthecharacterizationofKongziasamanofhumor,seeChristophHarbsmeier,“ConfuciusRidens,”HarvardJournalofAsiaticStudies50,no.1(June1990):131–61.

ArthurWaley,ThreeWaysofThoughtinAncientChina(NewYork:DoubledayAnchor,1956).

ReadersofChinesemaywishtoconsultLiLing,Sangjiagou(Beijing:Shanxichubanshe,2007).

I

3

Kongzi,theUncrownedKing

IntheAnnals (Chunqiu), the recordof the formerkingsofpastages, theSagederivesmeaning[fromevents]butdoesnotappeardisputatious.

—ZHUANGZI,CHAPTER2

Kongzi was only a commoner, but his name is so illustrious that when you come to his gravemound, thoseofhighrankareofferingoxen,sheep,chickens,andpigs insacrifice,andthoseoflesserstatus,wine,driedmeatjerky,andwinterimplements,intheutmostreverencebeforetheygoontheirways.

—HUANTAN,XINlUN

F KONGZI WAS A SAGE—WHOSE SUPERIOR TEACHINGS BECAME all the more obviousowing to the jibesofhis critics—whydidhe fail togainadherentsquickly inhisown lifetimeand therebybecomea sage-ruler?After

all, according to the legends, men of such infinite wisdom andcompassion regularly rose to positions of supreme power.Moreover, aCentralStatessaviorwasduetoappearduringKongzi’slifetime,sinceithadbeenfivehundredyearssincetheDukeofZhou’scivilizingefforts.Whathadgonewrong?“Hehadnoland,”saidonepopulartheory,andhencenobasisandscopeforhisenormoustalents.“Badtiming,”otherssuggested, or “insufficient breeding.” Kongzi was destined, othersbelieved,toprovideinhisownpersontheperfectmodelfornoblespiritsforcedtoacceptcruelfates.Hewasslanderedbypettypeople,andthuspreventedfromachievinghisrightfulplace,someconcludedsadly.EarlyChinesethinkersclearlyfelttheyhadtocomeupwithsomeexplanation,iftheearlytheoriesaboutcharismaticvirtuewerenottocollapseinthefaceoftheobviouscounterevidencepresentedbythecaseofKongzi-the-failure.1

Each and every portrait of Kongzi drawn during the first stableempiresofWesternandEasternHan(thetwolastcenturiesBCEandthe

twofirstcenturiesCE)implicitlyorexplicitlyaddressedthissingleissue.Perhaps thatwas because society’smoral calculationswere rocked offkilterwith the founding of theHan empire—the greatest the East hadever known—by a mere commoner, Liu Bang (r. 206–195 BCE), whobegan life ina ruralbackwater“withoutapatchof land” tohisname.This chapter considers in turn several portraits of Kongzi producedduring the two Han periods, in which the landless Sage, in seemingdesperation, devised a realm of the imagination where he reignedunchallenged in his writings. The Han saw Kongzi, above all, as theauthoroftheSpringandAutumnAnnals[hereafterAnnals].2ThatKongzihadgonetohisgraveunreconciledtohisfailuretoachievehighofficemeant that cosmic justice would only be served if Kongzi somehowpredicted the Han victory that came nearly three centuries later, andreigned, as was his right, through the Han rulers, as a virtual“uncrownedking”orpowerbehindthe throne.Hence theproliferationofHanliteraryportraitsofKongzithatmadehimthechiefarchitectofthe stunningHan success, centuries after his death. By the end of theHan period, Kongzi’s signal lack of illustrious forebears and reputabledescendantswouldbeposthumouslyremedied:Kongziwasawardedhisown place among the ranks of the star gods, and appointed FirstAncestortoalonglineofKongfamilymemberswhohadbeenennobled.As noted earlier, on the eve of the Han dynasty, in the early thirdcentury BCE, it was far from certain that Kongzi’s multiple portraitswould ever lessen the stigma of “loser” that clung tenaciously to hisname. In 200 BCE, no one could have predicted that Kongzi wouldbecomethemostcelebratedfigureinallofChinesehistory, letaloneagod.Kongzi’sultimate triumphshouldprobablybe traced to thedirectappeals different parts of his legendsmade to different groups withinsociety; their collective membership together eventually raised theMastertounprecedentedheightsof fame. ItmayalsohavehelpedthatthehatedQindynasty,whichhadmanagedbyforceandintimidationtounifytheseparatekingdoms,collapsedwithinmonthsafterthedeathofthe First Emperor, Qin Shihuang, in 210 BCE. So speedy a demise ofsuchavastempireseemedtoprovethatamoremixedsystemofdirectand indirect control—one thatwould allow subjects greater autonomywithin a system of political vassalage and laissez-faire economics—

wouldenhanceadynasty’schancesofsurvivalinthefaceofinternalandexternal pressures. Kongzi, as a legendary chronicler of the pre-unificationperiod,wasasuitablecandidatefortheroleofpatronsaintfora lesscentralizedsystem(with“patronsaint”amoreappositetermthanitmightseematfirstglance).Afterfourcenturiesofsteadygrowthin the numbers of legends attesting to Kongzi’s unique preeminencewithinclassicalculture,especiallymarkedinthefirstcenturyCE,Kongzieven managed somehow to survive the collapse of the Eastern Hanthronein220CE,inpartbecausetherolesascribedtotheSageinHanweresomanyandsovarious.3IntraditionalChineseterms,Kongzihadbecomeagod(shen )meaning“anunseenforcethattransformsitselfand others easily, without overt coercion.” Or, to adopt a metaphorfamous in Han, the “thorns” that had impeded entrance to the Konghouse had been cleared by hundreds if not thousands of ardentadherentsovertheages.4

Very much like the Han History, composed about 100 CE, manymodern histories of China generally presume Kongzi’s prescience andgodlike perspicacity, no matter whether they are produced in thePeople’s Republic of China, in Taiwan, in Singapore, or in the UnitedStates.Bysuchaccounts,Kongzibidedhistime,knowingthatwiththefirst great dynasty he would eventually rise to become “uncrownedking,”thankstoincreasingpatronagebytheHan.AlmostinvariablytheydevotelongpagestothereignofEmperorWuofHan(r.141–87BCE),portrayinghimasthestrongrulerwho“canonized”theFiveClassicsandhailedKongzias theprotectivedeitybehind the first stabledynasty toruleanareanearlyasextensiveasthatofChinatoday.Thesehistoriesidentify the singlegreatestachievementofWudi’s reign—ifnot thatoftheentireHan—asthecreationofastateideologycalled“Confucianism”whosechieftenetstheyseldombothertodefine.TheysaythattheyoungWudi, restiveunder the supervisionof thedowager empress’s circleofsenioradvisers,madethreemomentousdecisionsthatweretoshapethecourseofChinesehistoryforever,constructingitasan“empireoftexts”thatwouldbeConfucian inall itsessentials: in136or135BCE,Wudidecided to close the ranks of court Academicians to advisers notspecializingintheFiveClassics,probablybecausethatwouldblockonemajoravenueforadvancementtoalliesofthedomineeringdowager.A

decadelater,in124BCE,WudidecidedtoestablishanAcademyinthecapital,whose job itwas tosupervisepotentialcandidates for thecivilservice in a standard curriculum. At about the same time, Wudi alsodramaticallyexpandedthelibraryholdingsatcourt,offeringsubstantialrewards to thosewho brought archaic and new texts to his attention.These three initiatives, when combined with his selection criteria forscholar-officials, supposedly lent immense cultural capital to thecollection, compilation, study, explication, and reproduction of the“Confucian”canonicaltextsinparticularandallwritingingeneral.Carefulscholarsbringingnobiasestothesubjectcaneasilyrefuteall

three parts of this myth,5 using Han sources. A Han proverb talks of“seeing a tail and imagining the whole dog.” It means that bits andpiecesof information, accurate enough in themselves, areoftenpiecedtogetherbyfalliblehumanstomakeapicturethatispatentlyfalse.Forexample,severalofthecourtAcademicianswereritualspecialistswho,by contemporary reports, couldnot explicate the authoritative texts atall.Inanycase,theFiveClassicswerehardlythepreserveoftheethicalfollowersofKongzi.Theyfunctionedasthecommonculturalcoinforalleducatedpeople,maleandfemale,regardlessoftheirpolitical leaningsand ethical persuasions. And the court Academicians, contrary to thestandard narratives that make them an important proto–think tank,could hardly have propelled Han Wudi and his successors to adoptConfucian teachings in policy making. They were so unimportant atcourtasadvisers that theydonotappear, collectivelyor singly, in thekeyeventsrecordedbythestandardhistoriesfornearlyacenturyafterWudi’s reign.Andwhile theAcademydid test somecandidates for thebureaucracyontheirabilitytoretaintheclassicaltropesneededtolendthe court’smost brutal acts and extravagant pageants an aura of highculture, the Academy was never the primary route to office-holdingunderHan.Entrytomanyofficeswasrestrictedtothesonsandyoungerbrothers of high-ranking officers. Then, too, while text-learningwas aprecondition toelite cultivation, itnever sufficed todefinecultivation.Toomany upstarts, including palace eunuchs and private slaves, werehighly educated at the time, and eunuchs were among the first to behonoredasspecialistsinexquisitecalligraphicforms.To complicate things further, someof themostprominent figures in

Han went on record condemning what they regarded as an over-preoccupationwithbooklearning.LateinEasternHan,forinstance,XuGan (170–217 CE) wrote, “Those classical scholars who onlypracticebooklearningarenotworthlookingupto.”Truemenofworthaspired to be more than mere scribes and scribblers; the carefulprofessional’s preoccupation with details often worked against thatdesirablebreadthofunderstandingassociatedwithwisdomandworth.Moreover, no coherent system of thought that may be labeled“Confucianism” existed until a foreign dynasty, the Mongol Yuan,enshrined one conservative strain of Song thought called “True WayLearning” (Daoxue ) as the single basis for the civil serviceexaminations in 1313, though these same conservatives were alreadyseeking to control the content of examination questions earlier, inSouthernSong.Equallysignificant,eachitemontheusuallaundrylistofvalues now dubbed “Confucian” (filial duty; widow chastity; anemphasis on family over the individual; a strong work-orienteddiscipline)predatesKongziormaybetracedtohiscritics.6

Plus the historical records demonstrate that elevation of Kongzi toSupremeSageandgodwasneither asquicknor as automatic as somepost-factopromoterswouldhaveit.Anoft-repeatedtaledepictstheHanfounder, in his role asGaozu, the “HighAncestor,” offering the grandsacrifice or tailao to Kongzi in 195 BCE, when he happened to passthroughQuelisoonaftertheempirewaspacifiedunderhiscommand.Ifhe did so—and this is not an event inserted into the historical recorduntilcenturiesafter195BCE—itseemsunlikelythatGaozuintendedbythis act to signal a special alignment between his ruling house andKongzi,sincethestandardhistoriesforHanshowathroneintentuponestablishing its ritual supremacy in the customaryway, by supportingand coopting as many local cults as it could reach out to. Quiteinexplicable, ifwebuy the standard line, are twocurious facts: (a)nodescendantofKongziwasawardedhighrankpurelyonthebasisofhisdescentfromKongziuntil1CE;and(b)nosacrifices,sofarasweknow,wereoffered toKongzi outsideofKongzi’s hometown for the first twocenturiesofWesternHanrule(206BCE–8CE).Only in1CE,withthethroneintheprocessofcrumbling,didtheWesternHanline,thenunderthe control of the regent (and later usurper) Wang Mang, enfeoff as

marquis a certain Kong Jun, supposedly a direct lineal descendant ofKongzi,ontheunderstandingthathewouldconductregularsacrificestohisillustriousancestoronbehalfofthethrone.Afterthedefeatin23CEofWangMang’sshort-livedXindynasty,the

EasternHanfounderwastoobusytooffersacrificesinpersonatQueli,whichwasmorethanathousandmilesfromhisnewcapitalatLuoyang.InsteadhesentSongHong,ahighofficialandrelativebymarriage, topayhis respects to the Sage. In29CE the founderofEasternHandidgive precedence at a court audience to another descendant of Kongzi,oneKongAn,thoughthatmaywellhavebeensimplyagraciousgestureto honor a guest who had journeyed such a long distance from thenortheast.In59CEserviceswereestablishedtotheDukeofZhouandtoKongzi in all the commandery and county seats under Han, andmosthistorians presume that these state sacrifices, once established, wereoffered regularly until the fall of Han in 220 CE. But only threeemperors, the second, third, and fourth to reignoverEasternHan, areknowntohavepersonallyinvokedtheaidofKongziinsupportfortheirdynasty, rather thansendingemissaries toQueli tomakeofferings.Weknow, too, that in178CE, shortlybefore theendofEasternHanrule,the portraits of Kongzi and his “seventy-two” disciples of legendwerepainted on the walls of the Hongdu Palace to serve as models for itseunuchsandservingmaids—adubioushonor.When,afewyearslater,afiredamagedatempleorshrinededicatedtoKongzi(probablyatQueli),destroyingalltherelicsofthegreatmanbelievedtoretainsomeauraofhis efficacious presence, including his carriage, robes, and hat, it wastaken as an omen that popular support for the “restored” Han rulinghousewasonthewane.7

SuchaccountsallowustoreconstructanearlytimewhenthefigureofKongziwasperiodicallyinvokedbythecourt,butonlyaspartofamuchlarger group of worthies and gods, to shore up the legitimacy of Hanrule. Kongzi, after all, had articulated principles of governing, and hemight be worth propitiating: centuries before Han, the so-calledShanghai corpus of manuscripts (ca. 300 BCE), one of the earliestexcavated writings on bamboo now in our possession, summarizedKongzi’s political philosophy in the slogan, “Do not go against thepeople’s needs and desires.” And yet another pre-Han text, this one

compiled during Qin (221–210 BCE), praised Kongzi by drawing anunexpected analogy between his policy proposals and the techniquesusedbythebestcharioteers,whoknowhowandwhentowieldthewhipso as to regulate their horses’ movements without hurting the horses.Still,theHangovernment,likeanygoodPRagencytoday,suppliedverydifferent accounts of itself suited to different audiences, so thathistorians of today cannot always be sure of the principles it operatedupon.But if from the Analects and the writings ascribed to Mencius and

Xunzi,Kongzi’stwomostimportantdisciples(seechapter2),wegleana“Confucian” political program, it would have to include the followingmeasures: (1) a host of redistributive mechanisms by which surpluswealthwouldbe transferred from thevery richest to theverypoorest,based on the understanding that stable government depends upon theprovisionofeconomicandeducationalopportunitiestothepopulace;(2)ageneralbiasagainstwar,unlessalldiplomaticmethodshavefailedtoremove a dictator from office; (3) a combination of sumptuaryregulations andpenal laws that identify and reward themost virtuousmembers of society, but punish with corresponding severity thoseprivileged members of society who engage in self-interested andantisocialconduct;and(4)thegeneralprinciplethatall“othersweretobe approached as if treating an important guest.” (Some clearerindication of Kongzi’s attitudes toward gender and class would bewelcome, but the extant traditions contradict one another on thesematters.)Nopartof the foregoingpoliticalprogramwasadvanced inWestern

Han or Eastern Han. Indeed, the Han founder was famous for havingpissedinthehatofaclassicalscholarspoutingpiousinjunctionsathim,andHanWudi—theemperormostcreditedinChinesehistorywiththeexaltation of Kongzi—also went down in history as the ruler whoseforeignwarsofaggressionbankruptedtheHanhouseandturnedmanylocalsagainst the ideaofacentralizedempire.Nonetheless,Hanrulerscould readily see the advantages of invoking the name of Kongzi tojustify meting out very severe punishments for any misconduct bymembers of the nobility. Happily, the Annals ascribed to Kongziprovidedalltherationalethethroneneededtochargesuchnobleswith

treason, since theAnnals outlined the gradual usurpation of legitimatepowerattheroyalcourtsofZhouandLu.Imperialpatronagesometimeswent to the classicists for factional reasons as well. For example, theyoung Wudi, anxious to retire the senior advisers to his domineeringmother, favored the classicists’ activist approach over the laissez-faireeconomic policies associatedwith a rival classic, the Laozi Daode jing.Then, too, Wudi, as an amateur versifier of some talent, surelyappreciatedtheliteraryeffectsthatcouldbeachievedbythosewhohadmasteredtheexquisitelyformulaiclanguageoftheFiveClassics.If it is wildly anachronistic to see “Confucianism” serving as theprimary or only ideology promoting the dignity and legitimacy of theHan rulinghouse,as conventionalaccountswouldhave it,what, then,dotheHanrecordsthemselvesrevealabouttheplaceofKongziinHan?OnwhatbaseswereappealsmadebytheHanthronetoitssubjects?Asthe lessons drawn from the Five Classics were so varied andcontradictorythattheycouldbecitedinsupportofalmostanyethicalorpoliticalposition(inthisbeingliketheomentheoriesoftheday,orliketheBible),howdidtheHanthroneactuallytreattheantiqueSagesoastoelevateitsownposition?

KONGZIASAUTHOROFTHEANNALS

Good reasonsunderlie thedecision to beginwith the story cycles thatmakeKongzi“uncrownedking”: thestoryabouthiscompilationof theAnnalsseemstodrivealltheotherstoriesaboutKongzi,makingpossiblethelesser-knownportraitsofKongziasseer-prophetandasBlackLord.TheseportrayalsexistednotonlyinHantimes;theyhavecomedowntothe present day, as famously demonstrated in the writings of KangYouwei(seechapter7)thatfocusedonKongziasanobjectofreligiousveneration.8

TheAnnals,likeallhistoriesofearlyChina,tabooedcertainfactsandnames, thinking them too shameful or awe-inspiring to set down inordinarywritings. But the legend grew up that therewere patterns inKongzi’suseoftaboosthatconveyedhis“subtlewording”abouteventsin the future. This legend had theMaster—whose political advicewasflagrantly ignored in his own lifetime—foresee that the Han dynasty

wouldprovide the“rightmoment” inwhichhe,Kongzi,would receivedue appreciation as prophet, patron saint, and guardian of the newdispensation. Liu Bang, theHan founder, hadmanaged to dowhat nooneelseinlivingmemoryorlegendhadeverdone:riseinthespaceofamerethreeyears fromtherankofcommonerto thatofSonofHeavenruling all of the Central States. By contrast, the legendary sage-kingsShun and Yu had each painstakingly built up a reputation for virtuebeforebeingraisedtoministerialrankatcourt;then,asministers,eachwastestedfordecadesbeforehisfinalelevationtothestatusofheirtothe throne. Shun was married into the royal family, as well. DivineprovidencemusthavesupportedLiuBanginhisspectacularsuccess,forhereunifiedtheempireveryquicklyafterthesuddendeathoftheFirstEmperor of Qin. Itmade sense that anotherman of low rank, Kongzihimself,wouldhavepreparedthewayfortherapidascensionoftheLiuclan,inreturnforwhichtheLiuswouldpromotehisteachings,firstbyinstitutinga formofgovernment that reliedmoreon the rites thanonpunishments, unlike the short-lived Qin dynasty, and second byestablishingacultinhonoroftheSageinKongzi’shometownandinthecapital. Twodittieswritten aboutKongzimerged into a single tale. Inthefirst,Kongzilamentshisownsignalfailuretosecurepatrons:

WhentheGreatWayisdormant,TheRitesaretheonlyfoundation.Thewiserunforcover,Preparedtowaitfortherightmoment.Everywhereitisthesame,Sowhere,ohwhere,shouldIgo?

Inthesecond,thepeopleofLurhapsodizeaboutKongzi:

Heisdressedinimperialrobesandbearsanemblazonedcap.Heisourtruebenefactor.Hebearsanemblazonedcap,andisdressedinimperialrobes.Heiskindtousandnotselfish.

In one sense Kongzi’s appearance in imperial robes with an

emblazoned cap—his very elevation to the role of uncrowned king—derivesinlargepartfromthebeliefthatKongziauthoredandeditedtheAnnals.AsSimaQianwrites,

Kongzirealizedthathiswordswentunheeded,norwerehisdoctrineseverputintopractice.Sohemadeacriticalassessmentofrightsandwrongsoveraperiodof242years,inordertoprovide a standard for rules and ceremonies for the ages. He criticized emperors,reprimanded feudal lords, andcondemned thehighofficials so that thebusinessof a truerulercouldbeknown.

Thus what appeared, upon first reading, to be the straightforwardchronicleofLudescribingcourtactivitiesduringthereignsofthetwelvedukesofLuwasreadasaprogrammatictext,whosesubtlelanguagewascarefullycraftedtoinstructworthyrulersinlatergenerationslookingtoestablishjust institutions.9 Itwassurelynot irrelevantthatthesedukesofLuclaimeddescentfromtheillustriousDukeofZhou,brothertotheZhou founderand regent for theyoungKingChengafter the founder’suntimelydeath,forthedukepurportedlyinauguratedagoldenerasomefive hundred years before the birth of Kongzi, in which peace andcultural unity emanated from a stable ritual center. Judging from theadmittedly scanty archaeological record, the first century of Zhou rulewasindeedaperiodofextraordinaryculturalefflorescence.Butamerethree centuries after the duke, when theAnnals chronicle begins, theDukeofZhou’s reprehensibledescendants inLuhadbecomeunwittingparticipants in a series of palace intrigues encouraged by royal andministerial familymemberswithfargreaterbrains,guts,andambition.DukeYin(r.722–712BCE),thefirstduketohavehisreignchronicledintheAnnals, was accordingly murdered by his disgruntled brother lessthanadecadeafterhisaccession,andthetwelvereignsdocumentedintheAnnals mirror the appalling decline of the Lu state, whose rulersweretooweaktomaintaintheimplicitcovenantandcustomstheyhadinheritedfromtheDukeofZhou.Inconsequence,theAnnals’seeminglyblandretellingofeventsinLuconveysasurprisinglycompellingvisionoforderanddisorder,detailingtheincreasingcorruptionofpoliticallifeandtherecklesssquanderingofLu’searlypotential.Mencius, ever the faithful advocate of Kongzi (perhaps because he

camefromZou,onlyafewmilesfromLu’scapital),wasapparentlythe

firstthinkertoarguethathislocalherowasnoordinaryteacher,northeAnnalsanordinaryworkofhistory.HereishowMenciusputit:

As the generations declined and theWay became obscure, perverse teachings and violentpractices arose. There were even instances of ministers killing their rulers and childrenkillingtheirfathers.Kongziwasdistressedbythis,andsohecomposedtheAnnals.Towritesuchachronicleistheprerogativeofatrueking,aSonofHeaven.ThisiswhyKongzisaid,“ThosewhounderstandmewilldosothroughtheAnnals,andthosewhocondemnmewillalsodosobecauseoftheAnnals.”

Inanidealworld,asthispassageindicates,chronicleswerereportedlycommissioned by the Son of Heaven and produced under close statesupervision,butsincetheZhouSonofHeavencouldnolongerfulfillhisduty as overlord of the realm, Kongzi may have felt he had noalternative but to construct a true history of events, despite his lowstation in life. Those in agreement with Mencius—Dong Zhongshu inmid-Western Han, for example—emphasized the despair Kongziexperienced as he witnessed events unfolding; also the extraordinaryscrupulousnesswhichKongzibrought tohis compilationof theAnnals.Unable to locate a single ruler willing to put his ideas into practice,Kongzilaboredlongandhardonthechronicle,“configuringitabovesoas to accord with Heaven’s way and fleshing it out below throughexamplesrelatingtothehumancondition.”Whatisoftenoverlookedisthat Dong, a master in the Annals traditions, significantly shifted thecontent of the message ascribed to Kongzi: initially the Annals wasregarded as a political statement alerting contemporary rulers to thedangersoftheescalatingviolence,whereastheAnnalsbecameinDong’swritingsareflectiononcosmicharmony,ensuringthatperfectprinciplesof requitalweave past to present,Heaven to Earth, andmicrocosm tomacrocosm.Kongzi,according toDong, “compared it [his idealworld]with [the golden eras in] antiquity, and he examined it in light ofcurrent events.” For Dong, “The great overarching unity of theAnnalsstemsfromthenever-changingstructuresofthecosmicorderofHeaven-and-Earthanditstrulyfittingwaysoftyingpasttopresent.”TheearlycriticsofKongziwerenottobesilenced,however.Intheirviews,Kongzihadcommittedanactoftreasonwhenhearrogatedtohimselfthehonorof writing a definitive account of his state. No loyal subject of Lu or

Zhouwould have revealed the shortcomings of either the Zhou or Lucourts, they insisted. To offer political judgments on historical andcontemporaryfigureswastheheightofarrogance—andcertainlynottheworkofasage!Mencius in another passage describes the profound impact that

Kongzi’s decision to compose theAnnals supposedly had on themajorpoliticalfiguresofhisday:

Inancienttimes,[thesageruler]YutheGreatcontrolledtheflood-watersandtherealmwastherebysettled.[Sometimelater,]theDukeofZhouunitedthebordertribesandtheCentralStates,drivingawaythewildbeasts,sothatthepeoplewouldbesecure.AndwhenKongzicompleted theAnnals, he similarly struck fear into the hearts of rebelliousministers andviolentsons.

Giventheveryrealdangersinherentin“strikingfear”intotheheartsofpower-holders,wecaneasilyimaginewhyalow-rankingpersonlikeKongzi might have found it useful or even necessary to register hiscriticismsobliquely throughacareful choiceofwords, thereby“hidinghis ideas” within the patently unremarkable text of theAnnals. SomearguedthatKongziwasmotivatedbyadesiretoprovide“cover”forhissuperiors,who had acted in such despicableways.Or perhaps he hadintended all along to write for posterity, because he despaired ofeffecting significant reformswithin his own lifetime. For any of thesereasons,Kongzimighthavewrittena textwhoseagendawasveiled in“subtlewording” (weiyan),a text thathintedatpresentabuses in theprocess of tendering praise and blame about historical figures andevents.Forinstance,althoughtherulersofWuandChutothesouthofLuhad

long styled themselves “kings” (implying absolute equality with theirZhouoverlord), theAnnals quietly called themprinces. Elsewhere, theAnnals employed deliberately euphemistic language in an attempt tosimultaneously expose and conceal greatwrongdoing: for instance, theAnnals recorded that“theGreatKing[theZhouruler]wenthuntingatHeyang”whenhehad,infact,mostignominiouslyscurriedtoobeythesummons of the Duke of Jin, who demanded a meeting in that area.TraditionalsoreportsthatKongzihappilyconsignedsomeoftheworsthistorical actors to oblivion, simply expunging their names from the

record. Kongzi the historian in composing the Annals was obviously“pre-constrained,”toborrowthephraseofLévi-Strauss,toselecttropesthatwouldalertreaderstothecomplexityofinterpretingeventsthroughaseriesofpithyremarksappendedtothedramaticnarrativeofevents,and thereby heighten an awareness of moral complexity. By thejudicious apportionment of such “praise and blame,” Kongzi hoped toguide later generations, awakening them to the dangers of immoralityandtheblessingsthatmightaccruefromrighteousbehavior.AsoneHansource puts it, if deeds and talk match in a particular country, withjusticedonetoeach,thensurelyitistheAnnalsthatdeservesthecredit.Tradition as transformation, the past as future—this legacy handed

down from Kongzi to the rest of imperial history was reportedlyheralded by the occurrence of two solar eclipses in quick succession.These double signs in the heavens, portending dynastic changeovers,occurredlessthanayearbeforethebirthofKongzionthegengziday,asrecorded in commentaries appended to the Annals.10 The miraculousimage of “two suns” in the heavens reminds us that Kongzi, theuncrownedking, livedat thesametimewhentheZhouSonofHeavenstillnominallyruledalltheCentralStates.Asithappens,thegengziday,byapun,meantboth“dayofthechangeover”and“againtopropagate,”indicatingthatarenaissanceorrebirthwouldaffectanentirepeople.IfextanttraditionsareanyguidetoKongzi’srealstateofmindwhen

heinsertedhis“subtlewording”intotheAnnals(whichisquestionableontwocounts),11theMasterwasbyturnsburdenedandupliftedbyhisstrongsenseofdestiny.“Kongziwasdifferentfromothers inhisdivineclarity,buthewas thesameasothers inhaving theFiveEmotions[ofsorrow, pleasure, worry, anger, and delight].” Thus Kongzi had tograpplewithhisowndemonswheneverhewasslightedbyothers.Still,asreadersoftheAnalectswillrecall,Kongzisummoneduptremendouscourage whenever threatened, because of his belief that Heaven hadassignedhimauniqueplaceinitsdivineplan.“SincethedeathofKingWen,donot theseculturalpatternsof theCentralStatesrest inme? IfHeavenhadplanned todestroy thesepatterns, I,who comeafterKingWen, would not have had the opportunity to partake of them. SinceHeavenhasnotseenfittodestroythesepatterns,whatcananymandotome?”

ThiswastheacceptedbackstorytoKongzi’scompilationoftheAnnals,asrecordedintheextantHantraditions.ThethinkerWangChong(27–97CE),forexample,opined,

Kongzi wrote the Annals when the Zhou had degenerated. Thus he looked out for thesmallestgoodwhilecriticizingthesmallflaws.Hewouldcastasidethesourcesofdisorder,as he intended to restore upright behavior. TheWay of the people and their rulers wastherebyput in order.And sowe know that if thewayof theZhouhadnotdeclined, theordinarypeoplewouldnothavebecomesouncultivated;andifthepeoplehadnotbecomesouncultivated,theAnnalswouldnothavebeencompiled.

Clearly, in Wang’s view, authors substantially contributed tocontemporary order or disorder whenever they made assertions aboutthepast;authorsexertedauthority.These tales about Kongzi’s compilation should not be confusedwith

Kongzi’sappearanceno fewer than forty-six times in theZuoTraditionsattached to the Annals. In these appearances, Kongzi (551–479 BCE),usuallycalledbythecourtesynameofZhongni,commentsuponeventsdatingfromtherecentpast—eventsthatKongzimightconceivablyhaveheardaboutfromtheoldergenerations,orevenwitnessedhimselfasayoung man. In most instances, however, Kongzi weighs the entirebehaviorofaspecifichistoricalactor,ratherthansinglingoutaspecificact for praise or condemnation. The result is a series of judgments socomplexthatnoclearmoral lessoncanpossiblybedrawnfromit.EricHenry,aclassicistattheUniversityofNorthCarolina,citesoneexamplefrom the Zuo to illustrate this: in the record for 625 BCE, Xiafu Fuji(Xiafu “No-taboos”), then director of ancestral sacrifices in Lu,rearranged the order of the ancestral tablets housed in the temple, sothathisfather’stablettookprecedenceoverthatofahalf-brotherwhosestandingwas rightfully higher. Kongzi argues that because one of theleadersof the threeministerialclans inLu,ZangWenzhong,wasFuji’ssuperior at the time, Zang bore the ultimate responsibility for Xiafu’sselfishness.ThatZangWenzhongwasabywordforprobityinLuatthetime seems not to have deterred Kongzi one bit from criticizing him.Indeed, Zang’s very stature in prevailing opinionmade it seem all themorepressingforKongzitocriticizehim,wepresume.Butthetersenessof Kongzi’s trenchant pronouncements naturally set off a round of

controversiesoverpossiblereadingsamongallthemoralistsinhisthrall.In a similar entry, Kongzi reprimands another officer of Lu—ZangWenzhong’sgrandson,asithappens—forremonstratingsofiercelywiththeDukeofLuthatthedukecondemnedhimtoexile.

Zhongni[Kongzi]said,“Itishardtobewise.ThoughZangWuzhongwasusuallywise,hewasnotallowedtoremaininLu,andtherewasagoodreasonforit.Hisdeedsputhimatoddswithpeople,andhehadhardlybeenconsiderateofothers.TheXiaWritingssay,‘Whenyouthinkofsomething,situateyourselfwithinitscontext[sothatyouwillempathizewiththeactors].’Thismeansthatapersonshouldbeaccommodatingandmoderate.”

Had Zang Wuzhong put himself in the place of the duke, Kongziimplies, he would never have called his ruler a coward and “a rat.”Kongzihasnopatienceforthosewhofailtoconsiderhowtheircriticismwillbeheardbythoseinpower;anofficer,nottomentionaruler,couldnotaffordtoignoretherealitiesofthecourt’slife-or-deathpowersoverthelivesofitssubjects.Besides,outrightprotestbyloyalservantsofthecourt seldom does any good, and then, too, to deliver such “bittermedicine”iscontrarytothedictatesofritualcourtesyandcompassion.Far better to instruct awayward ruler by the perfection of one’s ownuprightexample than to riskprovokinghim toevengreaterheightsoffolly.Onlyonceinforty-sixcasesdoesKongzicriticizearulerdirectly—andthatistoobservethattheruler,KingLingofChu(r.540–529BCE),wouldsurelyhavekepthisthroneifonlyhehadbeenabletoacceptanycriticism at all. Kongzi, apparently true to his principles, remainsabsolutelysilentonthesubjectoftheking’snotoriouscruelty.Many of Zhongni’s assessments prove to be confusing preciselybecause Kongzi practiced what he preached in the pronouncementsascribed tohim:he judgeda singleactboth fromthepointofviewoftheactorsinvolvedandfromthestandpointofthelargerconsequencesof the act. Perhaps the most famous instance of Zhongni’s ambiguityoccurs in connectionwith a case in 607 BCE,when Zhao Dun, primeministeroftheJinstate,failedtostophisownsonfromjoiningwiththeforces fomenting rebellion. Zhao Dun,who had remonstratedwith hislackadaisicalruleruntilhewasblueintheface,hadalreadymadeplansto go into voluntary exilewhen he receivedword that the rebels hadassassinated his ruler. Zhao returned to the capital, suppressed the

rebellion,executedhisownson,andsawtoitthattherightfulheirwasduly installedonthe throne.Nevertheless, theLucourtannalistwrote,“ZhaoDunmurderedhis ruler,”putting theonus squarelyonZhao forhis involvement in the whole sordid affair. As unofficial historian,Kongzireportedlythenhadthistosayabouttheofficialhistorian:

DongHuwasanuprightannalistofoldentimes.Therulebindinghimwasthatheshouldnot conceal anything. Zhao Dun was an upright officer of olden times. For the sake ofupholdingthismodel[ofhistoricalwriting],heinessenceacquiescedinhisbadreputation.Whatapity!Hemightwellhaveescapedthatfateifonlyhehadcrossedtheborder[goingintoexile,asheoriginallyplanned].

Inacomparablecase,recordedfor528BCE,theprimeministerofJin,Shu Xiang, denounced his younger brother for bribery. To make itabundantlycleartoallJinsubjectsthathewouldalwaysbeanimpartialjudge, Shu Xiang exposed his brother’s corpse in the marketplace,makingallwitnessestohisbrother’sshame.Zhongniintoned,

ShuXiangwasoneofthefewwhostillexemplifiedthestraightforwardhonestyattributedtothe Ancients. In governing the state and administering the law, he did not conceal theevildoingofhisnearrelation….Andinkillinghisbrother,heonlyaddedtohisglory,butwasitreallyhisdutytoexposethecorpsetofurtherridicule?

Evidently, Kongzi could not bring himself even in this fairlystraightforwardcasetosimplydoleoutunabashedpraiseorunreservedblame. Thus, interpretation of the Annals becomes a subtle artdemandingthegreatestinsight,since“thereisintheAnnalsnoprinciplethatcanbeappliedequallytoeverysituation.”12Alwaysthereaderwhoaimstobecomeareliablemoralarbitermustaskwhetherthepersoninthe narrative acted wisely so as to achieve the best possible solution.Thispassionateengagementwith theultimatemeaningand limitationsofa specificdeedor event, entailing considerationof the courseof anindividual life and its role within social history, is entirely consistentwiththeKongzioftheAnalects,whoshiesawayfrompronouncinganysinglehistoricalfiguretobecompletelyhumane.Nonetheless,sovividlyareincidentstreatedintheAnnalsanditscommentariesthatthereaderfeelskeenly,asinreallife,thesenseofprofounddislocationoccasionedbytheserialdisastersthatensue.

ThegreatHanhistorianSimaQianbelievedthatinwritingtheAnnals,Kongzi“recordedwhatshouldberecordedandomittedwhatshouldbeomitted.”TheAnnalsinparticularsetthestandardforSimahimself,nottomentionallsubsequenthistorians.Inassessingthesignificanceoftheattribution to Kongzi of the compilation of theAnnals, itmay help torememberthat(1)inthepre-printingera,beforethetenthcenturyCE,the notion of “authorship” was utterly different than it is today; (2)writingwasbelievedtobethesolerecourselefttofarsightedmenwhohad been prevented from assuming their rightful place in theadministration of the realm; and (3) the logically discrete roles ofcreation and transmission were consequently blurred from the verybeginning,despiteKongzi’sfamouspronouncement,“ItransmitandIdonotinventfromwholecloth.”Evermorewritingstendedtobeascribedto famous authors over time, so long as those writings were “in thespirit”oftheauthor.Inshort,famefedattributionsofauthorshipwhileattributionsfedfame.Still,thewritingofhistorywasseenmainlyasthepreserveofthosedeniedtrueagencyinhistory,aswelearnfromSimaQianinhisRecords.SimaQianusedthisrationalewhenexplainingwhyhe finally decided to submit to castration in order to finish the greatworkofuniversalhistorybegunbyhisfather:

WhenKingWenwasimprisonedinYouli,hewrotetheBookofChanges,andwhenKongziwashumiliatedinChenandCai,hecomposedtheAnnals….ThethreehundredpiecesintheOdes were written largely by worthies and sages expressing their frustration. In all suchcases, men had ideas that were stifled. They could not manage to communicate theirteachingstothoseoftheirowngeneration,andsotheynarratedpastevents,whilelongingfor the people of later generations. When a person is hard pressed, how can he avoidwriting?…Igrievelestthereremaininmyheartsomethingnotfullyexpressed.IdreaditthatImightdieandmywritingnotbemadeknowntolaterages.

According toSimaQian,his father repeatedlyurgedhim towriteascompensationforworldlyfailure,therebystrengtheningthepresentandfutureforcesforgoodandlinkingtheself,atleastintheimagination,toearlierhalcyondays.Doubtlesstheoldrecordsofferedvaluableinsightsinto how to effect a convergence of the practical and the moral ingoverning.SimaTanalsonoted,

Thecaptureoftheunicorn[Kongzi’sdeath]hadalreadybeenmorethanfourhundredyears

ago.[Mencius insistedthatanewsagewouldappearevery fivehundredyears.]…TodaytheHanhasarisenandthewholerealmhasbeenunited….Thelossoftherealm’sarchivesis deeply to be feared…. Our sole aim must be to create ties with the enlightenedgenerationsofold.

One difficulty, of course, confronting historians intent upon forgingsuch tieswas that of distinguishing the true teachings of theAncientsfrom the flood of false teachings that proliferated in the name of“preserving the past.” All sorts of wild stories circulated about thelegendary figures of the past in which outlandish activities andstatements were attributed to them, eithermockingly or inmisguidedattempts to provide a usable precedent in policy making. How toseparate the false fromthetrue?That isnosmallproblemtodaywhenthere are much better tools to verify what really happened. Oralhistories and purported eyewitness accounts constituted the chiefsources available toHanhistorians,despitewide consensus among thelearnedthatthesesourceswerepatentlyunreliable.ThinkingsubjectsofHanweregenerallyapttoconceivewritingaboutthepastinmuchthesamespiritasThucydides:thegoodhistorianistoputintothemouthsofhischiefactorsthespeechesthattheywouldhavemade,hadtheybeenasarticulateasthehistorian.Historywastruesolongasitconveyedthefull range of options available to the actors in a given situation, theleaders’motiveswhendeterminingtheircoursesofaction,andthefatesof theirmany subordinates. Thus Zisi, the grandson ofKongzi, offeredthestandarddefenseagainstcriticswhochargedthathiswritingswerefilledwithsayingsfalselyattributedtohisillustriousforebear:

Zisireplied,“Amongmygrandfather’ssayings,whicharerecordedinmywritingstitledtheConstant Mean [Zhongyong], there are some that I have personally heard and some thatothers brought to my attention. So even though my text consists of words that are notpreciselythesameasthoseoftheMaster,itdoesnotfallshortoftheMaster’sideas.13

Would-be moralists and historians alike garnered evidence from asmanysourcesaspossible,includingthestorythatKongziconsultedwiththeOldMasterLaozi,whowasthenpurportedlytheheadkeeperoftheZhou archives. By gathering and sifting through all the availableinsights, one could hope to fashion a true history that, like Kongzi’sAnnals,hadapplicationsfarbeyondasingletimeandplace.

History is neither a transparent recordof eventsnor apatchworkofsnatches of tales and scraps of evidence. Histories are consciouslyworkedcreations intowhicharepouredhopesanddreams.Somehaveseenhistoryasadialoguebetweenrememberingandforgetting.Othershave remarked upon the human propensity to insist that a largermeaning be retrieved or constructed via history, as humans fight thesense of incoherence and futility engendered by unfolding events thatseemjustlikeonedamnthingafteranother.Then,too,whencapturingamood, a feeling, or an insight and inscribing it onto the past, thehistorian becomes by turns a jeweler and a conjurer. Perhaps thisexplains why the Kongzi of legend sought to become the foremosthistorianoftheCentralStatescivilization.We, who live in an age filled with books and overloaded with

information,tendtoforgethowstunninglyalivethewrittenwordmusthavebeeninanagewhenfewcompositionsweresetdownonexpensivesilk scrolls or bamboo bundles. Some idea of writing’s power may begleaned from the preface to a Han work, which makes the followingextravagantclaimsforwritingsofalltypes:

Now thosewhowould assess the importance of writings say that they are themeans bywhich toorder themain linesof theWayandVirtue,andestablish thewarpandwoofofhumanaffairs.Above,theyareexaminedinlightofHeaven,andbelow,theyaremeasuredby Earth.With humans in themiddle, it is theirwritings that comprehend all principles.Even when they cannot quite draw out the inherent qualities of the Mystery, in theircomplexity they certainly suffice to contemplate everything, frombeginning to end. Theygatherintheessentials;theyraisethegeneraloutlines.Andifthelinesfaileithertocrackopenthepureprimevalunityortodispense[thesublimewisdomof]theGreatProgenitor,then human muddle remains …and there is no way to roam or abide in change andtransformation….

Ingeneral, tocomposea text is themeans toglimpse theWayand toopenbarriers forsucceeding generations…. It allows the person to have contactwith thingswithout beingbedazzledorbefuddled.Itfacilitatesaperson’ssettlingofhisinnerspiritsandnourishingofqi, so that… the person learns to take real pleasure in his endowment fromHeaven-and-Earth.

Under Han, then, Kongzi’sAnnals, as a work of the Supreme Sage,became themain classic to beusedwhen interpreting laws, imagining

betterworlds, andascertaining the relationbetween thepowersof themicrocosm and macrocosm. Yes, the Annals justified the severepunishments meted out to high-ranking traitors. But students of theAnnalsdidnotactonlyasunthinkingagentsforthethrone’sambitions.Reportedly,ascholaroftheAnnals,oneKongXi(adirectdescendantofKongzi, as it happens), was the principal architect of the devastatingcritique launched against Han Wudi’s expansionist policies in CentralAsia.

KONGZI,SEERANDPROPHET

Men of learning read into the Annals this extraordinary insight intothings seen and unseen that made Kongzi the favorite protagonist inanecdoteswhereanexpertwasneededtoexpose the falsityofpopularaccounts.One tale recountsanencounterbetween theDukeofLuandKongzi inwhich the duke asked Kongzi to explainwhyMaster Kui, alegendarycourtmusician,hadonlyonefoot.(CuttingoffafootwasoneofthefivemutilatingpunishmentsinearlyChina,anddismemberedanddisfigured people, being “inauspicious,” were seldom hired at court.)Kongzi explained that the duke had simply misunderstood the phraseyizu, which could mean “one foot” but also “one was enough.” Oneexcellentmusicianwas“enough” to fosteranageof reformdominatedbymusicandrites.Other Han stories had Kongzi, as amateur historian, consulting old

texts. From these he learned the ancient etymologies of many oldcharacters in use longbeforehis time.The earliest extantword list ofarchaicgraphsinChina,theShuowencompiledbyXuShenabout100CE, includestwelveanalysesofgraphs, twobasedonAnalects passagesandtenonapocryphalsources.Belowarethreetypicalexamples.NotethepopularityofpunningglossesinHantimes,visualandverbal,whichare thought to exhibit the tight correspondences threading through allphenomenalexistence:

Mu ,“tree,”meansmao ,“to issue forth.”Atree issues forth fromthegroundwhen itgrows. It is the cosmic phase corresponding to East. The graph has “vegetation” as itssignifier,andthelowerpart[ofthegraph]representstheroots.

Shi±,“manofservice,”meansshi ,“toserve.”Incountingonebeginswith−(“one”)andendswith+(“ten,”pronouncedshialso).Kongzisaid,“Onewhocanaddtenandoneisthemanofservice”[thebureaucrat].

kong [NB: Kongzi’s family name signifies “parturition” and “great”]: It is graphicallyderivedfromfu (tobroodeggs)andya,thenameofthedarkbird…thatcomeswiththespringequinoxanddepartswiththeautumnequinox.Itisamigratorybirdthatcausesbirth.[NB: All sage-rulers supposedly were born via an immaculate conception following a“mysterious” (“dark”) encounter between a virgin and an unidentified “spirit lord” whodescendedtoearthintheformofabird.]

Theearlywritingsystemwascomposedofmanyparts,eachofwhichwas thought to be a true reflection of one or more cosmic patterns.Therefore, every topic now pertaining to the modern disciplines oflinguistics, metaphysics, and philosophy was seen as the study of thenaturalpatternsthatideallyservedasthebasisofsociety.Tobeableto“read”thegraphsbydecipheringtheiretymologieswastodiscern,then,by a powerful combination of discipline, learning, and intuition, theunderlying order that determined the origin, essence, and end ofhumanity.Talesthatmaystrikemodernreadersasdownrightbizarreorpointless

helddeepsignificanceforpeopleinHanastheyseemedtoprovebeyondareasonabledoubtthatKongzihaddivinepowersofspecialinsightintothe relationship between past and present events, an insight thatinformed hiswriting of theAnnals. Kongzi had some sort of “celestiallight,shininginward,”thatcould“purgeordisperse”allobscuringmist,so that hemight see and tell “of things invisible tomortal sight.” Forexample, when a fire struck a temple in the Zhou capital, KongziimmediatelydivinedthatitwastheancestraltempleerectedtoKingLithathadburneddown.WhentheDukeofQiaskedhimhowhecouldbeso sure of this, before a detailed report was even received, KongzirepliedthatheknewitbecauseKingLi(whoseposthumousnamemeans“disaster”)was so extravagant. By this logic, Heaven refused to strikedown King Li directly, lest the king’s demise threaten the regularofferingofsacrificesduehisdistantancestors,KingsWenandWu,twoparagons of virtue. “Therefore, Heaven destroyed King Li’s temple to

make his fault clear.” After another sign, Kongzi predicted that aministerial clan would perish “within three years.” When it did, adisciple asked Kongzi how he could predict what would happen. Hereplied,

Thesuointhefamilynamemeansto“exhaust.”Afilialsonwillexhausthispossessions,ifneed be, to conduct sacrifices to his ancestors. But the head of this clan begrudged theanimalsforsacrifice,sotheclan’sotherlosseswereboundtomultiply.

According to his biography in Sima Qian’s Records, Kongzi had thepowernotonlytoreadmenandtheirfailings,butalsotointerpretotheranomalies:

WhenKongziwasforty-twoyears[in510?BCE],DukeZhaoofLudiedinGanhou[hisplaceofexile],andDukeDingascendedthethrone.InthefifthyearofDukeDing,inthesummer,JiPingzi[headofoneofthethreeministerialclanswhovirtuallyruledLuandthekeyfigureintheoustingofDukeZhao]diedandJiHuanzitookhisplaceasheadofthefamily.WhenHuanzi happened to have a well dug, the diggers found an earthen container with asheeplikecreatureinside.WhenHuanziaskedZhongniaboutit,hedescribedthecreatureassomekindofdog.Zhongnireplied,“FromwhatIhaveheard,it’sasheep.Theysaythatthespiritsofstoneandwoodarecalledkuiandwangliang;thoseofwaterarethedragonandthewangxiang;andthespiritofearthisahermaphroditicsheep.”

ThisprodigyKongzithenrelatedtoaprecedingoutrageinwhichtherightful Duke of Lu was exiled while the disloyal minister who hadoustedhimdiedpeacefullyinhisbedinLu.Astherolesofsuperiorandinferior had become confounded with the duke and his minister, ananimal that was neither male nor female was an apt omen for thesituation.Still another time, an enormous bone was found—part of a woolly

mammoth,wemaypresume,orperhapsa rhinoceros. Inanycase, thebonefilledanentirecart.Thediscussionnaturallyturnedtogiants,andKongziwasabletoreciteahistorythathadaraceofgiantspeoplingtheCentral States in earlier times. At a later date, when hawks that hadgatheredinthecourtofthesmallstateofChensuddenlydied,thebreastofoneofthemwasfoundtohavebeenpiercedbyanarrowwithaflintarrowheadofacertainlengthandstyle.Thinkingthisanaugury,DukeMin of Chen (r. 501–478 BCE) sent an envoy to ask Kongzi for his

interpretationofit.TheSupremeSagewasabletodivinethatthehawkshad flown a great distance, from the Shushenpeople far to the south,who once, long ago, had been powerful allies of the Zhou founders.SincetheAnalects saysquiteplainly thatKongzineverdiscussedweirdprodigies, featsofstrength, instancesofdisorder,orthespirits,readersmaywonderhow,when,andwhytraditionsaroseconcerningKongziastheinfallible“seer”intootherworlds.WhatwasthesourceofthestorythatKongziwasbornwithafive-characterlegendinscribedonhischestproclaiminghisdestinyasaseerandparagonoferudition?Perhapsthetalederivesfromhispreoccupationwiththedistantpast,enablinghimto read strange objects and events, aswell as archaic graphs,with aneasebornoflongfamiliarity.

KONGZISCIONOFTHEBLACKGODORDARKLORD

Nearly all theHan legends contributed to the sense thatKongziwas acreaturesetapartfrombirth,amanofextraordinaryinsightwhocouldseeintobothpastandfuture,unlikecommonmen,whoareincapableofseeing what is before their eyes. If, as the Han proverb put it, “godsperceive future events,meremortals contemporary ones, and thewisesensethoseeventsabouttohappen,”Kongzi’sroleasanastraldeity,aBlackGodincommandofmiraculouspowers,wasbutashortstepfromhis unblemished record as seer and prophet. China, unlike theMediterranean world, never devised a hard-and-fast dividing linebetweendivineandhuman.Apersonwhofulfillshisorherpotentialisavirtualgod.Kongzi,asoneofthoseexemplarypersonswithaprofoundloveof learningandmaturehumankindness,wasconsideredagodbymanyinHanandlatertimes.Inlegendandmyth,thesagerulersofantiquitywereallsaidtohave

beenbornofamysteriousconnectionbetweenyoungvirgins“aroused”and “moved” (gan ) by sky godswho descended to earth in variousdisguises,most typically that of a dark swallow. Likewise, Kongzi hadbeen conceived “in the wilds” after hismother successfully petitionedthe local gods of Hillock Mount to permit her to bear a son. To hiscontemporaries,Kongzi’spaternityevidentlywasunknownorindispute.Afterall,his father, theagedwarrior-turned-prefect,diedwhenKongzi

wasstillaninfant,withouteverinstallingKongzi’smotherinhisofficialtown residence. So apocryphal tales had Kongzi’s mother meeting aBlack Lord in a dream-journey to the stars, and this lord impregnatedherafterbathingherin“fragrantdew,”theboonofthegods.TheBlackLord said only that he “longed to give birth to a sage.” So Kongzi,recalling the Christ child, was at once the son and incarnation of hisastralFather.At least two miracles, those double eclipses, were said to have

heralded the birth of Kongzi at the vernal equinox, the time of a finebalanceofforcesandaharbingeroflushgrowth.Thesamemysteriousdark birds—ravens or swallows—that figured as totems for the ShangandZhouoverlordsoftheCentralStatesannouncedKongzi’sbirth.Borninthehollowofatree,Kongziwaslikenedtothemulberryitself,whoseunisexualseedsarepollinatedbythewindsothatitsproutsasaresultof a curious sympathy between earth and air, a self-generatingpropensitythatobviatestheneedfortheordinarymechanismsrequiredfor reproduction. The hollow mulberry, according to apocrypha, wasalso“theplacewhencethesunissuesandwheretheconstellationFangis located. And when the light from it is at its height, the god—thepatronspiritofZhou—willbe in forceaswell…sothat itsessencewillcover thesun.”Note thereferences to thesun, symbolof theemperor,and to the light of Kongzi issuing from it, invigorating and yetsuperseding[“covering”]theZhourulinghouse.Kongzi’sbirthwassaidtobemiraculouslypainless,asitinvariablyiswithsaviors,andfromthefirst itwasobvious to theobservant that theboywasprecocious.AndthentherewasKongzi’sextraordinaryheightofsomeeight feet,nottomention the extraordinary protuberance like an inverted crest of ahillock on his forehead. All this marked him as a spirit. (From thisprotuberanceKongzitookhisstylename,Zhongni,whichmeansMiddle-SonHillock,andhispersonalname,Qiu,whichmeansMound.)14

Hewastenfeettall[inChinesemeasurement,orabouteightWesternfeet],withahillockhead,asquareface,anoselikethesun,andearslikeariver,theforeheadofadragon,andlipsshapedliketheDipper…awatersprite’sbody,atortoisespine,tiger’spaws,andlongforearms….Hiseyebrowsandthespacebetweenthemhadtwelvecolors;hiseyeshadsixty-four veins….His chest looked like a carpenter’s square… and therewere designs on hispalm.Theinscriptiononhischestsaid,“HewillcreatetheevolutionsoftheMandateasset

forthbycelestialtalliesthataretofixthefutureages.”

One contemporary of Kongzi supposedly compared him to themythicalsage-kings:

TomeKongZhongniseemstohaveall theoutwardmanifestationsofasage.The flowingshapeofhiseyesandtheriseoftheforeheadmakehimlookliketheYellowEmperor,thedivine ancestor of all theChinese people.His long arms and arched back, alongwith hisheight, make him as tall as Tang, the founder of the Shang dynasty. Yet his speech isdeferentialandhispersonaldemeanorisextremelytolerant.Heisamanofbroadlearningandgoodmemory,andhisknowledgeofthingsingeneralseemsinexhaustible.Don’tthesecharacteristicstogethermeanthatwearewitnessingtheadventofasage?

Understandably, his mother tried to stifle or hide such a bizarrecreature at birth, but to no avail. Animals tended him until he couldsurvive on his own. “Sages,” as one apocryphal text intones, “are notborn in vain. Kongzi served as awarning bell whowould fashion thelawsoftheempire.”Inanycase,whenKongzi’smotherdied,didhenotburyherat theCrossroadsof theFiveFathers,asuresign thathewasconscious of his divine ancestry (since the gods were worshipped atcrossroads),thathewouldhavedifficultyestablishinghispaternity,andthatsomehowhebelongedtoallearthlypeoplewhofollowedhimonhisWayorpath?Obviously,alltheforcesofnature,terrestrial,celestial,andtemporal,

wereconjoinedinthisonephysicalbody.ThisKongziwouldprovewhenfacingaseriesoftrialsatleastasimpossibleasthoseofHercules.UnlikeHercules, however, Kongzi’s destiny would be to bring a code ofmoralitytomen,nottooverpowerthemthroughsheerphysicalstrength.By such tales, Kongzi’s divine origin and special destiny ensured thecontinuance,andeventuallytheprosperity,ofhisearthly lineafter theKong family linehadalmostdiedoutduringhis lifetime.Readerswillrecall that Bo Yu, Kongzi’s only son and heir, died long before him,alongwithKongzi’smostbeloveddisciple,YanHui.KongziseemsnottohaveratedBoYuhighly,andindeed,byallaccounts,hewasamanforwhom the word “slacker” seems to have been invented. All the morereasonthatKongziwouldbemoantheuntimelylossofhisassociatesYanHui and Ran Geng. Lacking true biological and spiritual heirs at hisdeath,Kongzileftbehindonlydisciplesoflesserworthtoelevatehimto

a cult status. Although these disciples failed to comprehend the fulldepth,tenor,andimportofKongzi’smessage,theytriedintheirwaytobefaithfultohismemory,asweknowfromSimaQian’saccountinthe“HereditaryHouseofKongzi”:

KongziwasburiedbytheRiverSi,northofthecapitalinLu,andhisdisciplesmournedforhim for threeyears.When those threeyearsofheartfeltmourningended, theybadeeachotherfarewell.Butthentheyweptloudlyagain,andeachreturnedtocompletelyexpresshisgrief,andsomelingeredbythegrave.AmongthemonlyZigongbuiltahutbesidethegravemound where he remained for three more years. But because more than a hundred ofKongzi’sdisciplesandothermenofLusettlednearthegrave,thedistrictwasnamedKongVillage.AndsoinLutherepersisted,generationaftergeneration,thecustomofofferinganannualsacrificeatthegravemoundofKongzi.

As is the way in legends, the number of disciples who purportedlyparticipated in the solemn rites of mourning miraculously multipliedovertime,sothatbylateEasternHantheMasterwassaidtohavehadsome eight thousand loyal disciples, not the little band of six or eightwhoattendKongzi in theAnalects. Especially significant, nogenuinelyearlyaccounttellsofgrievingrelativesatthedyingMaster’sbedside,noraretheredepictionsoftheKongfamilymournersgatheredathisgrave.Onlya singlegrandchild,Zisi,mayhavesurvivedKongzi, and throughthis young boy, apparently, the line of Master Kong passed down.Evidently the legacy of Kongzi was in every sense too large to beconfined to theKongdirect lineofdescent, thoughZisi is theputativeauthorofoneinfluentialdigestofKongzi’steachings,theConstantMean(seechapter4),whichtogetherwiththeGreatLearningcametobereadas faithful transcriptionsof theMaster’smature teachings.AHanstoryprovidesaninsightintothenatureofthefamilybusinessthemembersoftheKongfamilywereinbyQinandHantimes.OneKongZiyu,headoftheKong family at the time of the death of the First Emperor ofQin,servedasritualadvisertotherebelChenShe,whoseuprisinghastenedthe downfall of theQin.15When Chen She died before defeating Qin,Kong Ziyu “passed on everything he knew” to one Shusun Tong, inrecognition of that man’s fine “grasp of the nature of change andexpediency.” Shusun Tong hadwillingly served twomasters—Qin andHan—andShusunTong,notamemberoftheKongfamily,undertookto

adapttheoldQinstateritualsforthecourtoftheHanfounder.Knowingthat the upstart Gaozu feared that he could not master the elaborateritualsofantiquity,ShusunTongdevisedasetofpseudo-antiqueritualsthatprovedtobeeasyenoughforacountrybumpkin.Suchstorieshardlypreventedpeoplewhoclaimedmembershipinthe

Kong family patriline from seizing their chance for fortune and fame.TheKong familynarrativehighlighted their flesh-and-blood ties as thesolekeytoamagicalpatrimonyofwisdominheritedfromtheSage.AllthemessinessoftheKongfamilyhistorywouldthenbeobscured,asthehistorian Lionel Jensen has noted, by “the presumptive continuity ofsacrifice to Kongzi at the clan temple,” thus emphasizing the eternalcharacterofthe“natural”moralsupremacyoftheKongfamilylineoverothers. Thus began the lucrative “Kong family business,” inwhich theKongs positioned themselves as the experts in one branch of classicallearning(curiously,nottheAnnals,buttheArchaicScriptversionoftheDocuments).KongAnguowasthemostfamousoftheseclassicalscholarsinWesternHan,andKongRonginlateEasternHan.16

This is such patent nonsense (hagiography as genealogy, in Chinesefashion) that we might well consider how the Kongs, relentless self-promoterstoaman,managedtosurvivethedownfalloftheHanrulerswhose patronage they had enjoyed. The Kong family was able todistanceitselffromthedebacleinlargepartbecausethewilyKongshadlong seen that itwouldbe in their interest to emphasize tieswith thelegendary rulers of antiquity. Hence the apocryphal stories showingKongziasspiritualheirtotheancientsage-kings.NosoonerhadEasternHan fallen in 220CE than the founder of the short-livedWei dynasty(220–266CE)reinstitutedsacrificestoKongziinrepairedtemplesinitslocaladministrativeseats.EachtemplecontainedanimageoftheMasterwithinitsprecincts,andtheadjacenttempleschoolstaughtmoralityinadditiontoreading,writing,andarithmetic.MeanwhiletheKongfamilywas busy keeping their famous ancestor’s flame alive viapronouncementsontheimportanceofmaintainingancestralsacrifice,asthefollowinglatepassageascribedtoZisishows:

Zisi, grandson of Kongzi, asked the Master about a person who refused to carry outmourning foradistantly relatedclansman. “This isadenialofone’sdebt to theancestralbounty,”Kongzianswered.“Thehonorableheritageofagivenclancannotbeextinguishedif

itsvariousmemberskeeptheirclanrootsintact….Evensomeoneasexaltedasarulermustnot renouncehisbloodrelations,but rather treat themwith reverenceandaffection.Clanmembers should associate with each other at feasts, their places defined and distinctionsmadeamongthembytheirorderofdescent….Thisisthedefinitionoftruefaithfulness.Thehallmarkofcultureandrefinementissaidtobe‘totreatrelativeswithproperdeference.’”

AnyloweringinthecaliberoftheKongfamilymembers,anydeclineinthestrengthoftheirvocation,couldbeoffsetbytheimpressivelengthof the Kong family genealogy. But the portrait of Kongzi-as-ancestorperpetuatedby succeeding generations ofKongs is a story takenup inlaterchaptersofthisbook.

WASKONGZIAKING,ahistorian,aprophetandseer,andalsoadeity?Ratherthanconclude,asonemodernscholarhasdone,thatthenameConfuciuswas“afree-floatingsignifier”forallthehopes,desires,andimpulsesoftheChinesethroughoutimperialtimes,thischaptersuggeststhatbyHantimes, Kongzi had become the legendary historian, king, diviner, anddeity,becauseeachoftheserolesledseamlesslyintothenext.Inotherwords, the roles accorded Kongzi during the Han reflect the singleunderlying drive to see Kongzi enthroned among the gods. The praiseand blame registered in the “subtle wording” of the Annals chronicledeliveredmoralityveiledashistoryandhighly crafted tomaximize itslasting impact. No wonder that students of the Annals were apt toconflateKongzithehistorianwithKongzithedivinesageandseerwhohad predicted and then endorsed the rise of the first stable empire inChina, thatof theHan.TheHanclaimsofKongziasvirtual“ancestor”werepartandparcelofitsmanyinitiativestosecuredynasticlegitimacyandimposeitsruleonnewlyconqueredregionsbyanymeansavailable.Why not enhance these claims by alluding to the divine origins andinfallibilityofKongzi?For themoredivineKongzibecame, thegreatertheauthorityofhisteachings,especiallyasregardshistoryandlaw;themoremiraculous his foresight, themoremagnificent his choice of theHanemperorsashislegitimatesuccessors.Fame in early China, as now, was constructed by interested partieshoping to gain both tangible and psychic benefits. Kongzi’s growing

fame reflected well on the ruling house of Han as long as the Kongfamilyclassicalscholarsneversoughttochallengeitsauthority.Kongzi’stransfigurationandapotheosis,hisjourneyfromfaileditinerantadviserto protector-deity, was accomplished within the four centuries ofWesternandEasternHan. IfKongziwasahistorian/seerwhonotonlypredictedtheriseofHanbutalsoprovideditwithasoundplantosecureitsmandate,Kongzi,thelocalhero,becamethespiritualancestorforallthe Central States, the virtual “uncrowned king” of all visionaries inservicetotheritualorder.WemaysenseKongzi’sexaltedspiritfromananecdoterepeatedofteninHantimes:

Once,when Zigongwas having an audiencewith primeminister Pi, the latter asked himwhatKongziwaslike.Zigongrepliedthathewasnotcapableofansweringthat.Theprimeministershotback,“Whyservehim,ifyoudon’tknowtheanswertothatsimplequestion?”Zigongreplied,“ItispreciselybecauseIdon’tknowtheanswerthatIservehim.Thatmanislike a great stretch of mountain and forest, in that people take from him all that theyrequire.” “Don’t you add to his capacities through your service?” Zigong replied, “Thatman’scapacitiescannotbeaddedto.Iamlikeaheapofearth.Ifapersontriedtouseaheapofearthtoaddtothemountain,theheightofthemountainwouldremainthesame,andtheattempt condemned as folly.” “Well,” asked Pi, “do you gain anything at all by yourassociationwithhim?”“Suppose therewasagreat tankardofwine in therealm,andyouweretheonlyonewhodidn’tdrinkfromit.Whosefaultwouldthatbe?”

Kongzi was best compared, therefore, to a delicious wine which allcould quaff. Zigong added, “I only know that when it comes toquenchingmythirst,Kongzicanbecomparedwiththeriversandseas.”Inthispassage,howardenttheadmirationandhowdifferentitsportraitofKongzifromthedry-as-dustpedantwehavegrownaccustomedto!LuXunandotherMayFourthwriters(seechapter7)tendedtoascribeallthelapsesofChineseimperialhistorytoa“distortedmorality”foistedon unwitting souls by “professional Confucians” duringHan and post-Han:

ThefactisthataftertheHanDynastymostpublicopinionwasinthehandsofprofessionalConfucians….Therewashardlyasinglebooknotwrittenbytheseorthodoxscholars;theyweretheonlyonestoexpressopinions….Todoanythingunorthodoxwastaboo…andthatiswhytherehasbeennochangeuptillnow.

Hansourcestelladifferentstory,however,oneinwhichprofessionalclassicistsandConfucianmoralistsalikeworked,fordifferentmotives,toensure thatKongzi exemplified thatmarvelously proteanpropensity totransformtheselfandothersthatfortheChinesehasdefinedthegods.Once ignored,disparaged,andderided,Kongziwaswellonhisway tosecuringhimselfaplaceofhonorinthepantheonofculturalmemory.

SUGGESTEDREADINGSEricHenry,“TheMotifofRecognitioninEarlyChina,”HarvardJournalofAsiaticStudies47,no.1(June1987):5–30.

FrançoiseBottéro,“RevisitingtheWenandtheZi:TheGreatChineseCharactersHoax,”BulletinoftheMuseumofFarEasternAntiquities74(2002):14–33.

BenjaminA.Elman,ACulturalHistoryofCivilExaminationsinLateImperialChina(Berkeley:UniversityofCaliforniaPress,2000).

ForfilialdutypredatingKongzi,seeMichaelNylan,“IndividualismandFilialPietyinHanChina,”JournaloftheAmericanOrientalSociety116(January–March1996):1–27;AnneCheng,“FilialPietywithaVengeance:TheTensionbetweenRitesandLawintheHan,”inFilialPietyinChineseThoughtandHistory,editedbyAlanK.L.ChanandSor-hoonTan(London:RoutledgeCurzon,2004),29–43.

Onomeninterpretation,seeHansBielenstein,“AnInterpretationofthePortentsintheTs’ienHan-shu,”BulletinoftheMuseumofFarEasternAntiquities22(1950):127–43;andMartinKern,“ReligiousAnxietyandPoliticalInterestinWesternHanOmenInterpretation:TheCaseoftheHanWudiPeriod,”ChūgokuShigakuzasshi10(2000):1–31.

LionelJensen,“TheGenesisofKongziinAncientNarrative,”inOnSacredGrounds:Culture,Society,Politics,andtheFormationoftheCultofConfucius,editedbyThomasA.Wilson(Cambridge:HarvardUniversityAsiaCenter,2002)andManufacturingConfucianism(Durham:DukeUniversityPress,1997);butseealsoNicolasStandaert,“TheJesuitsDidNotManufacture‘Confucianism,’”EastAsianScience,Technology,andMedicine16(1999):115–32.

JuliaMurray,“TheHangzhouPortraitsofConfuciusandSeventy-twoDisciples:ArtintheServiceofPolitics,”ArtBulletin74,no.1(March1992):7–18;“TheTempleofConfuciusandPictorialBiographiesoftheSage,”JournalofAsianStudies5,no.2(May1996):269–300;“VariedViewoftheSage:IllustratedNarrativesoftheLifeofConfucius,”inOnSacredGrounds,editedbyWilson,pp.222–64.

C

4

TheCanonicalConfuciusfromHanthroughSong

ONFUCIUSMOURNED THE LOSTWAY. IN ANCIENT TIMES ITwaspracticedby sageswhoruledtheworld.Noordinarymen,thesageswieldedcosmicpowers.Theypossessedprofoundinsightintothemysteriesofthe

cosmos andwere the catalyst that enabled everyone to realize the fullpotentialof their inborncapacity forgoodness.The sagespromulgatedtherites,whichperfectlyaccordedwiththepatternscoursingthroughallthings,sothatreverentlordscouldhonorthegodsandfilialsonscouldrenderfeasttotheirancestors.Thesageswereoncehailedastruekings.Exalted above other men, the sage-kings imperceptibly aided in thecosmic transformation of all creatures and reigned over the world asequaltoHeavenandEarth:expansiveandbountiful,theysustainedlife;loftyandbrilliant,theyembracedallthings.Not everyone possessed the same capacity to perfect what Heaven

gavehim.Yetthepotentialtorealizethislatentqualitylaywithineachperson’sgrasp.Unlikethesage,whoeffortlesslymanifestedtheWayinhiseverydeed,mostpeoplehadto labor tenaciously toholdonto thegoodwithouteverrelaxingtheirgrasp,lesttheyfallintoerrantways.Asmengraduallylostholdofgoodness,theancientWaydeclined.Mennolonger recognized the sage and failed to call him king. So Confuciusgrieved for theWay.Heworked tirelessly toawaken theworld to thisimmeasurablelossandtoshowmentherightpathtowardgoodness.Hismessagewassimple,yethisteachingsprovedremarkablydifficulttoputintopractice.To instruct the lords of his day how to restore theWay, theMaster

outlined a cultivation program,which is recorded in a text called theConstantMean(Zhongyong ), sometimes translatedas theDoctrineofthe Mean. Ostensibly addressed to a prince in advanced stages of hiseducation before assuming the throne, the Constant Mean envisions amodeofgoverningthatrequiresfarmorethanmaintainingsocialorder

orcollectingtaxes.ThePrince,accordingtothiswork,mustaspiretotheattainments of the ancient sage-kingswhowielded the very cosmos tocreateperfectgovernmentandtobringharmonytoallwholivedunderHeaven.ThePrincemustfollowhisHeaven-endowednature,Confuciustaught, and reach deeply within himself to find a state of innerequilibrium unaffected by the emotions. When he “honors the moralnatureandfollowsthepathofinquiryandlearning,”theConstantMeanproclaims, “the Prince realizes the Way’s greatness and fulfills itsrefined, hidden essence.” When he masters inner equilibrium andharmonizeshisactionswithallthatiscorrect,then“HeavenandEarthassume their proper places and all living creatures flourish.” Byfollowing this path of cultivation, the Prince governs in concert withHeavenandEarthandruleswiththeMandateofHeaven.The moral order of the cosmos envisioned in the Constant Meanrevolves around the central concept of cheng. Sometimes translated as“Sincerity,” cheng is perhaps more aptly understood as “Integrity,”which, like theChineseword, conveysboth a stateof being complete,undivided, orwhole and also uncompromising adherence to the good.AccordingtotheConstantMean,theSagepossessesIntegrityinitsmostsublime form—“Integrity itself” (chengzhe )—and fully realizes hisinnate potential for goodnesswithout relying on any external sources.WhenheunleashesthemoralpowerofhisIntegrity,theSageactsasanagentofHeaven’sWayby“unitinghisinternalselfwithexternalthings”andenablingallpeopletofulfilltheirHeaven-endowednature.OnlytheSage isbornwithhis Integrityalready fully formed,whereaseveryoneelsemustfollowman’sWayandworktirelesslytoattainit(chengzhizhe

)throughlearning.Though it bears unmistakable markings of an age centuries afterConfuciusdied, theConstantMeanwascommonlyaccepted in imperialtimesasanauthenticrecordofConfucius’steachingsasrecordedbyhisgrandson.1 During the Han dynasty (206 BCE–220 CE) it wasincorporated in a compilationof ritual texts called theRecordofRites,one of the Five Classics. Not until the Song dynasty (960–1279 CE),however,diditoccupyacentralstatusintheConfuciancanoncalledtheFour Books, along with the Great Learning (also from the Rites), theAnalects,andMencius.FromtheSongthroughtheQing(1644–1911CE)

dynasties,Confucians regarded theseworksas thepurest expressionoftheDaotransmittedbytheancientsages.WhiletheyneverdisplacedtheFive Classics, the Four Books constituted the core of the civilexaminationcurriculumasearlyasthefifteenthcentury(seechapter5).Puttingasideconsiderationsofwhatmodernphilologistsmightregardasthe historically verifiablewords of Confucius, this chapter attempts toreconstructthevoiceofanotherfigure,thatoftheCanonicalConfucius.The authoritative words of the Canonical Confucius were piouslyrecorded in such works as the Constant Mean and painstakinglyinterpretedincommentariesbyZhengXuan (127–200CE)andZhuXi (1130–1200).Confucius’swordsfoundincriticaleditionsoftheConstantMean circulated ingovernment schoolsandprivateacademiesintheMingandQingdynastiesandthusloomedlargeintheimaginingsoftheSageamongallclassicallyeducatedmenforthelastsixhundredyearsofimperialChinesehistory.

THECONSTANTMEANANDITSCOMMENTARIES

ThetextoftheConstantMeancomes tous todayrepletewith layersoftextual commentaries. Inscribed between lines of the classical text,commentarieswere literallyan integralpartof theClassics themselves.Students and scholars as well as modern translators all used them tounderstand theClassics.Commentators themselves learned fromearliercommentaries, often quoting their predecessors at length in their ownremarks. And yet, while they clarify the meaning of the canon,commentariesalsoconstitutenormativeinterpretationsofclassicaltextsasunderstoodbythecommentatorswhowrotethem.Acommentaryisthus both a necessary tool for understanding the Classics and a prismthroughwhichwetodaycandiscernhowscholarsofagivenperiod inimperial times interpreted a classical work. A comparison of differentcommentaries on a particular classical work opens onto a conceptualhorizon of possible interpretations of that work and of the scripturaltraditionwithinwhichitwasinterpreted.This chapter approaches theConstantMean through two of its mostimportant commentaries. Written a thousand years apart—one in thesecond century and the other in the twelfth—these commentaries

illustratehow the ideas that scholars bring to a text changeover timeandinturnproducedistinctiveinsights.ThoughtheirinterpretationsoftheConstantMean arenot everywhereatoddswithoneanother, thesetwo commentaries nonetheless demonstrate that a canonical text’smeaning is neither singular nor static. Approaching theConstantMeanthroughitscommentariesilluminateshowacanonicalworkcanacquirenew meaning and authorize different and, at times, conflictinginterpretations, depending upon the changing historical contexts inwhichitisread.Theabilityofaclassicalworktoaccommodatearangeofdistinctivereadingsisperhapsthemostimportantqualitydeterminingthelongevityofanyscripturaltradition.A prolific classical scholar in the EasternHan dynasty (25–220CE),

Zheng Xuan, wrote one of the most influential commentaries on theConstantMeanaspartofhislargercorpusofcommentariesontheFiveClassics.Centurieslater,theTangcourt(618–907CE)usedZhengXuan’sversion as the basis of its imperial edition, which was distributed togovernment schools where students trained for civil-serviceexaminations; Zheng’s commentaries were engraved onto stone andplacedoutsidethegateoftheDirectorateofEducationinthecapitalastestament to their authority. When it moved the capital to Lin’an(present-dayHangzhou) in the twelfth century, the Song court did thesame. Parts of Zheng’s edition survived into the eighteenth century,when court scholars reconstructed it to compile a new edition of theThirteenClassicsthatremainsthestandardtothisday.2

TheChinaofZhengXuan’sdaywasaoncegreatempireonthevergeof collapse. Built upon a political foundation brutally forged by theshort-lived Qin empire (221–209 BCE), the Han dynasty ruled in partthroughanemergingcourt-appointedcivilbureaucracy,whichreplacedthe ancient nobility that had previously governed feudal states byhereditaryprivilege. Individualmeritbecame increasingly important incourt appointments during the Han, which curtailed the ancientnobility’s influence at court, even while a consortium of newlyempowered families came to exert great influence. The foundingemperoroftheHancametopowerenormouslyindebtedtohiskinsmenand generals, to whom he granted extensive domains. A practicaloutcomeofdynasticconquest,theirdomainsinevitablybecamelocations

of resistance to imperial authority. After a half century of the centralcourt’s strategic expansion of civil administration, these domains,includingthoseunderimperialprinces,werevirtuallyeliminated.Also,theHanempirewascomposedofdiverseregionspopulatedbypeoplesof different ethnic backgrounds who spoke a dizzying array of localdialects and regional languages only tenuously united under awritingsystem used in official documents. The Han emperors were urged bytheir court advisers to embody universal rule over this enormouslydiverseempirebyemulating theancient sage-kingsexalted in classicaltextssuchastheConstantMean.A thousand years after Zheng Xuan, Zhu Xi composed a set ofcommentaries on the emerging canon called the Four Books. Zhu Xitraced his own doctrinal lineage to the greatmasters of the NorthernSong (960–1127 CE), who, he claimed, apprehended Confucius’s Dao,which, as contained in the Constant Mean, had been “lost for nearly1,400years.”Indoingso,ZhuXibypassedthecommentarialtraditionsfromtheHanthroughtheTangdynasties,which,hemaintained,failedto transmit the ancient Dao. The Constant Mean’s metaphysicalexplorationofhumannatureandself-cultivationledZhuXitoregarditas themostesotericworkof theConfuciancanon.Fearinghisstudentsmight not correctly understand this work’s profoundmeaning, Zhu XiadvisedthemtostudyitonlyaftermasteringtheothertextsintheFourBooks.AlthoughhereliedheavilyonZhengXuan’scommentaryfortheprecisemeaningofmostpassagesintheConstantMean,ZhuXiexplicitlydepartedfromitatcriticalpointswhere,hewasconvinced,Zhengandother earlier commentators had missed the Supreme Sage’s deepermeaning.TheimperialcourtfirstrequiredZhuXi’sinterpretationoftheFourBooks in the fourteenthcentury, andby the fifteenthcentury theMingcourtestablisheditasthecoreofthecivilexaminationcurriculum.From then until well into the nineteenth century, Zhu Xi’s version oftheseworkswas thedominantauthority in theeducationofclassicallyeducatedmenandwomen.Chinese society inZhuXi’sdaydiffered from thatofZhengXuan inmany important respects. China’s population had nearly doubled andhadspreadoutfromthebanksoftheYellowRiverandnortheastChinato the coastal provinces in the southeast as well as inland to the

southwest. Cities, which until the Tang dynasty were primarilyadministrativecenters,haddevelopedrobustcommercialsectors,wherepaper currency circulated in the world’s first money economy. Tradealongtheinlandsilkroutesstillthrivedinmuchthesamewayasithadfor more than a thousand years, and seafaring trade with Indian andArab merchants, which had begun as early as the eighth century,flourishedinZhuXi’sday,longbeforePortugueseshipsroundedAfrica’sCapeofGoodHope in1488CE.Buddhism, first introduced intoChinaalonginlandtraderoutes,profoundlyaffectedreligiouslifeatalllevelsofSongsociety.Theearliestextantprintedbook,whichdatesfrom868CE,was in fact a Buddhist sutra. By the tenth century, a new kind ofruling elite filled the political vacuum left by the decline of thehereditary families, which had dominated court and society from theHanthroughtheTang.ThisnewSongelite,referredtoasthe“Confuciangentry,” enjoyed prestige through success in government civilexaminationsbasedontheConfucianClassics.ThegrowingimportanceofclassicaleducationcreatednewincentivesintheSongforlarge-scaleprintings of books, and for the emergence and growth of privateacademies. Most academies prepared young men to take civilexaminations, but many became centers of classical scholarship thatreinterpreted the ancient canon in ways that made it relevant to theconcerns of the nonhereditary elite. This resurgence in Confucianlearning produced a number of schools of thought, which coalescedaround such prominent masters as Zhu Xi, who taught distinctivephilosophicaldoctrinesandattractedlargenumbersofdisciples.Zheng Xuan’s and Zhu Xi’s understanding of the Constant Mean

differedinanumberofwaysthatwillbeexaminedinthischapter.Twopoints of difference bear mentioning here: their understanding of thework’s title and its purported audience. For Zheng Xuan, this workexaminesthe“practiceofinnerequilibriumandharmony.”Accordingtothe text’s openingpassage, to follow theWay, onemust guard againstone’s own hard-to-perceive shortcomings and master one’s latentemotions, maintaining a state of equilibrium so that the emotionsexpressed in one’s interactionwith others accordwithwhat is proper.ZhengXuan’sunderstandingof the titlemight thusbe renderedas thePracticeofEquilibrium.ConstantMean aptly capturesZhuXi’s emphasis

ontheimmutableorconstantprinciplesofthemiddlewaybetweentwoerroneousexcesses.Toavoidconfusion,thetitleisrenderedastheMeaninthesectiononZhengXuanandastheConstantMeanelsewhereinthechapter.3

ZhengXuanbelievedthatthistextoriginallyaddressedaprince(junzi) or hereditary lord of the ancient Zhou dynasty. He nonetheless

insistedthatitslessonsappliedtotheimperialrulersofhisowndynasty.Zheng thus placed his hope in a virtuous sovereign who aspired toemulate the ancients. Conversely, ZhuXi clearly construed theway ofthejunziasaninjunctionthatappliedtomembersoftheConfucianelitelikehimself,whocommandedmoralauthority,usuallyatthelocallevel,inoroutofbureaucraticpositions.The“WayoftheGentleman,”asZhuXiwouldhaveit,guidedthosewhofollowedtheteachingsofConfuciusanddevoted themselves to a life of service, either to the throne as anappointed civil official or to the community as amoral exemplarwhoembodiedtheWay.Inordertocapturewaysthatcommentariesproducenewmeaningin

classical texts, the remainder of this chapter reads the Constant Meanaccording to these two commentaries. The next section follows ZhengXuan’s interpretation and abides by his glosses wherever the originalwording is ambiguous. Because Zheng Xuan understands this text asaddressed to his sovereign, the key term junzi is rendered as “Prince.”Thesectionthat followsreads theConstantMean according toZhuXi’scommentary and translates the term junzi as “gentleman” in order toconveyhis senseof an educatedmanwhoaspires tomoral perfection.ThesectiononZhuXifocusesonkeypointswherehediffersfromZhengXuan’sinterpretation.

ZHENGXUANANDTHEPRACTICEOFEQUILIBRIUMANDHARMONY

TheWayofthePrince

Zheng Xuan understood the Mean as a cultivation text in whichConfucius exhorts the Prince to strive for the greatness of the ancientsage-kings.Toundertakethistask,thePrince(orsovereign)mustresolve

tocleavetotheMeanwithunrelentingvigilanceoverhimselfinordertomasterinnerequilibriumandharmonizehisactionswithwhatiscorrect.If he chooses this path, he can assume the duty of the true Prince: toassistHeavenandEarthinnurturingallthings,sothattheytoorealizetheir full potential; only then can the Dao flourish in the world. TheMean begins by affirming the innate potential for human goodness:Heaven endows us with an inborn quality or nature, proclaims ananonymous voice. To diverge from one’s nature even for an instantviolates theWay.ZhengXuanamplifiedupon themeaningofHeaven-ordained nature by illustrating how particular types of endowmentengender specific personal dispositions: “When Heaven bequeaths thespiritofwood,thenatureisbenevolent;whenitbequeathsthespiritofmetal,thenatureisrighteous;withfire,itisceremonious;withwater,itistrustworthy;withearth,itiswise.”ThevoiceofConfucius, identified simplyas theMaster in theMean,thendecries, “Alas, theWay isnotpracticed!”The smallmanopposestheMeanbecausehehasnoshame.The learnedman thinksheknowstheMean,butexceeds(guo )it;theignorantmanalsothinksheknowsit, but can never reach (buji it. “The practice of the Mean issublime,”4theMastercontinues,andyet“peoplecanrarelyholdontoitverylong”becausetheyfailtofollowtheirHeaven-endowednature(2–5).5 In a nearly identical passage recorded in theAnalects (6.27), theMasterproclaimstheMean’smoralpowertobesublime.TheconsistencyoftheMaster’sremarksontheMeaninvariouscanonicalworkssuchastheAnalectsservedtoaffirminthemindsofhisreadersduringimperialtimestheimageofasingularsagelyfigureandhisteachings.Toillustratethebasicconditionsinwhichmostpeople,incontrasttothe sage-kings, must pursue the Way, Confucius compares his mostillustriousdisciple,YanHui,totheparagonShun,anancientkingwhowielded the very cosmos to create perfect government.6 Shun wassupremelywise, Confucius says, for he inquired into everyday speech,restrainedevil,promotedthegood,andappliedtheMeanbyemployingboththelearnedandtheunschooled.Inthiswayhewasasage(6).Incontrast to Shun, onwhomHeaven endowed the unerring nature of asage,YanHui exemplifies virtue becausehe chose the good and neverfalteredinhisperseverance:“WhenhechosefromtheMean,”theMaster

says,“YanHuicleavedtoasinglegoodsotightlythatheneverlostit”(8).Peopledonotcleave to theMean longenough,hewarns (7).TheMaster thus teaches the Prince that to achieve perfection he mustemulateYanHui’sresolvetoclingtothegood,and,insodoing,followtheWayofthePrince.MasteringtheDaorequiresstrengthofmoralwill,which is farmoredifficult than using force to unify the realm. In response to a disciplewho inquired about strength, Confucius distinguishes between thestrongman,whosleepswithswordandshieldbesidehimandisunafraidtodie,andthePrince,whogentlyadmonisheshissubordinatesanddoesnot visit fierce retribution on minor transgressions. Admonishing hisdisciple’sfondnessforstrength,theMastersays,“thePrinceharmonizeswithoutwavering.Isthisnotstrength?Hestandsuprightinthemiddleofthepathwithout leaningonanything”andremainstruetohiswayswhetherornottheDaoprevails intheworld(10).Rusticshamansandpractitionersofstrangeartsthatpleasetheworldwillquicklyabandonthe Way whenever they encounter trouble. “Only the sage,” he says,“relies on the Mean without any concern for fame or worldlyrecognition”(11).ThewayofthePrincecanbeappliedbroadly,theMasterexplains,butit isvery subtle.A simpletonmaygainpartial insight into it, and toalimitedextentputitintopractice.Thesage,too,findsthatheisunableto fully grasp the subtle depths of theWay (12).And yet it is not farremoved from practical experience. “Hew the axe handle according towood’sgrain,”theMasterquotesfromtheOdes(MaoOde158);theWayis fashioned according to readily discernible patterns of everyday life.Yet it is often hard to fulfill one’s obligations to others. The Masteradmits,forexample,thathewasunabletoservehisfatherinthesamewaythatheexpectedhisownsontoservehim.Bythesamemeasure,hesays, he fell short in serving his own lord, his elder brother, and hisfriends.Soonemustbevigilant,and,theMastersays,“WhenthereareshortcomingsinmydailyconductorifIbungleroutineinteractionswithothers, then I always make an extra effort to mend; I dare not leaveanythingleftundone”(13).One’s ability fully to realize one’s Heaven-endowed potential restsupon one’s resolve not to rely on external resources. To illustrate the

necessity of drawing upon one’s own resources in pursuing this goal,Confuciuslikensthisquesttoaseeminglyexternalskill:“TheWayofthePrince can be likened to archery. If the archer fails to penetrate hismark,heseeksthecauseinhimself”(14).Menciussimilarlysaid,“Thebenevolent man is like the archer. The archer corrects himself beforeletting his arrow fly. If he misses his mark, he does not blame thewinner, but only seeks the cause in himself” (2A.7). The figure of theupright archer who perfectly embodies the qualities necessary forrealizingperfectioncanbefoundinotherclassicalsources,suchasthe“MeaningofArchery” chapterof theRites aswell as in theOdes(e.g.,Mao Ode 220). The possibility of fully realizing the Dao lies withinoneself and requires only that one choose to undertake the quest andneverslackeninone’sresolve:“Itislikeembarkingonalongjourney—itbeginshere,athome—orascendingahighpeak—itbeginsatthefootof the mountain” (15). Success in following the Way of the Princerequires that one reach for the lofty Dao by choosing the good,steadfastly adhering to it with unrelenting resolve, and maintainingvigilanceoverone’sownshortcomings.

TheAncestors’BoundlessMoralPower

In Zheng Xuan’s reading, the Mean has so far stressed the Prince’severydayinteractionswithotherlivingpeopleasameasureofgoodnessandasthemeansbywhichherealizesit.Thenextseveralsectionsofthetext explore the sources of human goodness and moral action byweaving an intricate cosmological web of the Prince’s cultivation, hisHeavenlymandatetorule,andhispiousdevotiontohisancestors.Thesepassagesprovideoneof theclearestexplanations in theClassicsof thenecessity of venerating ancestors in one’s quest to realize humanperfection.Ritesofsacrificetoone’sancestorsarenotmerelytheeffectof preexisting piety; rather, the unfathomable spirits draw peopleeverywheretothegoodandreinforcetheirresolve.Thepurificationritesoneobservesbeforethesacrifice,asweshallseepresently,formpartofanarrayofcultivationmethodsthatdrawsinspirationfromtheexaltedobjectofone’spiousdevotion: theancestors,whoareneitherexternal,inthatweinherittheirqi,norinternal,beingphysicallydistinctfromus.

Sages like Shun unerringly hit squarely upon the Mean withoutexternal inducement or even premeditation. For the rest of humanity,however, other sources of inspiration become necessary. Foremostamong them,according to theMean, are theunfathomable spiritswhoinduceustodogood.“Thespirits’andancestors’exerciseoftheirmoralpowerisindeedboundless,”theMastersays.“Whiletheycannotbeseenorheard,theygivebirth[ti ] toall livingthings,andinduce[shi ]peopleeverywheretofastandpurifythemselvesandtodonpropergarbinordertocontinuethesacrificialrites”(16).ZhengXuanremarks,“Allthingsarebornby theqiof the spirits.”7Asourownancestors, spiritsareapartofourbeinginthattheygivebirthtous;theirqiflowswithinus.Two other texts included in the Record of Rites elaborate upon the

importance andmeaning of sacrifice. The “Fundamentals of Sacrifice”(jitong )explainsthatsacrificetoone’sancestorsexpressestheinnerfeelings of the filial heart: “Sacrifice is not produced by an externalthing,itcomesfromwithinandisproducedfromtheheart.Theheartismovedbytheancestorsandisexpressedbymeansofrites.”Thischapterthen explains how fasting purifies the self, thereby enabling one tocommune with the ancestors: “Upon attaining purity, one resistsdepraved things and stops desires….Theheart that does not dwell onfrivolous things always follows the Dao. Hands and feet that do notmove recklessly always follow the rite. For this reason, the Prince’spurifications obtain themoral powerof his acuteperception [jingming]….Uponachievingtheutmostpurity,oneattainsacuteperception

and only then communes with the spirits.” As a filial son, the Princedevoteshiseverythoughttohisancestorsduringpurificationrites.Ifheobserves such riteswholeheartedly,andnothingdistractshim fromhispurpose, he will see them as when they lived: “During purifications,think of the ancestor’s daily activities,” explains the “Meaning ofSacrifice”(jiyi ),alsointheRecordofRites,“thinkofhissmile,dailythoughtsandpleasures,androutinediversions.AfterthePrincepurifieshimself for threedays,heseeswhathehaspurifiedhimself tosee.Onthedayofthesacrifice,hecertainlycatchesfaintglimpsesofthespiritswhen he enters the shrine and a gentle sense of their murmuring ateverypointduringtheriteuntilheturnstoleave.”

“Spiritsaboundasthoughaboveus,asthoughtoourleftandright,”theMastercontinues in theMean.“TheOdes says, ‘When spirits come,theycannotbefathomed,yetwetireofthemnot.’Whentheindistinctspiritsappear,integritycannotbesuppressed!”(16).Heavenimpartsthepossibilityofhumangoodnessatbirth,buttorealizeitfullyrequirestheextraordinaryresolvetochoosethegoodineveryinstance.Thisusuallyoccurs in one’s everyday interactions with friends, family, andassociates, but the arrival of the unfathomable spirits inspires atranscendent resolve: it produces integrity, an internal disposition thatovercomes all obstacles and enables one to realize fully one’sHeaven-ordainednature.Thesage-kingShunmostperfectlyembodiedtheself-realizationofhis

Heaven-endowednature.“Shunwasgreatlyfilial,”theMastersays.“Hepossessed themoralpowerofa sageandsopeople reveredhimas theSon of Heaven…. He received sacrifice in the ancestral temple of theancientkingsandhisdescendants continued the rites thathebegan….FromthisweknowthatmenofsurpassingmoralvirtuecertainlyreceivetheMandate” (17).8 The early Zhou kings continued the rites of theirancestorsandsoneverworriedabout theMandate:“Sons followed theritesthattheirfatherscreated”(18).Confuciussimilarlydrawsadirectcorrelationbetweenfilialityandfollowingtheritualprecedentsofone’sforebears; inAnalects 4.20, he says, “If for three years a son does notalterhis father’sways,hemaybecalled filial.”Theconsistencyof theMaster’sviewsagainservestoaffirmtheimageofasingularConfuciusspeakingthroughoutmultiplecanonicalsources.Though filiality might typically be construed as pious love of one’s

livingparents, theMasterexplains it in theMeanalmostexclusivelyinterms of devotion to one’s ancestors. He repeatedly draws parallelsbetweentheworldoftheancestorsandtheworldoftheliving,linkingthem in overlapping spheres that mitigate barriers which mightotherwiseseparatethem.Theabilitytoseeandservethedeadaslivingrequires the acute perception attained through purification rites andmarks the attainment of filiality in its highest form. “Filiality,” theMaster says, “is to piously continue the wishes of one’s ancestors byfollowing their sacrificial services.The filial sonprepares theancestralshrineeachspringandautumn,laysouthisancestors’sacrificialvessels

andclothing,andoffersthemripefruitsandfreshlyharvestedgrains.”Ritualsthatbringproperordertothespiritsalsoorderlivingmenby

distinguishing high from low: “The sequence of ancestral tabletsdistinguishes between father and son,” the Master continues, “rankseparatesnoblefromhumble;servicesdistinguishamongworthies;low-ranking celebrants in the toasting rotation raise their cups to theirsuperiors, which serves to include the humble; and banquet feathersrankguestsaccording toage.To followtheancestors, toperformtheirritesandmusic; to reverewhat theyhonoredand lovewhat theyhelddear; to serve the dead as one serves the living: this is the supremerealization of Filiality.” The Prince attains Supreme Filiality, and thusrealizeshumanperfection,byservinghisancestorswiththesamepietywithwhichheserveshislivingparents.TheMastersimilarlysaidintheBook of Filiality (Xiaojing ), “In filiality nothing surpasses reveringone’sfather.Inreveringone’sfathernothingsurpasseshisreceivingritesasHeaven’scorrelate.”

TheArtofGoverning

Governing, as envisioned in theMean, endeavors to bring about theuniversalrealizationoftheDao,astateinwhichallcreaturesfulfilltheirinnatepotentialendowedbyHeaven.Toaccomplishthisidealstate,thePrincemust hold on to theMeanwith unrelenting resolve,master hisinnerequilibriumtoensurethathisactionsaccordwithwhatiscorrect,andextendthepietyheexhibitstowardhisownlivingkinandancestorstoeveryoneunderHeaven.TheartofgoverningenvisionedintheMeanaims tomaintain tranquillity throughout the realm, to be sure, but toconstrue it as principally secularwould overlook themultipleways inwhich social, political, ethical, and religious activities constantlyoverlap.Theveryideathatseeminglysecularactssuchaslaboringinthefields, interacting with others, or governing could be separated fromreligious activities is more a product of the eighteenth-centuryEnlightenment than of theworld conceived in theMean. To import itinto this text risks unraveling the richly textured lives that show noevidenceofdistinguishingbetweensecularandsacred.TheMasterportraysunderstandingofancestralritesandsacrificesto

HighGod(shangdi )asaprerequisiteforunderstandinggovernance.Hesays,“ThesuburbanritesandsoilsaltarserveHighGod,andritesatthe ancestral temple serve the Prince’s ancestors. Hewho understandstheseriteswillgovernthestateaseasilyaspointingtothepalmofhishand”(19).Hewhomastersequilibriumandharmonypossessespowerover the cosmos, because, through his own cultivation, Heaven andEarth will assume their proper places and all living creatures willflourish.ThePrince’ssuccessinfollowingtheWayhingesonhisabilityto master equilibrium and harmony and extend their beneficenceoutwardtothosearoundhimandeventuallytoeveryonethroughouttherealm.Toensurethathisgovernmentextendstoeveryoneandcontinueswell

afterhedies, theMaster says, thePrincemust treathis subjectsashisownkinandchoosewisecounselorswhofollowtheDaobycultivatingbenevolence (ren ) in themselves and extending it to others. Fivecardinalrelationshipsthataffecteveryone,regardlessofrankorstation,appear repeatedly throughout the Mean: lord-minister (or subject),father-son,husband-wife, elder andyoungerbrothers, and friends.Thewise man understands those cardinal relationships from birth andconductshimselfproperlythroughthemwithease.Thebenevolentmancomes to understand them through learning and conducts himselfproperly because he sees that it is beneficial to do so. The bravemanunderstandsthecardinalrelationshipsaftersomedifficultyandconductshimselfproperlythroughconsiderableeffort.“WhetheroneunderstandstheDao frombirth,or realizes itwitheaseorwithdifficulty, theyareone.”Making explicit this principle of extending the Dao outward, the

Master says, “Onewhoknowshowtocultivate the self,knowshowtogovern others.” He then enumerates a sequence of stages called“Constancies,” which, when the Prince carefully abides by them,produce what might be thought of as a Confucian version of utopia.TheseConstanciesemanateoutward fromthePrince throughtheranksof thenobilityandcourtiers to thecommonfolkwhotill the landandlabor in shops. The Prince must first cultivate himself, which he“accomplishes by fasting and purifying himself” before performingsacrifices to the gods and spirits, “donning proper garb and never

contraveningtherites.”ThePrince’sperformanceofhisreligiousdutiestothegodsandancestralspiritsconstitutesthefirstConstancy,orstep,toward realizing the Dao in human society. The Prince also upholdstheseConstanciesbymaintainingconcordwithinhisfamilyandamonghis ministers and officers, by honoring the worthy man, treating hissubjectsashisownchildren,andwelcomingthosewhocomefromafar.Thenpeoplewillflocktohimandtheworldwillholdhiminawe(20).ThePrince’s own cultivation establishes themoral foundationof theartofgoverning.HemustinitiatemoralrectificationinhisownpersonfirstinordertosettheotherConstanciesintomotion,culminatingintheuniversal realization of Dao throughout his realm. Success at any onepoint in the sequence requires successful completion of the prior one.ThebeneficialeffectsofhisowncultivationemanateoutwardfromthePrincethroughconcentricdomainsthatultimatelyencompasstheentireworld.Once thePrince realizes Integrityhimself, hewill be compliantwith his kin, then he will gain the trust of his friends, and hissubordinates will have access to their superiors. Then he governs thepeopleasatruePrince.

Integrity,theSage,andtheWayofHeaven

ThislengthydiscussionofthemoralfoundationofgovernanceconcludeswithacarefulanalysisofIntegrity(cheng ),oneofthemostimportantconceptsoftheentiretext.TheMeandistinguishesbetweentheWayofHeaven,exemplifiedbytheSagewhopossessesIntegrityfrombirth,andtheWayofMan,thepaththateveryonenotbornasagemustfollowtoacquireIntegritythroughlearning.“Integrity itself[chengzhe ] is theWayofHeaven,”anunidentifiedspeakerproclaims.“ToattainIntegrity[cheng zhizhe ] is man’sWay.” In his interlinear commentary onthis passage, Zheng Xuan explains that “Integrity itself is Heavenlynature,”whichsagesalonepossessatbirth.“ToattainIntegritymeanstoacquireitthroughlearning.”9

TheanonymousspeakerintheMeancontinues,“Hewho[originally]possessesIntegrity,hitsupontheMeanwithoutforethought;this istheSage who effortlessly hits squarely upon the Dao. To attain Integrity[through learning] requires that one choose the good and steadfastly

hold on to it [ze shan er gu zhi ],” as exemplified by theMaster’s disciple Yan Hui. In contrast to Integrity itself, possessed bysuchextraordinarymenasShun,whoinvariablyhitupontheMean,toattain Integrity “onemust study it broadly, inquire into it thoroughly,reflectuponitcarefully,distinguishitclearly,andpracticeitearnestly.Ifothersmasteritafteroneattempt,thendoitahundredtimes;ifothersmasteritaftertenattempts,thendoitathousandtimes;intheendyouwill master this Dao.” Learning in theMean clearly entails somethingmorethanacquiringfactsoraccumulatinginformation.Learning,rather,amountstoamoralquesttoattainperfectionthroughemulationofthesages.Althoughthesagestoweraboveallhumanitythroughouttheages,the passage concludes, “even the ignorant can gain wisdom and theweakcanbecomestrong”(20).That anunidentified speakerpronounces on the concept of Integrityfacilitates a crucial if subtle shift in the text’s perspective. TheMeanhereafter speaks increasingly of the Sage rather than the Prince, andwherethePrinceappearsinthetext,ZhengXuanusuallyreferstohimas a sage in his commentary. More important, the canonical voice ofConfuciusdominatedthefirsthalfofthetextasthoughitwereanactualrecordoftheMaster’saudiencewithaPrince,whereasConfuciusspeaksonly three times from this midpoint on. The Master’s relative silencedoes not diminish his stature. To the contrary, he becomes the text’scentralobjectofveneration.BothZhengXuanandZhuXireadthelatterhalfof the textasaproclamationofConfuciusas theSage.Thisclaimanticipates the Mean’s dramatic conclusion, which explicitly exaltsConfuciusastheSageandheirtothelegacyoftheancientsage-kings.WhiletheamorphousfigureoftheSagewassubjecttoongoingdebatethroughout Chinese history, most early sources agree that sages hadpenetratinginsight intothemysteriousoperationsofHeavenandEarthand devised ways to harmonize human life with thosemysteries. Theearliest sages showed the people how to build houses, till fields, anddomesticateanimals.SagesalsofashionedtheeighttrigramsusedinthedivinationfoundintheBookofChanges,anddevisedtheritesandmusic.TheAnalectssharestheviewintheMeanthatHeavenchoosesthesage.OneisbornasagebecauseHeavenfavorsthatpersonwiththenatureofa sage, which cannot be acquired through any amount of effort.

Confucius in the Analects says that Heaven bestowed upon him theunderlying patterns of the Dao (9.5). But unlike the sage-king Shun,Confuciuswas thwarted in his quest to spread his penetrating insight,and never gained the throne. Mencius nonetheless proclaimed thatConfucius’saccomplishments surpassed thoseof theancient sage-kings:“Sincethebirthofthepeople,noonehassurpassedtheMaster”(2A.2).TheMean continues its examination of Integrity by distinguishingbetween sages, who possess it at birth, and worthies, who acquire itthroughlearning:“Toilluminateone’svirtueonthebasisofIntegrityiscallednature;toattainIntegrityfromone’sbrilliantvirtueiscalledtheteaching”(21).ZhengXuanexplainsinhiscommentary,“TheSagegainsbrilliantvirtuefromhisSupremeIntegrity—Integrityinitsmostsublimestate—because it is already integral to his nature,whereas theworthyman attains Supreme Integrity from brilliant virtue through learning.”Nature, then, according to Zheng Xuan, is not a universal “humannature,” innately shared by everyone. Rather, the quality of SupremeIntegrity is innatelypossessedonlyby sages.Whereas theworthymanpossessesthecapacitytorealizethefullpotentialofthesage,SupremeIntegrity is not an inborn attribute of his nature; he must workrelentlessly to acquire it by studying the sages. Zheng Xuan thuspositionstheSage—and, lessso,thePrince—intheexaltedcosmicroleof assisting Heaven and Earth in their creative, nurturingtransformations.Zheng Xuan’s view of nature differs from those of his predecessorsMenciusandXunzi.TheConfuciusoftheAnalectsremainsneutralonthequestion of innate goodness (17.2); Zheng suggests that there is nosingle, universal nature sharedby all people, but that people’s naturesshowgradationsofquality.Mencius,however,arguedforauniversallygood nature that was corrupted through habitual views or impropercultivation practices (Mencius 6A.1–9). Xunzi argued for a single,universalbutdefectivehumannature,which,hesaid,producedevilandcontentionaspeoplestrovetosatisfytheirselfishdesires(Xunzi,chapter23).TheMean continues, “Only he who has achieved Supreme Integritycanfulfillhisownnature.”Suchamancaninturn“fulfillthenatureofothers and all living creatures,” and in so doing, “assist Heaven and

EarthinthenurturingtransformationsofallthingsandbecomeequaltoHeaven and Earth” (22). Continuing the distinction between the sage,whopossessesIntegrity,andallotherswhomustworktoacquireit,thetextsays:one“canattainIntegritybyfirstworkingonsmallinstancesofit. With minor accomplishments, one gradually manifests greateraccomplishments and affects otherswhowill then be transformed intogood people” (23). “Those who possess Supreme Integrity haveforeknowledge” because “they understand the portents of a newlyemergentstateoroneonthevergeofcollapseasrevealedinthemilfoil[used in divination]….Men of Supreme Integrity are thus like spirits”(24). Zheng Xuan and other early commentators substantiate the boldclaim that sages, like spirits, can augur the fate of states, by listingspecific occasions when prescient men of Supreme Integrity actuallyforetoldtheriseandfallofdynasties.Like the “Dao, which always follows the correct path, the man ofIntegrity [chengzhe] realizes his innate goodness of his own accord.”Such aman and the Dao are both self-sufficient and are thus able torealize goodnesswithout conscious effort or external assistance.Whilethe man of Integrity possesses the capacity to achieve his innatepotential for goodness, he can realize it only by transcending theboundariesofhisownphysicalself:“Integrityisthebeginningandendofallcreatures…andsothePrinceholdsitinhighesteem.”ThePrinceprizesitasavenerableobjectyettoberealizedinhimself.“ThemanofIntegrity not only fully realizes his potential, but is himself the verymeans bywhich all creatures are brought to completion. To completeoneself is benevolence, and to complete others is wisdom. The moralpower of this nature unites the internal self with external things, andthus all things obtain their proper place” (25). The man of Integrityestablishes a profound bond with all living creatures by serving as avehiclethatenablesthemtorealizetheirfullpotentialand,throughthiscommon endeavor, obliterates distinctions between the self and other.Hereinliestheawesomepowerofthesage,whicharulermuststrivetoemulateinordertogovernwiththeMandateofHeaven.Continuinginthissamecosmologicalvein,thetextexpoundsupontheever more lofty purpose of the man of Supreme Integrity: “SupremeIntegrityisceaseless,permanent,andclearlyinevidenceeverywhere;it

extendsfarandwide.”ThemanofSupremeIntegrityissaidtobeequaltoHeavenandEarthbecause, likeEarth,he isexpansiveandbountifuland sustains living creatures; likeHeaven,he is lofty andbrilliant andenvelopsthem.“Inthisway,heisimperceptiblymanifestandtransformsthingswithoutmoving;heaccomplisheshisaimswithoutacting” (26).LikeHeavenandEarth,whosetransformativeeffectsarebothprofoundandbeyondhumancomprehension, theSageeffortlessly changes thosearoundhimwithoutanyonerealizingthathehasactedatall.“GreatandflourishingistheSage’sWay.Itnurturesallthingsandtowersuptothevery pinnacle of Heaven. The sublime rites must await such a manbeforetheycanbeputintopractice.Forthisreason,thePrincehonorsthe moral nature and follows the path of inquiry and learning; herealizestheWay’sgreatnessandfulfillsitsrefined,hiddenessence;andheascendstoloftybrillianceandfollowsthepathoftheConstantMean”(27).At this point in the text theMaster interrupts the anonymous voice

speaking at length on Integrity.A dialogue ensues.Disaster, Confuciuswarns, will certainly be visited upon scurrilous, self-aggrandizingmenandantiquarianswhopromoteoutmodedpolicies.The anonymous voice concurs with the Master, as if the two were

preoccupiedinintenseconversation,“Onewhositsonthethronedaresnotpromulgateritesandmusicifhedoesnotpossessmoralpower.Andif he possesses moral power but not the throne, he still dares notpromulgateritesandmusic.”Commentator Zheng Xuan joins this colloquy to add, portentously,

“Thismeans thatonlyaSagewhositson the thronepromulgates ritesandmusic.”Onlyasage-kinglikeShunpossessesthequalitiesnecessarytosettheritesandmusic.Recognizing that he can only follow the rites made by kings, the

Masterrejoins,“ImayspeakoftheritesoftheXia,”buteventheruleroftheXia’ssuccessorstateQi“isunable tounderstandthem. I’vestudiedtheShangritesthatarestillpreservedinthestateofSong…butIfollowtheZhou”(28),reiteratinganearlyidenticalpassagethatappearsintheAnalects(3.9).The anonymous voice resumes, “Even a good ruler commands no

allegianceofhissubjectswithoutshowingevidenceofhisgoodness.”10PropergovernancehingesonthePrince’sabidingpersonalcommitmentto goodness, which he must exhibit in his every action. “Thus thePrince’sDaoisrootedinhispersonandisfulfilledbythecommonfolk.Heaspires torevive thewaysof the formerkingsanddoesnotviolatethe cosmic order founded upon the sustaining power of Heaven andEarth.Nodoubtsremainwhenhesubmits[hisacts]totheancestorsforapproval,andthegenerationswhoawaitthesagewillnotbedeluded….The Prince’s acts become the Dao for later generations; his actionsbecomethemodel,hiswordsbecomeprecepts”foralltofollow(29).

TheApotheosisoftheSage

The closing passages of theMean identify Confucius as the Sage whopossesses Supreme Integrity and who has attained the cosmologicalpowers toenableallcreatures to fulfill their innatepotentialdescribedthroughout thework.The anonymous voice of the text saysConfucius“followedYao and Shun andupheld the regulations of kingsWenandWu.Headhered toHeaven’s seasonsaboveand followedthecourseofland and waterways below. He may be likened to Heaven and Earth,which envelop all things; to the four seasons because of their orderlysuccession; and to the sun and moon, which shine brilliantly” (30).Zheng Xuan explains that Confucius “embraced the surpassing moralpoweroftheancientstocompiletheSpringandAutumnAnnals,”saidtoestablish the institutions of the Han dynasty. He quotes Confucius’sremarkthatthiswork“containedhisentirelife’spurpose.”ZhengXuanandotherHanscholarsregardedthiswork—nottheAnalects,compiledby Confucius’s disciples and later followers—as Confucius’s mostoutstanding achievement, and used it as the cornerstone of Haninstitutions.TheyreadtheSpringandAutumnAnnals,moreover,on thebasisof theGongyang commentary,whichclaimed thatConfuciususedthe lofty standards of the ancient sage-kings to condemn rulers of hisownday forviolating theexaltedwaysand institutionsbequeathedbythesage-kings.“Only the Supreme Sage,” the anonymous voice of the Mean

continues,“possessestheclearbrillianceanduprightwisdomworthyof

onewho sits on the throne.” ZhengXuan explains: “Onewhosemoralpowerdoesnotmatch this cannot rule theworld.”ThenZhengmakesexplicitthekeypointofthispartofthetext:“ThispassagelamentsthatMasterKongpossessed thePrince’smoralpowerbutnothismandate”(31).Notwithstanding that the kinghas the station to governmen, hecommands themoral authority to do so only if he is virtuous. In theabsenceof theking’smandate to rule,whichwas in-controvertibly thecaseinConfucius’sday,truemoralauthoritytocreatetheinstitutionstogoverntheworldlayinthehandsofthe“uncrownedking”—Confucius—discussedinchapter3.Reiterating the cosmic effects of the Supreme Sage’s impact on the

world,theMean’sanonymousvoiceproclaims,“Vast likeHeaven,deeplike theocean.He is seenandall reverehim;he speaksandall investtheirtrustinhim;heactsandallarepersuaded.HisreputationsweepsacrosstheMiddleKingdomasfarasthebarbariansinremotelands,towhereverboatorcartmaycarry,andto the farthestplace thathumanstrengthcanreach,toallthatHeavenenvelopsandthatEarthsustains;toallthatsunandmoonshineupon,andallthatglistensinthemorningdew.Whoeverhasbloodandbreathrevereshimandregardshimwithaffection.Thus it is said thathe isequal toHeaven” (31).ThemanofSupremeIntegrityachievessuchfeatsbydrawingfromhisincomparablyprofound wisdom (32): “Only he can comprehend the great patternsunder Heaven, establish the great foundation of the world, andunderstand the nurturing transformations of Heaven and Earth. Whatneed does he have to rely on anything or anyone? Supreme is hisbenevolence!Profoundhisdepth!Pervasive[hisknowledgeof]Heaven!Can one truly understand the Sage’s wisdom unless one is himself asage?”This“manofSupremeIntegrityisMasterKong,”ZhengXuanexplains.

“The ‘greatpatterns’ theMastercomprehended refers to the sixarts inthe Spring and Autumn Annals.” Classical sources describe the arts ofrites, music, archery, charioteering, calligraphy, and mathematics asnecessarytrainingformembersofthenobility.“Thegreatfoundationheestablished,”ZhengXuancontinues,“istheBookofFiliality.”Thiswork,using the question-and-answer format found in several chapters of theRecord of Rites, records the Master’s conversation with a disciple

celebratedintheAnalectsforhisfiliality(8.3).RegardedintheHanasarepositoryofbasiclessonsonfiliality,theBookofFilialitydrawsparallelsbetweentheson’sreverencetowardhisfatherandmotherandtheking’ssacrifices toHeavenandEarth. Indoingso, thevoiceof theMasterasrecorded in this work establishes a continuum linking family, thesovereign,andtheguidingforcesofHeavenandEarth.ThefinalsectionoftheMeandrawsfromtheBookofOdestoreinforce

the profound simplicity of the Sage’s moral power to imperceptiblytransform thepeople.TheWayof thePrince “disdains complexity andopts for refined subtlety like ‘a pure white robe’” (Mao Ode 57). ThePrince reflects inwardly, and his moral power “shines forth from theoceandepths”(MaoOde192).Nothingsurpasseshismoralpower,andalltakehimastheparagon(MaoOde269).HighGodsaidtoKingWen,who rose against the corrupt king of the Shang to seize Heaven’sMandatefortheZhou,“Iammovedbyyourbrilliantmoralpower,yetyoumakenoshowofitinyourdemeanor”(MaoOde241).Thetextthenquotes the Master one last time, as if to acknowledge his ownunheralded transformative effectson theworld: “Neverannounceyourintention to transformthepeople.”TheOdes (235)proclaims,“ExaltedHeavenworkswithoutsoundorsmell!”ThetruekingmerelyexemplifiesgoodnesswithoutfanfareinordertosustainhissubjectsinthesamewaythatHeavenandEarthsilentlynourishallcreatures.Insum,ZhengXuanreadstheMeanasConfucius’surgentcallforhis

sovereign to emulate the ancient sages and rule with the Mandate ofHeaven. The Prince must accordingly follow the Way of Man bycontinuingtheritualprecedentsofformerkings,cultivatinghisHeaven-endowednature,andmasteringequilibriumandharmony.Hemustdrawfromhisancestors’surpassingmoralpowerthestrengthofhisresolvetoholdsteadfastlytothegood.Onceheunderstandstheancestralritesandextendsthesamesenseoffilialityandreverencethatheexhibitstowardhisownkintoeveryonethroughouttherealm,hewillgovernAll-under-Heaven. Although Confucius never ruled as a king, he possessedSupreme Integrity in its most sublime state, and, like Heaven itself,noiselessly worked to transform the people. The rulers of the Handynasty, according to Zheng Xuan, must emulate theMaster and rulesilently,imperceptibly,inordertotransformthepeople.

ZHUXIANDTHEWAYOFTHEGENTLEMAN

ConfucianismofLateImperialChina

ZhuXi’sreadingoftheConstantMeanathousandyearslaterdoesnotsomuchcontradictZhengXuan’snormativeunderstandingasbuildanewmetaphysical edifice on top of it. While he relies heavily on ZhengXuan’sexegesisofmostofthetext,ZhuXiintroducesatleastthreenovelinterpretations that reflect Confucian thinking during the Song. First,whilehe,too,readsthetextasConfucius’sdiscourseoncultivation,Zhuuniversalizesitsmessageandappliesitnotjusttothesovereign,buttoall classically educatedmen—to the gentleman. Indeed, Zhu Xi placeshisgreatesthopesnot in the ruler,but inmenwhoresolve topracticetheDaooutsideofgovernmentwiththehopeoftransformingtheworld.Partly in response to Buddhism’s claim about the universality ofenlightenment,mostConfucianthinkersinlateimperialtimessoughttoapply the teachings found in ancient canonicalworks to all classicallyeducated men. Because Zhu Xi understood the Constant Mean in thisgreatlyenlargedsense, the term junzi, translatedas the“Prince” in thefirstsection,willhereafterbetranslatedasthe“gentleman.”Second, Zhu concurs with the long-standing claim that Confucius’s

grandsonKongJi (akaZisi)authored theConstantMean, and identifiesKong Ji as the speaker inmuch of the text’s latter half. This point iscrucial for ZhuXi,whomaintained that Confucius alone inherited theDao fromtheancient sage-kingsand transmitted it toMencius.WidelybelievedinSongtimestobethelastsageoftheancientworld,MenciuswasunabletotransmittheDaotoadisciple,soitwaslost.ForZhuXi,theConstantMeanforgesavitalgenealogicallinkbetweenConfuciusandMencius because he believes that its reputed author, Kong Ji,transmitted theDao toMencius in the formof theConstantMean. For1,500years,ZhuXisaid,theancientDaolayprecariouslyinthewordsof this textuntilmen in theSongdynasty received the transmissionoftheDao.Third, Zhu Xi diverges from Zheng Xuan most explicitly in his

understandingofthequestionofhumannature.HebelievedthatHeavenendowed everyone with the same nature, which he identified asHeavenly Principle. The imperative to cultivate one’s nature therefore

applied toanyoneable toundertake it according to theprinciples laidoutintheConstantMeanandtheotherworksoftheFourBooks,notjustthe prince. Zhu Xi furthermore draws out key terms from the text tobuild a metaphysical framework in which to pursue self-cultivationmethodsnot foundina literalreadingof thecanon.Headheres to theprinciple that people differ in their capacity to realize their innatepotential,butmaintainsthateveryonepossessesthesamesagelynature.Nomerecontrivance,ZhuXi’sunmistakablyinnovativeunderstandingoftheConstant Mean derives from his strategic selections from the FourBookstoformulateateachingwellsuitedtoanageprofoundlychangedbyBuddhism.Two features of Buddhism particularly resonated in Confucian

thinking during Zhu Xi’s day. Chinese schools of Buddhism posited auniversal truth or principle underlying all phenomena of the sensibleworld, called Dhárma. Wisdom, they said, lay in apprehending theimpermanenceofall things, thatone’sownsoulwasmerelytransitory,and that even theDhármawasultimately empty of all content; itwasnothingnessitself.SongConfucianmasterspositedPrinciple(li )astheunderlying creative force of all things. Although Zhu Xi and hissuccessorsarguedthatthedoctrineofPrinciplecouldbetracedbacktotheancientsages,theywerehardpressedtocitespecificpassagesinthecanon that explicitly stated as much. This doctrinal innovationmakesmoresense,rather,asaConfucianresponsetoBuddhism’suniversalizingpronouncements basedonDhárma.Contrary to theBuddhist notionofDhárma as nothingness, however, Song Confucians identified PrinciplewithHeaven,theultimatesourceofgoodness,particularlybenevolenceandrighteousness.TheConfucianunderstandingofPrinciple resemblesPlato’stheoryofformsinthat itpositsageneral, immutabletruththatinforms all particular instances. Confucian Principle and Platonic formarealsoaccessibletohumanscrutiny,ifoneknowshowtoseektheminparticular instances. Confucian Principle, however, produces—literallygivesbirthto—particularthingsthroughananimatingforcecalledqi ,whichdefinesindividualendowmentsofgoodness.ConfucianPrinciple,moreover,isultimatelyasingle,generativetruthidentifiedwithHeaven,andthesourceofindividualgoodnessconferredthroughhumannature.TheConstantMean’s opening declaration that “whatHeaven confers is

called nature” figured largely in Zhu Xi’s understanding of humannature. Zhu Xi comments on this passage that “human nature isPrinciple.”SomeschoolsofBuddhism,particularlyChan,advocatedthedoctrine

of sudden enlightenment based on the Mahāyāna idea that everyonepossessed innate wisdom called the Buddha nature, or Buddha mind.Consistentwithlong-standingMahāyānateachings,theymaintainedthatthis nature was ultimately empty and furthermore that one couldachieve enlightenment suddenly through meditation on it. Confucianmasters fromtheSong throughQingperiodsmaintained thateveryonepossessed a singular human nature, which, they maintained, wasinnately good and bestowed by Heaven. They disagreed dramatically,though, on the methods necessary to gain enlightenment. Zhu Xi’spositionthatself-cultivationmustbeginwithinvestigatingthePrinciplesofparticularthings,especiallymatterscontainedintheClassics,becamethedominantpositionendorsedbytheimperialcourtinthefourteenthcentury.DissentingConfuciansmaintainedthatone’soriginalnaturewasalready repletewith the goodness necessary to achieve enlightenment,andthatexternallydirectedinvestigationofPrincipledivertedattentionaway fromtheself.ZhuXiandhisadherentsvehementlyopposed thisunmediated approach as falling into the error of the Chan Buddhistdoctrineofsuddenenlightenment.

TheSages’MindTransmission

ZhuXibelievedthatearliercommentatorshadmissedthetruemeaningof the Constant Mean. In a preface to his version of the text, Zhu Xientwines the history of the sagely transmission of the Dao andmetaphysics to formulate a moral imperative to cultivate the self. HeseesatensionbetweenlatentandexpressedemotionsmentionedintheConstantMeanandauthorizesanapproachtoself-cultivationthatshiftsthe metaphysical ground upon which it takes place. In Zheng Xuan’sreading, the Prince resolves to master equilibrium and harmony andattain Integrity through a concerted act of will. Zhu Xi, conversely,concentratesonthecultivationofthemind,awordthatdoesnotappearin the original text and appears only rarely in Zheng Xuan’s

commentary.Themind,accordingtoZhuXi,existsprecariouslybetweentwo possible states of consciousness that determine the moral choicesonemakes:theMindofDao(Daoxin )andthehumanmind(renxin).ZhuXigraftsthesetwostatesofconsciousnessontothetextofthe

ConstantMeanbyequatinghisconceptoftheMindofDaowithHeaven-ordainednature as the locus of pure latent emotions,which exist in astate of equilibrium, and equating the human mind with expressedemotions,which,hesays,arecapableofharmonizingwiththeMeanbutarealsopronetoerr.TheConstantMeancounselsvigilanceagainsthard-to-perceiveinnershortcomingsthatthreatentoleadoneastray;ZhuXiformulatesamethodofself-cultivationpremisedonadreadofexternaldeceptions.Hewasutterlyconvinced,forexample,thatthecaptivatingallure of Buddhism’s “spurious truths,” as he called them, had alreadyseduced the most brilliant minds of his generation. For Zhu Xi, thehumanmind,whichisthelocusofpossibleerror,alsohasthecapacityto examine the inner self and guide one through a process of self-cultivationtowardsagehood.The ancient sage-kings, Zhu Xi’s preface states, transmitted the

“lineage of the Way” (Daotong ) at the coronation of each newsuccessor to the throne. When Yao announced that Heaven ordainedShuntosucceedhim,hetaughtShunto“holdfasttothisMean.”Whenhe ceded the throne to his successor, Shun added three sentences toformulatewhatbecameknownasthe“mindtransmission”ofthesages,which,accordingtoZhu,resonatesthroughouttheConstantMean:“Thehuman mind is precarious, the mind of Dao barely perceptible. Bediscerning and single-minded; hold fast to this Mean.”11 The ancientsages transmittedthisDaoaspartof theroyalsuccession,ZhuXisays,but“alas,ourMasterneversatonthethrone.Hecontinuedtheformersagesandinauguratedlaterlearning,thushisaccomplishmentsurpassedthat of Yao and Shun.” This sentiment echoes Zheng Xuan’s earlierlamentthatConfuciusneverruledChina.YetZhuXimaintainedthattheMasterroseabovetheancientkingsbecausehetransmittedtheDaotohisfollowers,whoauthoredtheFourBooks.Oncetheprivilegeddomainof kings and theMaster, theDao, inZhuXi’s account, is attainable tocommoners.ByavailingtheWaytoeveryone,Confuciusbecametheteacherofall

ages. “By Kong Ji’s day, much time had passed since the time of theSage,” and heterodoxies (yiduan ) arose. Kong Ji feared that undersuch circumstances the Dao would be lost, so he wrote the ConstantMean,inwhichhe“substantiatedtheteachingtransmittedfromYaoandShunonthebasisofwhathehadheardfromhisfather,”whoreceiveditdirectlyfromtheMaster.ZhuXithenbuttresseshisunderstandingofthetextbymatchingkeypassagesintheConstantMeanwiththewordingofthe ancient sage-kings’ mind transmission: To “follow one’s Heaven-ordainednature,”takenfromtheopeninglinesofthetext,“isthe‘MindofDao.’To‘choosethegoodandsteadfastlyholdontoit,’”exemplifiedby Confucius’s disciple Yan Hui (20), “means ‘to be discerning andsingle-minded.’Thephrase‘thegentleman[akaPrince]alwayshitsuponthe Mean’ [2] means to ‘hold fast to this Mean.’ With anothergeneration,”Zhucontinues,“wehaveMencius,whofurtherilluminatedthisbook tocontinue the lineageof theearly sages.Whenhedied thelineagewaslost.”OvertlymissinginZhu’sneatpairingofphrasesisanypassageintheConstantMeanthatcorrespondstotheprecarioushumanmind—a problem in Zhu Xi’s explanation that persisted in subsequentdebatesonhisreadingofthetextforcenturiesafterhisdeath.

CultivationoftheMindandtheAttainmentofIntegrity

Having constructed a canonical foundation for the sages’ mindtransmission,ZhuXiturnstothequestionofhowtheDaowaslostafterMenciusandthenrecoveredbyhisownimmediatepredecessors in theSong dynasty. “Our Dao existed precariously in nothing more thanwords,” Zhu Xi laments, “while heterodoxies grew with each passingday.” Daoists and Buddhists greatly corrupted the Way with theirspurious teachings.Fortunately, the textof theConstantMean survivedsothatitcouldbe“usedtoretrievethesages’transmission,severedformorethanathousandyears…andrebukethespeciousdoctrinestaughtbythetwoschools”ofDaoismandBuddhism.People are susceptible to such deceptions, according to Zhu Xi,

because the human mind is prone to err, making the imperative tocultivate themind properly all themore urgent. All people originallypossess the “one mind of pure consciousness,” but some minds “are

producedbyindividualendowmentsofselfishqi,12whereasothermindsarise from the correctness of their endowed nature and thus operatedifferently.”Themind isnot inherentlyevil inZhuXi’sunderstanding,but somepeoplearemore susceptible todeceit.TheprecarioushumanmindandthepuremindofDao“indistinguishablycrowdasmallspacein the self and we no longer know how to distinguish them.” Thesolution,ZhuXimaintains,liesintheself-cultivationmethodsdescribedin the Constant Mean, understood in light of the sages’ mindtransmission:Bediscerning(jing ),hesays,andonecanscrutinizethehumanmindand themindofDaowithoutconfusing them.“Besingle-minded [yi ], and one can preserve the original mind’s correctnesswithout departing from it. To pursue this without the slightestinterruptionwillcertainlyenablethemindofDaotoforevergoverntheentireselfandthehumanmindtoalwaysdoitsbidding.”13InZhuXi’sformulationinhisprefacetotheConstantMean,themindofDaoandthehumanmindconstitutetwodifferentmodesofconsciousnessratherthantwodistinctminds,contrarytohiscritics’claims.Theformerispureandthusinherentlyrecognizesthegood,whereasthelatterissusceptibletodesiresthatclouditsmoraljudgment.TheprincipalobjectiveofZhuXi’smethodofself-cultivationcentersonrectifyingthehumanmindsothatitalwaysabidesbythemindofDao.In his lengthy preface, Zhu Xi effectively incorporates the ConstantMean into a method of self-cultivation largely unknown before theintroductionofBuddhismintoChina.InhiseditionoftheConstantMeanitself,ZhuXidividesthemainbodyofthetextintothreeparts.Hesaystheopeninglinesestablishthebasicteachingsofthetextasawhole:theDaoisanimmutabletruthoriginatinginHeaven.Heavenconfersonallpeopleanature—theinnatesourceofgoodnesspossessedbyeveryone—whichmustbeproperlycultivated.AccordingtoZhuXi,thenexttwentysections,orchaptersashecallsthem,composetheMaster’sexplanationoftheopeninglinesasrecordedbyKongJi,hisgrandson.Thesetwentychapters are roughly evenly divided between the Way of Heaven,fulfilled by sage-king Shun, and the Way of Man, which directs thegentleman in his quest for sagehood through acquiring Integrity inhimself.Thefinalpart,ZhuXisays,comprisesKongJi’sowncommentson the Master’s teachings. Zheng Xuan had not divided the text so

neatly, and says little about the organization of the work or whopurportedlyspeaksinthetext,exceptthosepassagesexplicitlyattributedto theMaster.TheearliestextantversionofZhengXuan’s redactionoftheConstantMean is divided in half, roughly near the halfway point,whichfallsinthemiddleofchapter20inZhuXi’sedition.In his interlinear commentary, Zhu Xi interpolates philosophicalclaims into the Constant Mean that, in effect, overlay earlierinterpretations. Zheng Xuan distinguished the Heaven-ordained natureinto five personal dispositions: benevolent, righteous, ceremonious,trustworthy, and wise. A thousand years later Zhu Xi introduced newtermstosubordinateZhengXuan’sunderstandingofhumannaturetoacosmology governed by Principle: “Nature is Principle,” Zhu Xicomments,succinctlyestablishingakeypremiseofhisbeliefthatnatureis a commonly shared universal essence endowed by Heaven oneveryone. “Heavengivesbirth toall thingswithyinandyangand theFivePhases.”Things“acquireparticularformbymeansofqi[animatingforce] and are invested with Principle, which is like [Heaven’s]command.” Though it comes into existence simultaneously with qi,Principledeterminesaperson’sinnatepotential.Particularendowmentsofqi,however,determineaperson’scapacitytorealizehisfullpotential.“Although Principle and the Dao are the same [in that they areuniversal],allotmentofqivaries [fromoneperson to thenext]and sosomepeopleexceed[guo]theirproperallotmentandothersfallshortofit[buji].”Like Zheng Xuan, Zhu Xi distinguishes sages from everyone else.Unlike ZhengXuan, however, ZhuXi upholds sagehood as a universalideal, somewhat more like his Buddhist contemporaries whom hevilifies.14“Sages,”ZhuXistates,“cultivatedtheirHeavenlyallotmentonthebasisofwhatisproperandbecamemodelsfortheworld.”Because“the Mean is perfect,” and because “everyone alike receives it, it isinitially not difficult to cultivate. But some people exceed [guo] theperfect Mean and lose its equilibrium, whereas others fall short of it[buji]andsodonotrealizeperfection,”owingtodifferentallotmentsofqi (Zhu links this to a nearly identical passage inAnalects 6.26).Mostpeopledifferfromsages,accordingtoZhuXi,notbecausetheylacktheinnatepotential,butbecauseofmistakesinjudgmentthatcausethemto

miss theMean.Classical scholars of theHan andTang, he said, neverreachedtheMeanbecausetheyfailedtopenetratethesurfacemeaningof the Classics to apprehend the essential Principles they contained.Others,deludedbyBuddhism,exceeded theMeanbecause theysoughtsuddenenlightenmentwithoutfollowingtheproperstepsoutlinedinthecanon. TheGreat Learning, another of the Four Books taken from theRites, specifies a multistep process of self-cultivation, which begins,according to Zhu Xi’s not-uncontroversial understanding, with theinvestigation of the Principles of things. Zhu Xi’s systematic methodproceeds from the extension of knowledge to ensuring that one’sthoughtshaveIntegrity(cheng)andthatone’smindisrectifiedinorderto cultivate the self. One can then bring order to one’s family and toone’skingdom,andonly thenwillpeaceprevail throughout theworld.MuchliketheConstanciesdescribedinchapter20ofZhuXi’sversionofthe Constant Mean, the beneficence of the multistep process ofcultivation outlined in the Great Learning expands outward from theperfectly cultivated self in ever larger concentric circles to eventuallyincludeeveryone.SeekingtoattainIntegrity,ZhuXiexplainsinhiscommentaryontheConstantMean,istheonlysuremethodofavoidingerrorsthatleadoneaway from the Mean; Integrity “is the original state of HeavenlyPrinciple.”OnlytheSagealreadypossessesIntegrityinitsmostsublimestate,whereastheWayofManworkstorectifythefalliblehumanmindbyshowingordinarypeoplehowtoattain it: “TheSage’smoralpowerbindsHeavenlyprincipleandperfectauthenticitytoeffortlesslyhituponthe Dao without concerted premeditation; this is theWay of Heaven.Until one has attained sagehood,” holding out the ultimate goal, “onecannot bewithout selfish desires nor can one be entirely authentic inone’s moral practice. One can understand goodness only after priorreflection and choosing the good. One can attain Integrity for oneselfonlyafterforcingoneselftosteadfastlyholdontoit;thisistheWayofMan.”Integrityandattainingit,Zhusays, isthecruxoftheentiretext(20).

TheWayofHeaven,theWayofMan

Zhu Xi divides the second part of the Constant Mean into chaptersdevotedtoHeaven’sWayandtoMan’sWay.ChaptersonHeaven’sWayconcerntheSage’sinnateembodimentofperfectIntegrityandhisability“tousehisperfectnaturetofulfillthenatureofallothercreatures”(23).Inhis commenton thepassage that likens thosewhopossess SupremeIntegrity to spirits (24),Zhu says, “Menwho realizeSupreme Integrityandareutterlywithout the slightest selfishness orbias in theirmind’seye can apprehend the incipient state of Principle before it becomesmanifest. ‘Spirits’ refers to ancestral spirits and other gods,” he says.“OnlywiththeSage’slimitlessimpartialityandutterlackofselfishnesscan one possess Supreme Integritywithout relying on anything.”OnlythemanofSupremeIntegritycan“bethemodelforalltheworld”(32).ZhuXi stresses that “only theSagecanusehisperfectnature to fulfillthenatureofallothercreatures.”On the surface, Zhu Xi’s understanding of sagehood parallels ZhengXuan’sideaofthePrincewhohasfullyrealizedhisinnatepotential.Butin fact theydiffer inanumberof respects.Asnotedpreviously,ZhengXuanconceivesof thePrinceas thekingorahereditary lord,whereasfor Zhu Xi, a sage, who was no doubt born an extraordinary man,constitutedanidealgoalforthosewhofollowedthecorrectpath.Takenin historical context, Zhu’s claim might be construed as a Confucianalternative to the Mahāyāna promise of universal Buddhahood. Torespond to this Buddhist doctrine, Zhu Xi and many of hiscontemporaries looked to Mencius’s position that human nature isinnately good (6A.1–6), succinctly articulated in the statement,“EveryonecanbeaYaoorShun” (6B.2).While formulatingapositionthatdifferedfromuniversalBuddhahood,ZhuXireadtheConstantMeanasamethodforclassicallyeducatedmenandwomentoachievealevelofhumanperfectionnotpresentinZhengXuan’sreading.In contrast to Mahāyāna’s universalistic aspirations, the ConstantMean, in Zhu Xi’s reading, envisions what one scholar terms the“fiduciarycommunity.”This isan interdependentcommunity inwhichthe Prince, the Sage, or the gentleman follows the path of self-cultivation,whichsimultaneouslyestablishesobjectiveconditionsthatinturn enable all creatures to fulfill their Heaven-endowed potential.Although the Confucian community makes no pretense of bringing

anythingakintopermanentuniversalenlightenmentforeveryoneinthisorthenextlife,itnonethelessengagestheafterlifethroughvenerationofthe ancestors. Hardly a mere symbol or an expression of humanism,pioussacrifice,aswehaveseen, facilitates the filial son’s“communionwithhisancestors.”TheConstantMean, according tobothZhengXuanandZhuXi,makesclearthattheancestors’boundlessmoralpowerovertheliving“inducespeopleeverywheretofastandpurifythemselves”andthusaspiretobecomegood.AnycharacterizationofConfucianismasathis-worldlyhumanism,then,seesonlyhalfthepicture.The gentleman who follows the Way of Man may gradually attainIntegrityandeventuallyparticipateinthecosmicprocessofHeavenandEarth’s nurturing of all things. Adopting a gradualist approach toperfection, Zhu Xi says, “after the sage, lesser menmust extend theirpartiallymanifested goodness in order to realize their full potential….After concentrating on suchwork they begin to transformothers. Thispartially manifest Supreme Integrity,” Zhu states in an almostambivalentaffirmationofMencius,“isnodifferentfromtheSage”(23).LaterZhuXireiteratestheclaimthatwecanallbecomesagesthroughlearningandemulatetheancientsages’abilitytoengenderthefiduciarycommunity:“Oncehecompleteshimself,themanofIntegritynaturallyextendsittoothersandtheDaoextendstoothersaswell.Benevolencepreservesnature’s essence, andwisdom functions to issue it forth.Ournaturecertainlypossesses thesequalities so that there isnodistinctionbetweeninternalandexternal.Havingattaineditinoneself,thiswillbemanifest in external things, which will all assume their proper place”(25).A key passage in theConstantMean that has attracted considerableattention states: “The gentleman honors themoral nature and followsthe path of inquiry and learning; he realizes theWay’s greatness andfulfillsitsrefined,hiddenessence;andheascendstoloftybrillianceandfollows the path of the Constant Mean” (27). Zhu Xi interprets thispassage as a validation of an essential element of his method of self-cultivation. The “moral nature” in this passage, he explains, “refers tothe perfect Principle that we receive from Heaven…. ‘To honor themoralnature’isthemeanstonourishthemind-heartinordertorealizethe greatness of the Dao itself. To ‘follow the path of inquiry and

learning’isthemeanstoextendknowledgeandfulfillthefinepointsoftheDaoitself.”Honoringthenatureandfollowingthepath“constitutethe great beginning of cultivating virtue and collecting the Dao.Nourishing the mind-heart entails immersing oneself in knowledgealready acquired and earnestly practicing abilities already masteredwithout allowing the slightest self-deception or selfish desires to enterin.”In amarvelous rhetorical flourish,Zhumanageshere to tie togetherhisdoctrineofPrinciplewiththeConstantMeanandanothertextoftheFourBooks, theGreatLearning. Inoneofhisboldest exegeticalmoves,ZhuXirewordedthetextoftheGreatLearningtoauthorizethemultistepprocess of moral self-cultivation beginning with the extension ofknowledge, which he defined as the investigation of Principle. “Theextensionofknowledge,”heexplainsinhiscommentaryontheConstantMean,“entailsthedailyacquisitionofknowledgeofpreviouslyunknownprinciples and daily reconsideration of textual passages that onepreviously did not fully understand, without the slightest error inanalyzingPrincipleandwithouttheslightestmistakeof‘notreaching’or‘going beyond’ [guo buji] in managing one’s affairs. There is noknowledge to extend without nourishing the mind-heart; one mustextendknowledgeifoneistonourishthemind.”In sum, Zhu Xi reads the Constant Mean as Kong Ji’s faithfultranscriptionofConfucius’surgentcalloneveryonetoresolvetoperfectthe goodness of his Heaven-ordained nature. The ancient sage-kingsaffirmedthisinnategoodness,ZhuXiargued,buttheyalsowarnedtheworld in their mind transmission to exercise great vigilance becausemany people are constitutionally susceptible to the deceptions ofheterodoxies.Confuciusunderstoodthisteachingofinnategoodnessandthedangers inherent in the falliblehumanmind,Zhumaintained, andtaughtittohisdisciples.KongJi,inZhuXi’stelling,wrotetheConstantMeantoinstructtheworldhowtocultivatetheselfproperlyinordertoavoid errors, because he was distressed that heterodoxies alreadyflourishedinhisday.MenciusreceivedthisteachingfromKongJi,butcouldnottransmitittoadisciple,soitdiedwithhim.AfterMencius,thesages’mindtransmissionlanguishedbeneaththesurfaceofthewordsofthe Constant Mean until the Confucian masters in the Song dynasty

finallyapprehendedthetotalityofConfucius’smessageandtaughtittotheirdisciples.ButZhuXiperceivedamongsomeofthosedisciplesthenarrowscholar’smistakesof“notreaching”theMeanandtheBuddhisticscholar’s error of exceeding or “going beyond” it by seeking suddenenlightenment. Zhu Xi’s reading of the Constant Mean outlines theprocess of interdependent steps one must follow to cultivate the self:honor themoral nature, whichmeans to nourish themind-heart, andfollow the path of inquiry and learning, which means to extendknowledge.

CONCLUSION

This chapter on the canonical Confucius found in the Constant Meanspans the millennium from the Han to the Song. Zheng Xuan of theEasternHanandZhuXioftheSouthernSonglargelyagreedonseveralof thetext’smost importantpoints.Theyunderstooditasacultivationtext, which outlined a path that would empower men in positions ofmoral authority who followed it to perfect themselves and, in theprocess, enable everyone to realize thepotential thatHeavenordainedforthem.Theyagreedthatonecouldachieveperfectiononlybyworkingthroughthecomplexwebofrelationshipswithothercreaturesandwiththespiritsof thedead.Theybothdistinguishedthesages,perfect frombirth, from those who aspired to follow theWay ofMan and acquireIntegrity. Zheng Xuan and Zhu Xi shared a conception of humanperfectibility based on specific principles of filiality, benevolence, andrighteousness. They recognized the central role of properly veneratingone’sancestorsasan integralpartof theprocessof self-perfectionandupheldthenecessityofextendingthesenseoffilialitythatoneshowstoone’s parents and ancestors outward to others who reside in theirdomain. Finally, they understood the Constant Mean as exalting theMaster as the canonical Sage who singularly embodied SupremeIntegrityandthusbecameaparagonfortenthousandgenerations.They differed primarily in Zhu Xi’s inclination to universalize itsmessageandtointeriorizetheworkofcultivation.ZhengXuanreadtheMeanasamethodforthesovereigntorulewiththeMandateofHeaven,whichhingedontheruler’sabilitytosustainhiscultivationefforts.Zhu

Xi read it as a method for all learned men to cultivate the deepestinteriorof theirbeing—themind—inorder to ensure that the selfwasalwaysguidedbytheMindofDao.Thisprocessofself-perfectionbeginswithcarefulstudyofthesagesandculminateswiththeestablishmentofobjective conditions inwhich all people fully realize their potential ashumanbeings.ThecrisisoflossandthehopeofrecoveryrunthroughouttheConstantMeananditstwocommentaries.TheMasterdespairedforthedemiseofanancienttimewhensagesruledtheworldandallcreaturesrealizedaninborn potential for perfection. Kong Ji soon thereafter reiterated theMaster’ssenseoflosswhenhecomposedtheConstantMeanandassertedthattheMasterhimselfwasasagewhopossessedSublimeIntegrity,butthattragicallyhenevergainedthethronefromwhichtopromulgatetheWay.ZhengXuan,too,heldouthopethattheMeancouldenlightenhisown lord,whomight reverse the imminentdemiseof theoncemightyHan Empire. Looking back a thousand years, Zhu Xi in the SongdespairedthathispredecessorsfailedtorestoretheWayintheworldofmen.ButZhuXi, too,never losthope that theWaymightonedaybepracticed again. Impatient, though, that his sovereign might notcultivate theWay properly and cognizant that a foreign teaching hadalreadydeceivedsomanyearnestminds,ZhuXiappealedtogentlemenof proper classical learning to seek this inner goodness latent withineveryoneandenlightenthosearoundthem.ZhengXuanandZhuXimayhavedifferedonmanyparticulars,buton this theyagreed: theWay isnot practiced, and yet the source of human goodness was originallygiventoeveryonebyHeaven.

SUGGESTEDREADINGSTranslationsoftheentiretextoftheMeanincludeJamesLegge’sthoroughlyannotatedTheDoctrineoftheMeaninTheChineseClassics(London:Trübner&Co.,1876),383–434;Wing-tsitChan,ASourceBookinChinesePhilosophy(Princeton,NJ:PrincetonUniversityPress,1963),95–114,whichlargelyfollowsZhuXi’sversion,though,likeZhu,ChancitesZhengXuan’scommentary;AndrewPlaks,TaHsüehandChungYung(London:Penguin,2003),23–55;RogerT.AmesandDavidL.Hall,FocusingtheFamiliar:ATranslationandPhilosophicalInterpretationoftheZhongyong(Honolulu:UniversityofHawaiiPress,2001);andDaniel

Gardner,TheFourBooks:TheBasicTeachingsoftheLaterConfucianTradition(Indianapolis:Hackett,2007),107–129.

ForanimportantandinfluentialphilosophicaltreatmentoftheMean,seeTuWei-ming,CentralityandCommonality(Albany,NY:SUNYPress,1989).

SourcesusedfortheChinesetext:ZhengXuanandKongYingda,Lijizhushu(Sibubeiyao,ed.,Taibei:Zhonghuashuju,1965);ZhuXi,Sishuzhangjujizhu(Beijing:Zhonghuashuju,1983);QianMu,Sishushiyi(Taibei:Xueshengshuju,1978),whichcomparesZhengXuan’sandZhuXi’scommentaries;andŌtsukiNobuyoshi,ShushishisoshūchūtenkyŌkŌ(Tokyo:Chubun,1976),whichtracestheoriginsofZhuXi’scommentaries.

CriticalstudiesofcommentariesinclassicalChinesetextsincludeJohnMakeham,TransmittersandCreators:ChineseCommentatorsandCommentariesontheAnalects(Cambridge:HarvardUniversityPress,2003)andDanielGardner,“ConfucianCommentaryandChineseIntellectualHistory,”JournalofAsianStudies57,no.2(May1998):397–422.

T

5

TheSupremeSageandtheImperialCults:RitualandDoctrine

WICE A YEAR THECHAMBERLAIN HAD NOTICES POSTED ON yamen gates instructingofficials not to prosecute criminal cases for the next three daysandtoobserveavegetariandiet.TheOfficeofImperialSacrifices

prescribedsuchmeasurestoenablecivilofficialstopurifythemselvesfortheceremonytovenerateConfucius.Summonedbytheslow,steadybeatof the large drum inside the Confucius Temple, officials and otherdegree-holders gathered in order of rank at the gate before dawn andfiled into the courtyard to observe the ritual feasting of the spirits ofConfuciusandhisfollowers,heldinthefirstweekofeverysecondandeighth lunar month. For more than a thousand years officials in thecapital and in administrative cities and towns throughout the empireperformedthisriteattemplesdevotedtothemanknownastheSupremeSage.CourtauthoritiesinKorea,Japan,andVietnamalsosangthisritein sinified renderings in their native languages. According to officialsourceswritteninclassicalChinese—theoldestwrittenlanguageofEastAsia—thissacrificeincludedafeastofmeat,wine,andotherfoodslaidoutincarefullymeasuredcontainersinfrontofthealtars.1Thespiritsofthe Supreme Sage andmore than 150 of hismost renowned followersand masters of the ancient canon sat at wooden tablets bearing theirnames while officials offered them the feast, accompanied by refinedmusic, a dance in slow,measured stances, andhymns proclaiming theSupremeSage’svirtue.The figureofConfuciusasanobjectof cultvenerationmightnotbe

familiartomanyreaderstoday,yetmostChineseinthelateimperialera(960–1911CE)—andallclassicallyeducatedmales—encounteredhimintheConfuciusTemple.TounderstandwhythecourtexpendedsuchgreatcareinveneratingtheculticConfucius, it is importanttoconsiderhowthisceremonyfitsintothelargerpantheonofgodsandspiritsveneratedbycourtauthoritiesinthousandsoftemplesandshrinesthroughoutthecapital, across the empire, and beyond. Civil officials in late imperial

times drew upon the Classics to compose the rites celebrated at thesetemples. As the Son of Heaven, the emperor alone raised the winevesselstothehighestgodsofthepantheon.Yettheliturgieshefollowed,themyriadsupplementalactsthataccompaniedhissupplicationsatthemain altar, and themany lesser rites performedoutside the ForbiddenCityfellwhollywithinthepurviewofhiscourtministerseducatedintheConfucianClassics.Theseliturgicalmatters—scarcelymentionedinmostbooks about late imperialChina—remainedan abiding concern amongConfucianscholarsinsideandoutsideofthecourt.ApproachingthecultofConfuciusinthecontextofthislargerimperialritualsystemofgodsillumines the fundamentally religious orientation of Confucianism andthe understanding of spirits it shares with virtually everyone in lateimperialtimes,irrespectiveofeducationorsocialstatus.Inadditiontohostingsacrifices,theConfuciusTemplealsoservedtoenshrine Confucian teachings and doctrines. After the imperial courtintegratedthecultofConfuciusintotheimperialpantheonintheTangdynasty (618–907 CE), civil officials never ceased to debate the cult’smeaning.Intheearlyyearsofthecult,thecourtwaveredonthecentralquestion of who was its principal sage, for, perhaps surprisingly,Confuciusdidnotalwaysholdthisstatus.Insubsequentyearsthecourtalso added spirit tablets of other scholars, in effect endorsing thedoctrines they taught. As a cult devoted to the spirits of men ofsurpassingclassical learning, itsritualswerenecessarilyboundupwiththe curriculum used to educate men preparing for civil examinationsbasedontheConfucianClassics.Onehundredninety-eightcarvedstonetabletsthatstillstandinfrontofthemaingateoftheTempleinBeijingbest illustrate the Confucius Temple’s integral connection with theexaminationsystem: theybearmore than fifty thousandnamesofmenwhopassedthehighestexaminationbeginningin1313,dateofthefirstexaminationtobeheldinthecapitalcityofBeijing,to1904,whenthelastcivilexaminationwasheldthere.TheLibationeroftheDirectorateof Education led the new degree-holders who had passed the PalaceExaminationtotheTempletopayobeisancetotheSupremeSage.ThischapterconsiderstheimperialcultofConfuciusinitsritualanddoctrinalcontexts.Thefirstsectionconsidersthehighestcults—thoseofHeaven and Earth, the imperial ancestors, and the gods of soils and

grains—in order to examine the basic logic of the pantheon and thefundamentalprinciplesofcultsacrifice.Thissectionillustratestwokeypoints: First, the cult ofConfucius occupied a spacewithin a vast cultsystem maintained by officials whose primary source of liturgicalexpertisewasmasteryofConfucianritesbasedontheClassics.Second,the basic elements of all imperial cult riteswere essentially the same;theydifferedlargelyintheamountoffoodofferedanddetailsdistinctivetoeachcult,suchasthewordsofthehymnsandprayersthatpraisedthevirtues of individual deities. This chapter then examines the court’sdefinition and approval of Confucian doctrine by enshrining classicalscholars and Confucian masters in the Temple to receive sacrificealongsideofConfucius.Thisnextsectionshowsthatintheearlyyearsofimperialpatronageof a temple cult locatedat the ImperialUniversity,Confucius’sstatuswasattimessubordinatedtothatoftheDukeofZhou.OncetheTangcourtcommitteditselftoConfuciusastheprincipalsageof this cult in the seventh century, the imperial court played animportant role in the identification of an officially sanctioned body ofConfuciandoctrines.Althoughproponents of ZhuXi’s (1130–1200CE)relativelynarrowvisionof theConfuciantraditiongrewsteadily inthethirteenth and fourteenth centuries, the court institutionalized thisinterpretationonlyintheearlyfifteenthcentury,whenitcodifiedthesedoctrines in a new version of the Confucian canon and requiredcandidates sitting for civil examinations to base their answers on thisversion.

PANTHEON

PrinciplesofCultVeneration

Accordingto theFiveClassics,ancientkingssacrificedto thegodsandspirits that governed thenatural andhumanworlds.Ritual scholars intheTangdynastysystematizedthesecultsasapantheondividedintoathree-tiered hierarchy as described in the Classics. The emperor ledGreat Sacrifices in and around the ForbiddenCity to themost exaltedgods. High-rankingministers performedMiddle Sacrifices to the lessergods and spirits of the second tier. Local officials offered Minor (ormiscellaneous) Sacrifices at the county level. The emperor and civil

officials followed a detailed calendar,which arranged the sacrifices tothesegodsaccordingtoaregularcyclesettothelunarmonths.Cultsacrificeveneratesgodsandspiritswithritualfeasts. Itnurtures

the gods and enhances their powerwhile simultaneously fostering thewell-being of their patrons. Cult sacrifice constitutes a means ofexchange that benefits gods and their patrons. Precisely what isexchanged in cults varies among world religions. In Pure LandBuddhism,forexample,theriteofenunciatingtheBuddha’snamewithcompletefaithanddevotion—animmaterialsacrifice,tobesure,butanofferingnonetheless—bringsthesupplicantthepromiseofrebirthintheWestern Paradise at death. The imperial cults in China sought neitherpersonalblessingnorsalvationforhimwhomadetheoffering; indeed,personalsalvationwasnotintheoffingfromthesegods—notevenfromHeaven—becausetheywereneverseenasexercisingthiskindofpower.Rather, the person who offered sacrifice acted on behalf of a largerconstituency (e.g., the imperial family, officialdom, farmers, etc.),beseechingtheappropriategodtorequiteanofferingwithblessingsforallthosewithinhisconstituency.Byactingonthebehalfofsubjectswhodeferred the performance of such rites to those with the authority toconduct them, the civil official who offered sacrifice deployed anessential instrument of governing the world—aworld conceived of asencompassing humans, planetary and astral gods, nature deities, andancestralspirits.TheConstantMean,discussedinchapter4,makesclearthatgoverningrequiredsomethingmorethanasecularbureaucrat’scoolefficiency, because the efficacy of these rites hinged upon thesupplicant’s purity.AsConfucius states in theAnalects, an offering notgivenwith reverence is no offering at all (3.12). Having observed thepurificationfastinthedaysbeforetheceremony,thecelebrantsgainedthestateofreverencenecessarysothatthey,inthewordsoftheRecordofRites,“certainlycaughtfaintglimpsesofthespirituponenteringtheshrine.”Onlyinseeingthespiritcantheonewhoofferssacrificeserveit,andhecanseeitonlyifheattainstrueinnerreverence.The court scrupulously managed the gods’ awesome powers by

carefully regulating who had access to them according to a hierarchybelievedto inhere in theuniverse itself.Onlytheemperor,aswehaveseen, could offer Great Sacrifice to the gods and spirits of the highest

tier. Ritual codes of cults celebrated at lower levels of the spirithierarchy, such as Soils and Grains, differentiated the emperor’sofferingsfromthoseoflower-rankingcivilofficialsinconspicuousways.InGreatSacrifice,thetwelvecontainerscorrespondedinnumbertothetwelveinsigniaontheemperor’srobes,whichinturnderivedfromthenumberofmonths inayear, the spanofacomplete ritual cycle.Onlytheemperororhis surrogateascended thealtars in theForbiddenCityanditssuburbs;andnotevenhissurrogatecouldinvokethespiritofthedynastic founder to share in the feast offered to the gods of Soils andGrainsunlesshewashimselfanimperialkinsman.Theritualcodesevendifferentiated ancestral cults according to status, by limiting thegenerationsofancestorsonecouldinvokeatancestralshrinesofkinshipgroupsandatfamilyaltarsinsidethehome(ostensiblybeyondthegazeof imperial authorities). The emperor sacrificed to sevengenerations—thedynasticfounderandthesixmostrecentgenerationsofhisancestors—whereasahigh-rankingofficialcouldsacrifice tohis lineage founderandthefivemostrecentgenerations,andanofficialofthefourthgradeand below sacrificed to his lineage founder and the threemost recentgenerations. The social prestige associated with offering cult to moregenerations of ancestors must have been considerable, but thesereligiousritualsshouldnotbereducedtomeredemonstrationsofsocialstatus.Ancestral rites held enormous cultural capital precisely becauseemperors, officials, and commoners alike revered the spirits, inwhoseimmensepowertheybelieved.

HeavenandEarth

On the morning of the winter solstice, Ming (1368–1644) and Qing(1644–1911) emperors concluded a three-day purification fast, whichtheyobservedwhilesecludedinapurificationdormitory,andascendedacircularplatform topresenta singlecalfandother foods to“ExaltedHeaven, High God” (Hao Tian shangdi ), which occupied thepinnacle of the ritual hierarchy. Heaven above exerted the greatestpower in the cosmos, butdidnot rule alone; it required thenurturingpower of Earth to sustain life, and so the ritual statutes prescribed asimilarofferingtothedeitycalled“AugustEarth”atthesummersolsticeonasquareplatform.Properlybuiltritualstructuresaccordedwiththe

forcesthatgovernedtheuniverse:Heavenwasround,thusitsaltarwasplacedatopacircularmound,andEarthwassquare,aswastheplatformwhereAugustEarthreceivedcultfeast.KnownsinceancienttimesastheSonofHeaven,theemperorenjoyed

unparalleledstatusinthehumanworldandexclusiveaccesstoHeaventhrough the imperial cult celebrated at the Altar of Heaven. Thegeographic orientation of the capital city facilitated the emperor’sprivileged cosmic bond with Heaven by providing him unhinderedaccessalongBeijing’sbroadavenueextending fromhis throneroomtothe enormous walled complex of the Altar of Heaven, south of theForbidden City. Whereas they performed sacrifices to Heavenassiduously,emperorsinlateimperialtimesoftendispatchedsurrogatestothenorthernsuburbstooffersacrificestoEarth,orsimplyperformedadualserviceonthewintersolstice,basedonthethinkingthatHeavenand Earth were coeval deities that circulated through the cosmosaccordingtothecontingentprinciplesofyinandyang.Yinandyang function in ritual contexts less as things in themselves

thanasthestateormovementofthings.Thingsintheiryangstatearelightandluminous;intheiryinstatetheyareheavyanddark.Animatedyangthingsareactive,ascending,andsocatalyzemovementofthingsintheir yin state,which are heavy, descending, dark, and receptive. Theascendingyanganddescendingyinthusdescribeallphenomena,suchastheworkingsofthebody’sinnerorgansthatdetermineone’shealth;theking’s policies, which, to succeed, must be appropriately attuned toseasonalchange;andthemovementsofthegods,planets,andallthingsthroughthecosmos.Yinandyangoperateincomplementarywayswhenattendedtoproperly,andindestructivewayswhentheyarenot.Asweshall see in chapter 6, the bodily actions of the rites and the sonicqualitiesofthemusicofsacrificestoConfuciusarecarefullyorchestratedtoresonateaccordingtotheprinciplesofyinandyang.

ImperialAncestors

A cult of the imperial ancestors also held exalted status within thehighesttieroftheritualhierarchy.Fivetimesayeartheemperoroffereda carefully prepared feast of an ox, goat, pig, and other foods to the

dynastic founder and his empress, accompanied by as many as sixgenerationsofthereigningemperor’smostrecentancestors,intheGreatShrine inside the high walls of the Forbidden City. The emperor’sancestorsexertedauspiciouspoweroverthethroneandimperium,andaffordedhimaccess to the larger spiritworld.At least since theTang,the spirit of the dynasty’s founder shared a portion of the ritual feastoffered at the Altar of Heaven, even before similar offerings wereextended to Sun,Moon, andFivePlanets.Before leaving thepalace toperform any Great Sacrifice, the emperor went to Revering AncestorsHall to inform the ancestors of his intentions and to beseech them tointercedeonhisbehalf toensure theceremony’s success.Although theimperialcultsystemdividedthecosmosintoostensiblydiscretespheresoverwhich thegods ruled, thisprincipleof the interactionof spirits—particularly ancestral spirits—across intersecting spheres informed theentirecultsystem.The ancestors’ omnipresence during the emperor’s contact with the

highest gods underscored the central importance of filial piety, orfiliality (xiao)—an abiding reverence toward one’s forebears—in allimperialsacrifices.Manualsonimperialritesofteninvokedthecanontodescribe thepurified stateof reverenceandpietywithwhich the filialson entered the temple, even when a person performed rites tononancestralgods.Filialityimbuedanancientking’severymoveintheancestralhall;“onthedayofthesacrifice,”theRecordofRitessays,

…he certainly catches faint glimpses of the spirits upon entering the shrine and a gentlesenseof theirmurmuringateverypointduring the riteuntilhe turns to leave.He listensafter leaving thehalland indistinctlyhears the spirits sigh. In thisway the filialityof theformerkingsissuchthattheyneverforgetthesightoftheirancestors’visages,northesoundoftheirvoices.

Ritual purity of the filial son can be characterized as an undividedstate of concentration on the spirit. According to ancient statutes stillobservedduringtheMingandQing,ritualcelebrantsobservedasimpledietoffoodanddrinkwithoutstrongflavororintoxicatingeffects,andsecludedthemselves for twoorthreedaystopreparefor theceremonyand to think of nothing other than the spirit. The Ming ritual codeaffirmed the filial son’s unfaltering cognizance of the spirit’s constant

presenceastheidealstateofthepersonwhooffersthesacrifice:

Toconcentrateandunify themindwithsolemnreverenceandmeticulouscare; ifonehasany thoughts,onevisualizes the spirit that is to receive the sacrificeashe is immediatelyaboveoronone’sleftorright;pureandwithcompletesincerity,withoutamoment’slapse:thisiswhatpurificationaccomplishes.

EvenwhenofferingculttoConfucius,thecelebrantsmustconcentrateonthespiritasliving,inthesamewaythatdescendantsimaginedtheirdeceasedkin.AstheonlyritespracticedbyChineseofeverysocialstatusand educational background, the cult of ancestors informed ritualpracticesinotherimperialcultsperformedbycivilofficials,aswellasincultofferedtopopulargodsveneratedincommunityshrinesandinthehome.Belief that themanesofone’sancestors lingered foraperiodoftime after death—usually the span of at least three generations—andrites to nurture them in exchange for whatever blessings they couldbestow can be found everywhere inChina aswell as inKorea, Japan,andVietnam.

GodsofSoilsandGrains

Unlike ancestral spirits, which always took feasts indoors, the gods ofSoils and Grains—the final cults in the highest tier of the imperialpantheon—were seated at parallel altars on an open square platform.ThesquareplatformestablishedaconnectionwithAugustEarthat thesquare platform in the northern suburb; a connectionmade explicit intheprayersungduringtheSoilsandGrainsceremony,whichproclaimedthe“assistancetheyrenderedtoAugustEarthinnurturingtheauspiciouscerealsthatsustainthepeople.”Owingtotheirorganicassociationwiththesoilsofeverylocality,SoilsandGrainsalsoreceivedofferingsfromlocalofficials,apracticethatdatesbackatleasttotheZhoudynasty(ca.1100–256 BCE), when hereditary lords maintained such altars. LocalSoils and Grains cults, categorized as Middle Sacrifices, weredistinguishedfromtheemperor’sGreatSacrificebythesmallerportionsof the offerings and the titles used to honor them. As an agriculturalsociety,Chinacelebratedotheroverlappingcultsdevotedtothepowersthataffected theharvest,whicheffectively saturated this sphereof the

cosmoswithanabundanceofritualactivity.Thecourtobservedservicesfor spirits that influenced the human role in agriculture: plowing,sowing, and reaping. Ancient prayers to Field Ancestor (Tianzu )evolved into an elaborate agricultural cult devoted to First Farmer(Xiannong), or Spirit Farmer (Shennong), who, one hymn proclaimed,“planted the auspicious seeds and instructed the common folk whoeternally reliedupon this for ten thousandgenerations.”TheManchus,who conquered the empire in the seventeenth century and establishedtheQing, elaborated on this ritewith a grand ceremony atwhich theemperor personally plowed the first few rows of an imperial plotadjacenttotheFirstFarmer’stempleoutsideoftheForbiddenCity.TheemperorpersonallyofferedGreatSacrificestogodswhooccupiedthe highest of the three tiers of the imperial pantheon. He usuallydispatchedhigh-rankingmembersofthecourttoofferMiddleSacrificesto such gods as Morning Sun at a square platform inside a circularwalled complex in the eastern suburb on the spring equinox, and toEveningMoonatanopensquareplatforminthewesternsuburbontheautumnequinox.UnliketheGreatSacrifice,whichusedtwelvevesselsoffoods,theMiddleSacrificerequiredonlytenvessels.Othercivilofficialsinandaround thecapital,atprovincialandcountyseatsacrossChina,andasfarawayasKoreaandJapanpatronizedsuchcultsandthoseofother gods associated with more circumscribed or geographicallyproximatedomains.Godsofwindandclouds,thunderandrain,sacredmountainsandrivers,forexample,eachreceivedritualfeastsfromlocalofficialsataltarsandshrinesexpresslydevotedtothem.

TheRitesandLateImperialSociety

RitesveneratingthegodsthatgovernedthecosmosdescribedintheFiveClassicsevolvedslowlyduringthelongcenturiesofancientChina.Someofthemostancientriteswereinextricablytiedtothehereditarylineagesof kings and lords who ruled early China. At the same time that thesovereigncontinuedtoassumethethronebyprivilegeofroyaldescent,theancientnobility,whichruledhereditarydomains,declinedwiththeexpansion in the Qin (221–209 BCE) and Han (206 BCE–220 CE)dynasties of an imperial bureaucracy that assumed administrative

control over local resources and ritual responsibility for regional cults.Owing in part to the growing status of classically educated menappointedtothebureaucracyduringtheTangdynasty,thecourtformeda civil cult devoted to Confucius, whom it dubbed Exalted King ofCulture(Wenxuanwang ).Theword“culture”(wen ) inhis titlealludestoapassageintheAnalectswhereConfuciusstatesthatHeaveninvested the underlying patterns of the Dao, calledwen, in him (9.5).Thewordwenalsodenotescivilasopposedtomilitary(wu )officials.Powerful military clans based along the northwestern frontier far

overshadowed the influence of civil officials in the Tang. These clansdominated local society through hereditary privileges over extensivemanors,andtheimperialcourtthroughmonopoliesofcourtrank.Tangmilitary clans claimed descent from a number of ancient personages,suchasLüWang,thegeneralwholedtheZhouconquestof theShangdynasty (ca. 1600–ca. 1100 BCE). The Tang court founded a militarycult centered on Lü Wang, whom it dubbed King of Military Victory(Wucheng wang ); the cult thrived under the military clans’patronage, but eventually foundered as their status waned late in thedynasty. Early in the Song dynasty (960–1279 CE) this cult fell intoobscurity,dueinparttopoliciesaimedatlimitingthepowerofmilitaryclans.Thesepolicieswere initiatedbythefoundingemperor,himselfaformergeneralwhoseizedthethroneinacoupd’état.TheMingcourt(1368–1644) patronized another military figure called Lord Guan, orGuanYu (160–219),ageneral said towieldawesomepowersover theelements. His cult thrived because he enjoyed popular support as thepatronsaintoftherapidlyexpandingmerchantclass.The discussion of imperial cults thus far yields at least three key

insightsintolateimperialsociety.(1)Thecosmosimaginedinimperialcults was ruled by many gods and spirits, each of whom governedparticular,thoughnearlyalwaysoverlapping,spheresoftheuniverseorspecific human institutions and occupations. In those spheres of thecosmos that society held to be particularly important—such asgoverning, the harvest, and ancestors—the court did not hesitate topermit a degree of redundancy in cult veneration, resulting in a ritualdensity in some spheres and comparatively less overlap andconcentration of ritual activity in those spheres held to be less

important. (2) As the primarymeans of interaction between gods andrulers,imperialcultsaccordedwiththehierarchicalstructurebelievedtoinhereintheuniverse:theSonofHeavenalonefeastedthehighestandmost powerful gods, using liturgies appropriate for his own exaltedstatus, which corresponded to that of the gods. The spirit and humanworldswere governed by parallel administrative hierarchies, linked ateverylevelbyritesofsacrificeinwhichcelebrantsandgodsengagedinreciprocal exchange. (3) The cult of ancestors acted as the linchpin ofthe ritual activities of emperor, civil officials, and commoners alike,becausevirtuallyallpeoplevenerated theirownancestorsandbecausethe basic condition of ritual purity required in all cults was largelycharacterizedbyastateofreverenceandfilialpiety.Imperial cults harnessed thepower of reverence andpiety to ensure

thattheritesucceededandtherebynurturedthegodsandprotectedtheinterestsoftheirpatrons.Theyalsoinvokedanotherlevelofpowernotusually recognized by their patrons. The formation of the civil andmilitary cults in the Tang dynasty provides ample evidence that cultsenhancedthesocialprestigeandpoliticalinfluenceofcompetingsectorsofChinese society.Scrutinyof thecivil cultofConfuciusdemonstratesthatcultswereinternallycontesteddomains,inwhichpatronsviedwithoneanotheroverhowtodefine theverymeaningof thecult towhichthey were devoted. The issues debated within cults varied dependinguponmatters of concern to the patrons of a given cult. Controversiesregarding the ancestral shrine of the imperial family, for example,touched upon questions of imperial succession.When aMing emperorsucceeded his cousin who had no heir, he insisted, over stridentoppositionatcourt,uponposthumouslyenthroninghisnatalfatherandinstalling him in the ImperialAncestral Temple. Patrons of the cult ofConfucius,whobytheeleventhcenturycametodominatethecourtandbureaucracy,wereintenselyconcernedwithquestionsofdoctrine:Whatdid the Supreme Sage teach? What texts properly record thoseteachings? Who among his followers correctly understood them? Thenextsectionturnstotheseconcerns.

DOCTRINE

In addition to the veneration of Confucius as a powerful spirit in theofficial pantheon, the temple located in official educational complexesalsoservedanimportantdoctrinalfunction.Eighth-centurydebatesoverwho held the primary status of sage in the temple—Confucius or theDuke of Zhou—had important doctrinal implications. By adding newfigurestothetemple,suchasmastersofparticularcanonicalworksandlaterfollowersofConfucius,thecourtsanctionedtheideasexpressedintheir commentaries and philosophical writings. Records of debates onwhomtoenshrineinthetempleprovidevaluableinsightintothecourt’sposition on which teachings accorded with the classical texts. Thegrowing prominence of Zhu Xi in the temple and of his classicalcommentaries(discussedinchapter4) incivilexaminationsduring theMing indicates the court’s increasingwillingness to sanction a narrowconception of Confucian doctrine. By the fifteenth century the templecult and civil examinations provided the court with essential venuesfromwhichtopromulgateimperialorthodoxy.ThehistoryofthecultofConfuciusmaybedividedintothreeperiods.

(1)From some timeafterConfucius’sdeath in479BCEuntil after thefall of the Han dynasty, generations of his followers and descendantsvenerated Confucius in a local cult celebrated in Qufu, with onlyoccasionalofficialpatronage.(2)WiththefirstsacrificetoConfuciusbycourt officials in the capital in the mid–third century CE, the cultemerged from the local circumstances of its beginnings, to becomegradually integrated into imperial institutions. During the next fivehundred years, imperial officials performed sacrifices to Confucius ateducationalsiteswithincreasingfrequency,butseveralkeyelementsofacult,suchastheidentityofitsprincipalsage—ConfuciusortheDukeof Zhou—and the classical precedent that sanctioned it, remainedunresolved. (3)A cultdevoted toConfucius as its sage,witha regularliturgy based on a widely accepted classical precedent, was fullyintegrated into the imperial cults celebrated in and around the capitalfrom the mid–eighth century. The cult of Confucius, patronized byclassically educated civil officials and Confucian literati, grew inprominenceduringthelateimperialperiodandthriveduntiltheendofthe nineteenth century. During this third period the cult continued toevolve along with fundamental changes in society as well as within

Confucianlearningitself.

TheEarlyLocalCult

Afterhisdeath,Confucius’sdisciplesobservedthreeyearsofmourning,as for a deceased parent.After grieving for three years, says the earlychroniclerSimaQian(ca.145–ca.85BCE),“somedepartedstillintears,whileothersremained.”Onedisciple,Zigong,whomweencounteredinchapter 1, continued a vigil in a hut by his master’s graveside foranother three years. Centuries later, Sima Qian witnessed annualsacrifices (fengci ) to Confucius beside his grave, where scholarsgatheredtodiscusstherites,performtoastingrituals,andholdarcheryceremonies.AnancientchroniclerecordstheeulogyofyoungDukeAi,wholamentedtheSage’spassingbysaying,“Alas!Whatgrief!VenerableNi. I’ve no model to emulate now.” A disciple retorted sharply, “Toeulogizeamanoneignoredinlifeviolatespropriety.Toinvokehisnameatallismerelypresumptuous.TheDukeerrsonbothcounts.”HistoriesofthecultcompiledmuchlatermerelyrecordtheDuke’slamentwithoutthe disciple’s derisive comment, as if to fix the moment of officialpatronageattheveryyearofConfucius’sdeath.TheselaterhistoriesalsociteseveraloccasionsduringtheHandynastywhenanemperorstoppedin Qufu to offer sacrifice to Confucius’s spirit or to bestow hereditarytitlesonhis livingdescendants.Somehistoriansdate theestablishmentof Confucianism as orthodoxy to the Han,which seems unlikely sinceneither the ruling family nor prominent ministers at the time held acoherent senseof the classicalheritage as centeredonConfucius or asdoctrinallydistinctfromcompetingschoolsorteachings(seechapter3).Imperialvisitstotombsortemplesconstitutedimportantexpressionsofcourt approval, but they were hardly unique to Confucius. Early Hanrulers routinely visited many local cults and bestowed posthumoushonorsonotherextraordinarypersonages.Thethrone’ssimilarsupportoftheDukeofZhou—thearchetypalloyalministerofthefirstZhouking—in particular augured a momentous debate in the formation of animperialcultcenturieslater.

CourtCelebrationoftheCult

CultvenerationofConfuciusfirstemergedfromitsplaceoforiginafterthe fall of theHandynasty.According to the official chronicles of theThree Kingdoms, the emperor of the state of Wei (220–265 CE)explicatedtheAnalectsin241CE,thenorderedtheChamberlaintooffera largebeast sacrifice toConfucius in the ImperialAcademywithYanHui as his correlate, who shared the offering. This marks the firstrecorded official celebration of the cult in the capital. By includingConfuciusandhisgreatestdiscipleintheceremony,thecourteffectivelyestablished a bond between Confucius and the court’s highesteducational institution. It furthermore associated the cult with theemperor’spersonalmoraltraining,suchasthatdescribedintheConstantMean(seechapter4)andhismasteryofawork solelyassociatedwithConfucius.Thechroniclesrecordscoresofcourtritesthatbuiltuponthe241 precedent, performed by a series of short-lived dynasties insubsequentcenturieswhenChinawasruledbyregionalkingdoms.Theseritesincludedamoredetailedliturgy,withmusicanddanceappropriateforaduke,paintedportraitsofConfucius’sdisciples,atempleexpresslydevoted toConfucius in the capital, anddetailed instructions on ritualclothingwornbytheemperorduringhisobservanceoftherites.2

Alongwithitsgrowingcommitment,beginninginthethirdcentury,toveneratingConfuciusinthecapital,thecourtextendedsimilarhonorstothetoweringfigureoftheDukeofZhou.ConfuciushimselfhademulatedtheDukeofZhouandveneratedhimasacultfigure(Analects3.15).TheDukeofZhouhadreceivedofferingsinseveralcultsassociatedwithhisvaried contributions to early Chinese civilization. A paragon ofministerialloyalty,heassistedhisbrotherinfoundingtheZhoudynastyandpresidedoverthecourtwhenhisinfantnephewbecameking.Whentheyoungkingcameofage,herepaidhisuncle’s loyaltybyenfeoffinghimastheDukeofZhouinQufu.AccordingtotheRecordofRites, theZhoucourtchargedlaterlordsofthestateofLuto“sacrificetotheDukewithritesandmusicappropriatefortheSonofHeaven.”TheRecordofRites provides richdetails of annual sacrifices to theduke in the royalZhouAncestralTemple, thus establishing clear canonicalprecedent foranimperialcultoftheDukeofZhou.AccordingtoearlyhistoriansoftheHan dynasty, he continued to receive sacrifices in the Zhou AncestralTemple, relocated inQufu,evenafter the fallof theHan.Anothercult

based in the royal capital of Chang’an venerated the duke, whoconceivedoftheancientcapitalandofferedalargebeastsacrificeattheSoils Altar when the foundation stones of the city were laid. A cultveneratedhimasakindofpatron saintof thecityas lateas the sixthcentury.Intheseventhcentury,twoerstwhiledistinctcults,onedevotedtotheDuke of Zhou and the other to Confucius, merged in the thinking ofsome members of the court. The Tang dynasty greatly expanded theeducational system by admitting to imperial schools the scions of theimperial family and rank-bearing families in the capital. Sons ofcommoners were admitted to commandery and county schoolsthroughout the empire. The first Tang emperor ordered rites at theseschools honoring the Duke of Zhou and Confucius, each in his ownshrine.“Outstandingvirtuemustreceivesacrifice,”hesaid:

Ji Dan [the Duke of Zhou] ruled the Zhou states, created ritual precedents, brilliantlyilluminedinstitutionsandregulations,openedtheeyesandearsofthepeople,andfathomedthedepthsofthelaws.ProfoundisVenerableNi[Confucius],uponwhomHeavenconferreddeepwisdom;theteachingsof thefourdisciplineshaveremainedconstant throughouttheages3;thelegacyofhisthreethousanddisciples’magnificenceneverceased.OnlywiththesetwosageshastheDaobeenmanifestedamongthepeople.

WhenthefirstTangemperorin624CEpersonallyvisitedthetempleat the Imperial University devoted to both men to observe the jointceremony,theDukeofZhouheldprimarystatusassage,andConfuciusheld secondary status as teacher. Courtministers later prevailed uponthe second emperor to remove the duke from this temple on groundsthathisvenerationinschooltemples lackedproperclassicalprecedent.During this same period ritual scholars first systematized the entireimperialcultorderonthethree-tieredsystembydrawingontherecentlycompletedauthoritativeeditionofthecanoncalledtheCorrectMeaningof theFiveClassics.Onthebasisof thisneweditionof theClassics, thecourt downgraded cults found to lack a classical basis anddeterminedthe appropriate precedent for the cult of Confucius: a passage on thelibationsacrificeofferedtotheSageandtoteachersofschools,foundintheRecordofRites.4Memorialistscitedthispassagein628CEtoarguefor theduke’s removal from theTemple thatveneratedConfucius,and

cited it againunder the thirdemperorafter theDukehadbeenbrieflyrestoredthere.TheyarguedthatsincetheDukedevisedcourtriteswhentheZhoudynastywasfounded,histabletshouldbemovedtothetemplethat honored the Zhou kings. The emperor concurred, and his tabletremainedthereasacorrelateoftheZhoukingseverafter.In the years after it positioned Confucius as the Sage, the courtimplemented several other measures that defined this cult asdistinctively “Confucian.” It enshrined eleven of Confucius’s disciplesand, in739,elevatedConfucius toExaltedKingofCulture,placinghisspiritimagesothatitfacedsouth,theorientationofasovereign.Fromthistimeuntiltheendoftheimperialerain1911,thecultcenteredonConfucius, his followers, and their teachings. In the millennium thatfollowed,thecourtperiodicallychangedConfucius’stitle,reviseddetailsoftheliturgyofsacrifice,andenshrinedlaterfollowersoftheSage.ButthestatusoftheimperialcultofConfuciusremainedinviolablefromtheeighth until the early twentieth century, even while the amorphousfigureofConfuciusandinterpretationsofhisteachingsneverceasedtochange. Indeed, this was the only imperial cult actually to outliveimperialinstitutions,whichformallyendedin1911.WhydidthesedisparateeventsconvergeintheTangdynastytoforman imperial cult of Confucius? David McMullen shows that althoughhereditary elites continued todominate social andpolitical institutionsintheTang,aclassicallyeducatedelitegainedadegreeofindependencefrom themandcarvedoutan importantnicheat courton thebasisoftheir classical learning. And although the highest academies onlyadmittedthesonsof imperialandhereditaryrank-bearingfamilies, thesystem also provided for young men without hereditary privilege.Classical scholarship thrived under court sponsorship in the seventhcentury, providing an important foundation for a cult devoted to theSage of that classical heritage. The apparent sharpening of this cult’sfocus as a distinctively Confucian formation, with the ascension ofConfucius and his disciples in it, might also reflect the ascendance ofanother presence on the Tang cultural landscape; in 645 CE, not longafter court scholars began work on the Correct Meaning of the FiveClassics,amonknamedXuanzang(ca.596–664CE)returnedfromIndiawithhundredsofBuddhistscripturesandbeganthelargesttranslationof

Buddhist texts ever undertaken.5 The appearance at the Tang court ofanothercorpusofsacredtextsandtheincreasingdevotiontotheBuddhamusthavesurelyinducedConfucianscholarstoclarifytheirownvisionoftheWay.Bytheeighthcentury,nearlyahundredBuddhistmonasteriesdottedthe urban landscape of the capital alone. In response to Buddhism’sgrowing influence in Chinese society, Han Yu (768–824 CE)wrote animpassioned defense of the Confucian Dao and a scathing criticism ofBuddhismandDaoism.TheancientsfromYaoandShuntotheDukeofZhou and Confucius, he said, taught benevolence and righteousness.Their Dao can be read in the Classics and practiced in the rites; it isevidentinthedifferentoccupationsandconstantbondsandevenintheclothespeoplewearandthefoodtheyeat.“Inlifeonereceivedloveandindeaththeconstantnormswerefulfilled[throughancestralsacrifice].Heaven’s spirit came to take sacrifice at the suburban altar and theancestorsweresatedintheancestraltemple.ThisiswhatIcalltheDao,”Hansaid,“notwhatLaoziandtheBuddhistscalltheDao.”AnticipatingZhuXi’sassertionsinhiscommentaryontheConstantMeansomethreehundredyearslater,HanYuthendeclaimed,“Yaotransmitted[theDao]toShunandhetoYu.YutransmittedittoTangandTangtokingsWenandWuandtotheDukeofZhou.TheytransmittedittoConfuciusandhe toMencius.WhenMencius died, it was no longer transmitted.” Inotherwords,HanYuidentifiesMenciusasthelastpersontoreceivetheDao. The Daoists and Buddhists wrought great destruction byobliterating theDao taught by the ancients,HanYumaintained. Theydestroyed the constant bonds such that “a son no longer regards hisfatherasafather,aministerhasceasedtoregardhislordasking,andthe people don’t attend to their proper duties.” Han Yu’s appeal wasunprecedentedinitsvitriolicpolemicagainstBuddhismandDaoismandintheclarityofhisvisionofadiscreteConfuciantraditionthatmustbeupheldagainstother,evildoctrines.

TheImperialCultofConfucius

LATETANGTHROUGHTHESONG(NINTHTOTHIRTEENTHCENTURIES).Thecourtsthatfollowedthe Tang dynasty never departed very far from its basic principles of

ritual veneration of Confucius, established by themid–eighth century.Bureaucratic authorities offered sacrifices to Confucius as a Sage ateducational institutions in the capital and at schools throughout theempire. Though it lacked explicit classical precedent, the courtauthorizedthecultonthebasisofapassagefoundintheRecordofRitesonlibationsacrificetotheSageandtoteachersofschools.6Twoothertypes of figures received secondary offerings: founders of canonicaltraditionsoftheFiveClassicsandpersonaldisciplesoftheSage.IntheeleventhcenturytheMinistryofRitesaddedtothesebenchmarkswhenitenshrinedfourfigureswhodidnotmeeteithercriterion.Thesefour—Mencius,Xunzi,YangXiong(53BCE–18CE),andHanYu—eachinhisownwayhadregardedhimselfasafaithfuldiscipleofConfucius.7

By the Song dynasty, Confucianism’s status in Chinese society hadrisendramatically.ThegreatmilitaryfamiliesthatdominatedtheTangdeclinedrapidlyintheaftermathofwidespreadpeasantrebellionsintheeighth and ninth centuries. Anxious to forestall a resurgent militaryclass, the Song court expanded the civil bureaucracy and appointedgraduatesof the civil examinations topositionsofpower.AConfuciangentry,definedbysuccessincivilexaminationsandmasteryofclassicallearning rather than by hereditary privilege, dominated societythroughout the late imperial era. With the rising importance ofConfucianlearning,debatesontheproperunderstandingofitsteachingsbecame hotly contested. Prime minister Wang Anshi (1021–1086)deployedthepowerofgovernment-runeducational institutionstotrainandrecruitcadrestoimplementhisvisionoffundamentalsocialreform.When a protégé followed him as prime minister, Wang Anshi wasenshrined in theConfuciusTemple, and thewritingsofhis opponents,thebrothersChengYi(1030–1107)andChengHao(1032–1085),werebanned from civil examinations. The reformers’ brazen use ofeducational institutionsand the temple to servepolitical ends—thoughonly short-lived—set a compelling precedent eventually used by theiropponentslongafterthetumultofWang’sreformshadpassed.Wang Anshi’s political adversaries were philosophically opposed todeploying the central government’s power to legislate social reformthrough the proclamation of laws. The Cheng brothers and their largecircle of followers preferred to work outside government structures—

which was largely necessitated by Wang’s control of the court—totransformpublicnormssothattheyaccordedwithcanonicalprinciples.Public morality could not be converted bymandate from above, theymaintained, but needed to be transformed gradually through moralcultivation under the nurturing care of the gentleman, eloquentlyexpressedinZhuXi’sreadingoftheConstantMean.Theresultsofsuchagrassrootsapproach,theybelieved,wouldbemorepermanentthananychanges through public decree. Much like Han Yu before them, theCheng brothers and their followers, most notably Zhu Xi, wereparticularly alarmed by what they believed were Buddhism’s growingtangible effects onpopular customsandevenwithinConfucian circles.ZhuXimaintained thata chasmseparated theirowncorrupt age fromthegoldenageofthesages,andcalledfortherevivaloftheancientDao.Recovery of this lost Dao, Zhu argued in his preface to the ConstantMean,requiredanunderstandingofthemindtransmissionpasseddownfromtheancientsage-kingstoConfuciusandfinallytoMencius.Though controversial in his own day, Zhu Xi’s claim that after the

death of the last sage, Mencius, only the Cheng brothers properlyunderstood the true Dao, eventually became widely accepted. Yet itposed a question: If the last sage who understood the Dao had died1,400 years earlier, how could the Cheng brothers possibly haveretrieved it? The key, Zhu Xi argued, lay in discerning a patternedessenceusuallytranslatedasPrinciple(li),inherentinallthings.Justasthemasterjadecarverfollowsthesubtlepatternsofthegrainofapieceofjadetocarveitproperly,onewhoseekstounderstandtheDaomustinvestigate the latent, essential pattern (or Principle) in each thing.Although all things possess an essential Principle, Zhu Xi maintainedthat such“things”as filiality, righteousness, andbenevolencewere themostimportantobjectsofinvestigation.Thetextuallegacyofthesages—theClassics—possessedtheessentialpatternofsuch“things” intheirmostrefinedform.ZhuXiidentifiedfourworksinparticular—eventuallycalled the Four Books—that provided the gateway to the Dao: theAnalects,Mencius, theGreat Learning, attributed to Confucius’s discipleZengzi,andtheConstantMean.Merelytoapprehendthesurfacemeaningof words in such texts, Zhu maintained, would not apprehend theiressential Principle, which is subtle. Han and Tang classicists failed to

discern the innate patterns latent in the ancient texts because theyexplicated the surface meaning of words rather than seeking toapprehendtheDaoitself.8

ZhuXiwarnedthatinvestigatingtheinnatepatterninthingscouldbedangerous. Whereas Han and Tang classicists did not go far enough(buji) to inquire beyond, or beneath, the surface meaning of words,othersmorerecentlywent too far (guo)andextracted lofty ideasmoreconsonantwithBuddhismthanwithConfucius’sancientDao.Theproperinvestigation of innate patterns of things must navigate between theerrorsofinadequacyandexcess—betweensuperficial,literalreadingsofthe sages’words and overly esoteric and subtle imaginings of sublimefalsehoods. Understanding of the Dao by investigating essentialprinciples in things was at once accessible to anyone and yet oddlyelusive: so many followed their investigations to “spurious truths,”whichconfoundedtheSage’sDaobytheirseemingauthenticity.ZhuXicited several disciples of the Cheng brotherswhose excesses producederror, usually because they had studied Buddhism in their earlyeducationandneverextirpateditstracesfromtheirthinking.ZhuXiexcisedfromhisgenealogyofwhatbecameknownasLearning

of the Way, or the Dao School (Daoxue )9, those scholars whodeviatedfromtheprimaryaimofrecoveringthelostWayoftheancientsages. Zhu laid out the principles of these exclusions in his influentialanthology titledReflections onThings atHand.Whereas Zhu’s completeoeuvreprovidesampleevidenceofhisseeminglyecumenicallearning,inthecenturyafterhisdeathsomeofhismostardentfollowersadheredtohis more rigid pronouncements. An encyclopedic collection of Zhu’sconversations called Topics of Master Zhu’s Conversations (Zhuzi yulei

), completed in 1270, reveals an astonishingly profound andwidely read man who rigorously divided the major figures of theConfucian tradition into those who transmitted the ancient Dao andthosewhodidnot.LüZuqian(1137–1181),whoco-editedReflectionsonThingsatHand,emergesasuncriticallyreliantonHancommentariesandnot adequately concerned with passing judgment on moral questions.Zhu Xi criticizes Lu Xiangshan (1139–1193), his most importantphilosophical adversary in his own day, because he taught what ZhuregardedasaBuddhisticmethodofsuddenenlightenmentthatskipped

over the necessary step of investigating things, and because he soughtcommongroundbetweenBuddhismandConfucianism.In contrast to the Cheng brothers’ opposition (during the Northern

Song) to using government institutions to promulgate theirunderstandingoftheConfucianDaointhewaningyearsoftheSouthernSong dynasty (1127–1279), ZhuXi’s followers agitated in the court tocanonize his vision of the Confucian tradition. Until then, only oneperson—the ill-fated Wang Anshi—had been enshrined by the samedynasty under which he had lived. By this measure alone, theenshrinementinthetwelfthcenturyoffiveSongmasters,includingtheCheng brothers and Zhu Xi, constituted an extraordinary act. Inannouncing this change, the emperor reiterated Zhu Xi’s genealogicalconceptionoftheDaoandevidentlyboundthefateoftheSongdynastywiththatofZhu’sunderstandingoftheConfuciantradition.HecitedtheDao’sessentialembodiment inanewcanoncalled theFourBooks, theloss of the Dao’s transmission after Mencius, and its retrieval by theChengbrothers inhisownSongdynasty:“Sincetherestoration[of theSouthern Song], Zhu Xi’s refined thinking and brilliant analysisharmonized form and content. He used the Great Learning, Analects,Mencius,andConstantMean[constitutingtheFourBooks]tocompletelyilluminateConfucius’sDaoandenlightentheworld.”Severalyearslaterthe Song court canonized the authors of the Four Books by elevatingZengzi,reputedauthoroftheGreatLearning,andKongJi,authoroftheConstantMean,tothestatusofcorrelatesinthetemple,joiningYanHuiandMencius.Yet the Song court refrained from canonizing a narrow orthodoxy

basedonDaoSchoolteachingsasfoundinMasterZhu’sConversations.Inaddition to Zhu Xi, it also enshrined prominent Song masters who,thoughnotantagonistictoDaoSchoolteachings,nonethelessformulatedideas not wholly consonant with them, either. Nor did it enforce anarrowconceptionof theDao in civil examinations.Althoughwritingsby theCheng brothers andZhuXiwere banned from the examinationcurriculumforshortperiods,theSongcourtneverrequiredDaoSchoolcommentaries in civil examinations, as its successors would later do.Fillingbureaucraticpositionsonthebasisofexaminationsuccessratherthan hereditary privilege had become the predominant administrative

practiceonlya fewcenturiesearlier.As such,mastering theConfucianClassicsaccordingtoanyreadingasacriterionforappointmentalreadyamounted to a relatively narrow gateway to positions of politicalauthority. Wang Anshi’s legacy of heavy-handed enforcement of hisnarrow understanding of the tradition remained a fairly recentnightmare in thecollectivememoryofmanySongofficials.Fewin theSouthern Song desired to replicate his statist methods in imposingpolitical and cultural reforms. Using the throne’s authority topromulgate a narrow state ideology was largely unprecedented in theSong,andtendedtoevokesuchinfamouspoliciesasQinShihuang’s(r.246–210 BCE) book burning and Empress Wu Zetian’s (r. 684–705)deploymentofBuddhismtocountercourtresistancetoherreign.

YUAN-MING-QING(FOURTEENTHTHROUGHNINETEENTHCENTURIES).IncontrasttotheSong,whichneverendorsedthisexclusionaryapproachtotheConfucianDao,thethreedynastiesthatfollowedcarefullyconsolidatedtheteachingsofCheng Yi and Zhu Xi as Cheng-Zhu orthodoxy. The Mongols—a non-ChinesenomadicpeoplewhoconqueredChinaandestablishedtheYuandynasty (1279–1368)—required Chinese candidates sitting for civilexaminations to follow Zhu Xi’s commentaries on the Four Books, aswellashiscommentariesontheChangesandOdes. SongcommentariesreplacedTangversions of theRites andDocuments, and a collection ofremarksbyseveralscholars,includingZhuXi,prefacedtheYuaneditionoftheSpringandAutumnAnnals.ItisdifficulttogaugetheimpactofCheng-Zhuorthodoxyonthecourt

under the Mongols, because they strictly limited the number of HanChinese eligible to receive an examination degree. The Yuan courtpreferredtoappointMongolsandtheirmilitaryallies tohighpositionsin order to limit Han Chinese influence at court. But if his tangibleeffects on Yuan administration and policy remain unclear, Zhu Xi’sinfluenceisclearlyevidentintheteachingsofConfucianmastersoftheearlyMing.NoteveryoneconcurredwithZhuXi’sideas,butvirtuallyallprominentthinkersoftheMingusedhiswritingsasatouchstone,eitherquoting them in support of their own ideas or criticizing them toformulate dissenting positions. Given the pervasive use of Zhu Xi’sversionoftheFourBooksinMingeducation,Zhu’sprominencecomesas

nosurprise.BeforeWangYangming(1472–1529)rescuedLuXiangshan,ZhuXi’sprincipalintellectualadversary,fromoblivion,virtuallynoonecitedLu’swritings. Indeed,mosteducatedmenwhohadevenheardofLu knew him only through Zhu Xi’s oft-repeated criticisms, found inwidely available editions of Reflections on Things at Hand, Topics ofMaster Zhu’s Conversations, and the imperial collection of Dao SchoolwritingscalledGreatCollectiononNatureandPrinciple.During the first century and a half of Ming rule, memorialists

repeatedly advocated narrowing the criteria for enshrinement in theConfucius Temple to corroborate Zhu Xi’s understanding of theConfucian tradition. One set of temple reform proposals, submitted tothe throne in 1370, stands out because it established the terms ofdebatesuntilthecourtfinallyadoptedmostofthoseproposals150yearslater. They called for the restoration of the ancient practice of usingtablets as seats for the spirits rather than sculpted or painted images.They recommended that the current practice of feasting the correlatesYan Hui, Zengzi, and Kong Ji before their fathers, who were alsoenshrinedinthetempleasConfucius’sdisciples,shouldcease,becauseitviolatedtheprincipleoffiliality.ThesereformproposalsalsoarguedthatsinceConfuciusnever ruledasa sovereign,his titleofExaltedKingofCultureshouldberevisedandhisspirittabletinthetempleshouldfacenotsouthbuteast,asbefittedaministerorteacher.On the question of Confucian doctrine,Ming officials called for the

removal from the temple of such figures as Xunzi, Yang Xiong, andothers, whom they juxtaposed to the correlates who “carefullytransmittedtheDaoofConfucius.”InthefifteenthcenturycourtofficialslaunchedanexplicitcritiqueoftheoffensesthatYangXiongandothershadcommittedagainstmorality,thencalledfortheirremovalfromtheTemple.“NowthatthelearningofPrinciple[anothernamefortheDaoSchool]greatlyilluminatestheworld,”theysaid,“whyusetheconfusedandunorthodoxwritingsof theHanandWeiperiods?”Half a centurylater,in1530,thecourt,withthestrongsupportoftheemperor,finallyadopted these proposals regarding liturgy and doctrine, reiterating indetail the rationale for implementing them expressed by earliermemorialists.ThesereformsremainedinplacefortheremainderoftheMingandQingdynasties.AnearlyQingemperorinsisteduponelevating

Zhu Xi’s temple rank by placing his tablet among those of eleven ofConfucius’s personal disciples, contravening an otherwise rigorouslyobservedchronologicalorderof the tablets.TheapotheosisofZhuXi’slearningwascomplete.

CONCLUSION

Imperial orthodoxy was the product of debates at court on Confuciandoctrine, which was nearly always contested. Although authority tomakeallfinaldecisionsonsuchmatterslaywiththeemperor,eventhemostautocraticrulerrefrainedfromactingbyfiat,preferringinsteadtopromoteministerswhoseopinionscorroboratedhisownviews,ifindeedheheldany.ThefirstemperoroftheMingdynasty,theverymodelofanautocrat, implemented far-reaching ritual reforms by relying upon thescholarlyopinionsofministerswhosepositionsfoundsomeoppositionaswell as more support at court. Court debates on enshrinement in theTemple directly affected, and were framed by, educational curriculausedtopreparecandidatesforcivilexaminations.Menwhopassedtheseexaminations held important positions at court and in the civilbureaucracy. Thus enshrinement, civil examinations, and bureaucraticappointment formed a nexus of power in late imperial times.Institutional enforcement of orthodoxy through civil examinations andthe Temple cult perpetuated adherence to the teachings found in ZhuXi’s commentaries on the Four Books, but the court never punisheddeviation from imperial orthodoxy. Rather, deviation from the court’snormative position on orthodoxy, entailed a kind of intellectualbanishment;itusuallyensuredfailureintheexaminationhallsandthusno bureaucratic appointment, which was the objective of mostexaminees.StaunchcriticsofCheng-Zhuorthodoxynonetheless thrivedin private academies and informal intellectual circles during theMingandQingdynasties,unafraidofgovernmentreprisals—unless,ofcourse,their barbs landed too close to the person of the emperor or otherpowerfulmen.10

The discussion so far has touched upon cult veneration of gods andspirits in a general way. How are we to understand cult ritual,particularlygiventhatitissofarremovedfromthepersonalexperience

ofmostpeopletoday?WecannolongerobservetheemperorascendingtheroundaltarmoundtooffersacrificetoHeaven;ahundredyearshavepassedsincethelastemperorperformedsuchrites.Norcanwesharethefilial son’s experience as he raises thewine vessel to the spirits of hisancestors, for to fully appreciate such a ritual act requires at the veryleastthatwegrewupwiththebeliefthattheancestorslingerafterdeathand that spirits surround our everymove. Travelers to Taiwan today,however,maystillobservegovernment-sponsoredsacrificestoConfuciusinthebrilliantlypaintedTempleinTaibeiorinthesimplebeautyoftheTempleinTainan.ThecultofConfuciusthrivesalongwithmyriadothercults in this southern city of Taiwan, where government officials andeducationofficerspridethemselvesonfollowingtheauthenticritesonceperformedbyimperialofficials.Spurredbyathrivingtouristindustryinthe post-Mao era, abbreviated performances of this rite, without realfood offerings, can be seen in Confucius Temples in Beijing, Qufu,Jiading,outsideofShanghai,andnumerousothertemplesthatsurvivedtherepeatedonslaughtsvisiteduponthembyforeigninvasionsorrebelpillaging in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, or by Mao’s RedGuardsduringtheCulturalRevolution.In the absence of personal observation of cult rites, one might still

imagineoneselfstandingnearthecelebrantsandwatchingthemcloselyas they execute the movements that the ritual texts instruct them toperform.Wemightconsidercarefullytheritualmaster’sinstructionsonwhysuchritesaresonecessary,andlistentohisadmonitionstoayoungmasterabouttoconsecratefoodanddrinktothespiritoftheSage.SuchanapproachtoConfucianritesmaywellfallshortofdirectobservationof a ceremony, but in the absence of firsthand experience, no betteralternativemayexist.ThenextchapterconsiderswhatmaybethemostpersonalexperienceofConfuciuslongafterhisdeath:thatofservinghisspirit in the Temple located in the town where he once walked andtaughthisdisciples.

SuggestedReadingsForageneralintroductiontomajorthemesofChinesereligions,seeStephenTeiser,“TheSpritsofChineseReligions,”inDonaldLopezJr.,ed.,ReligionsofChinainPractice(Princeton:

PrincetonUniversityPress,1996),3–37.

FortherisetoprominenceofConfucianscholarsintheTang,andtheirdiscussionsofcourtritual,seeDavidMcMullen,Stateand

ScholarsinT’angChina(Cambridge,England:CambridgeUniversityPress,1988).ForcourtdebatesonthecultofConfuciusinconnectionwiththeformationofimperialorthodoxy,seeThomasWilson,GenealogyoftheWay:TheConstructionandUsesoftheConfucianTraditioninLateImperialChina(PaloAlto,CA:StanfordUniversityPress,1994).

OnimperialritualsintheQing,seeAngelaZito,OfBodyandBrush:GrandSacrificeasText/PerformanceinEighteenth-CenturyChina(Chicago:UniversityofChicagoPress,1997).

OnofficialandpopularpatronageoftheGuandicult,seePrasenjitDuara,“SuperscribingSymbols:TheMythofGuandi,ChineseGodofWar,”JournalofAsianStudies47,no.4(November1988):778–95.

ChinesesourcesusedforthehistoryofthecultincludeJinZhizhiandSongHong,Wenmiaoliyuekao(1691);KongJifen,Queliwenxiankao(1762);LiZhizao,Pangongliyueshu(1618);LüYuanshan,Shengmenzhi(1613);QuJiusi,Kongmiaoliyuekao(1609);andZhangChaorui,KongmenchuanDaolu(1598).

T

6

TheCulticConfuciusintheImperialTempleandAncestralShrine

TheMastersaid,“IfIdonotofferthesacrificemyself,itislikenotsacrificingatall.”1

HROUGHOUTLATEIMPERIALTIMES(960–1911)CONFUCIUSfiguredintwooverlappingcults.InthepreviouschapterwesawthattheimperialcourtandcivilbureaucracyveneratedhimastheSupremeSageatatemple

inthecapital.TheMingandQingcourtsdeployedtheenshrinementandplacement of scholars in the Confucius Temple in Beijing as aninstitutional site for the promulgation of imperial orthodoxy. Thischapter moves from Beijing to Qufu, Shandong, where Confucius’sdescendants venerated him as their founding ancestor. The courtconferred hereditary noble titles on hismost direct living descendant,whomaintainedalargefiefdomthatextendedwellbeyondthetownofQufu.Thischapterexplorestheoverlappingpracticesoftheimperialandancestralcultsandposestwomainquestions:HowwasthevenerationofancestorspracticedbythismostexemplaryConfucianfamily,andwhatplace did the cult of Confucius occupy in the great enterprise ofgoverningempire?To answer these questions, this chapter focuses on Confucius’s

seventy-first-generation descendant, named Kong Zhaohuan (1735–1782),andontwoceremoniesthatheledastheDukeforFulfillingtheSage:anancestralsacrificeperformedonthewintersolsticeinDecember1746,andan imperial sacrificeperformed inMarch1749.Nodetailedhistoricalaccountsofeitheroftheseoccasionsexists;indeed,fewifanyaccountsofparticularceremonieswereeverrecorded,fortodosowouldberatherlikewritingahistoricalaccountofaparticularCatholicMass.LiturgicaldetailsofConfucianritesweredebatedandfixedinadvance,and theiractualperformancerigorouslyadhered to thosedetailsunderthewatchfuleyesof several ritualmasters—at least twoattendedeach

person performing the service, in addition to two other ceremonialmasterswho announced each step of the rite.All celebrants rehearsedthe rite during the seclusion period in the days before the ceremony.Although no amount of practice and supervisory redundancy couldpreventvariationorerrorineverycase,wecanbereasonablysurethatany significant departure from the liturgywould have been caught bymore than one officer, and corrected immediately. The descriptions ofthese two rites thus require an act of historical imagination based onsources that date towithin a few decades of one another. In order toilluminatetheseotherwiseesotericceremonies,thisadmittedlyidealizedaccountpresentswhatritualauthoritiesatthetimeintendedtohappen.Chinese typicallyembracedelementsofdifferent religionsandrarelydevoted themselves exclusively to any one. Because Confucianism,Daoism, Buddhism, and popular religious beliefs and practicesoverlapped in the everyday lives ofmost people inmyriadways, it isnearlyimpossibletogeneralizeaboutthereligionoftheChinesepeople.Forthepastmillennium,however,nearlyallpeoplewholivedinChinaprayed to their ancestors andoffered them foodanddrink.Theydrewfrom different traditions—often improvising details—to perform theserites.Yetasvirtuallytheonlyreligiouspracticesharedbypeopleofallwalksoflife,thevenerationofancestorsprovidesimportantinsightsintothereligiouslivesofChineseinlateimperialtimes.AsdescribedintheConstantMean,discussedinchapter4,thefilialson’spiousofferingstohis ancestors afforded a distinctivelyConfucianmodel of this religiouspractice. Our inquiry into Chinese ancestor veneration begins with atwelve-year-oldboynamedKongZhaohuanonacoldwintermorninginatemplethatsitsinWatchtowerDistrictinanancienttownamongthehillsofnortheasternChina.

MORNINGOFTHEWINTERSOLSTICEQIANLONGEMPEROR’SELEVENTHYEAR

HALLOFREQUITINGORIGINS,DUKEZHAOHUAN’SESTATE[26December17462]

Theyoungmasterhadcometothishall,calledRequitingOrigins,eachmorningeversincehecouldremember.Onthoseoccasionsthetabletsoftheancestorsremainedshut insidecabinetswhileZhaohuankneltwith

histwosisters,belovedmother,3grandmother,andgreat-grandmotherinfrontofthefivealtarstopaytheirrespects.Onthiscold,darkmorningofthewintersolstice,thetabletsoffivegenerationsofancestorsweretobetakenoutoftheircabinetsandplacedonaltars.Duringthehour-longceremony the spirits were to sit at the tablets bearing their names topartake in a sacrificial feast ofmeat, grains, andwine.4 This occasionwasextraordinary,becauseattheageoftwelvetheyoungmasterwastoleadhisnearestkinintheceremonyastheDukeforFulfillingtheSage,forhewasthemostdirectlivingdescendantofConfucius,theonecalled“SupremeSage,FirstTeacher,MasterKong.”The tablets played a crucial role in the sacrifice, but Zhaohuan’sattentionwasdrawntothelife-sizeportraitsofhisancestors.Inancienttimes,grandchildrensatbeforeeffigiesdressedinappropriategarbandplacedonthealtars,to“personate”theirdeceasedancestorsbyreceivingand drinking the wine for them. Now the ancestors were believed topartakeofthefeastthrougharomasofthewineandsoups,sopaintingsreplacedeffigies.Theyhadtobeexactineverydetail,sothatwhentheduke saw the portraits, he could see his ancestors just as though theystilllivedandsattherebeforehim,takingfoodanddrinkwhenheheldupthevessels.Zhaohuanthusboretheawesomeresponsibilityofactingforhiskin inthisceremony,which, tosucceed,requiredhisundividedconcentrationonthespirits.Havingplacedincenseoneachofthefivealtarstoguidethespiritstotheir proper places, and having washed and filled the wine tripods,Zhaohuan studied the faces of Kong Sihui, the fifty-fourth-generationdescendantofConfuciusandhiswife,torecallwhathisritualtutorhadtoldhim:“HeavenconferredbrillianceuponSihui,whohad learnedtoread when still quite young.” Days earlier, secluded in the temple topurifyhimselfandfastfortheceremony,Zhaohuansatatalargetablewhere the old tutor unrolled a scroll on which the names of theancestorswerebrushedinmeticulouscalligraphy.Thenameofthefifty-fourth-generationdukewasatthetopofthethicksheetofwhitepaper,followed by a single column of names: five generations of Sihui’sdescendants, each connectedbya short vertical line.Below the lastofthesenames—Yanjinofthefifty-ninthgeneration—fourlinesspreadoutto the names of his four sons. Yanjin’s four sons all together had five

sonswhointurnhadtwelve,andsoon.Thenamesquicklyspreadoutacrossthepaper,eachconnectedbya linetohis father.Thenamesonthe left ended every fewgenerationswith noteswritten in small, neatcharacters, saying,“Foundedseparatehousehold.”Thesesonshad longsincemovedoutofthemanorthatZhaohuannowheaded,andhadsetupotherresidencesacross town,orelsewhere in thecounty,andsomevery far away. Only the names of the senior line continued withoutinterruptiontothelowerrightcorner,endingwithZhaohuan’sown.Hiseyesretracedtheseventeengenerationsbacktothetopofthegenealogy,andhismostillustriousancestorcametomind.Helookedupathistutorand asked, “Why is Founding Ancestor not among these names? Isn’tSupremeSage,MasterKong,seatedintheHallofRequitingOrigins?”“The ancients have said that noblemen keep five altars,” the ritual

tutor replied, “four tovenerateancestorsback to thepatriarch’sGaozu[great-great-grandfather]. The middle altar is for the founder of thehereditaryline.RequitingOriginsistheancestralhallofthefamilylinethathaspasseddownforgenerationsthetitleofDukeforFulfillingtheSage, andKongSihui is the founderof that line.Other families of theKong lineage keep their own altars, but they are not dukes, so theyobserveritesforonlythreegenerationsofancestors.MasterKongistheFoundingAncestorofallauthenticKongs,whomayveneratehimintheAncestralTemplejustwestoftheyoungmaster’sestate.ToseeFoundingAncestor, you will have to wait until the ceremony there. The seniorheirsoftheother,lesserbrancheswillsendrepresentatives.”Zhaohuan contemplated this larger ceremonywith some trepidation,

but mostly with intense anticipation of the honor of finally servingFoundingAncestor.His eyeswidenedwhenhe heard the ritual tutor’snextwords.“Butofcourse,”thetutorcontinued,“thegrandestceremonyofallis

heldinthelargesttempleinQufu,calledtheKongTemple,fourtimesayear.5Thatisanimperialtemple,whichpayshomagetotheoutstandingsagesandscholarswhoexaltedandpromotedthecultureoftheancientsage-kings.AllthosewhoveneratetheWaymayenter:studentsenrolledatlocalacademies—themostpromisingamongthemhavethehonorofperforming the ceremonial dance of the ‘Six Rows’ on the platform infrontoftheHallofGreatCompletion—aswellastheirteachersandthe

magistrate.MembersoftheimperialcourttravelfromBeijingtoattend,andsometimeseventheEmperorhimselfattends.ThereistalkthatthegloriousEmperormayhonoruswithhispresenceatGreatCompletionintwoyear’stime.”Theoldman lookeddownat thegenealogyandsaid,“Therewillbetime todiscuss theotherceremonies later.Letus thinkonlyabout theceremony in Requiting Origins. To perform it properly, you need toknow the ancestors as theywerewhen they lived. TheRecord of Ritesadmonishes,‘Thinkofyourancestors’dailyactivities,theirsmiles,theirpreoccupations, and the things that gave them joy.’ This is the mostimportant goal of your purifications now: to devote your thoughtsentirely to the ancestors so that when you enter the temple youmayglimpsethespiritsatthealtars.Thisrequiresyoursolemnreverenceoftheancestors.Toofferthesacrificewithoutreverenceislikenotofferingthesacrificeatall.”Thetutorpausedfortheyoungmastertoconsidertheweightofthesewords.Thenheturnedbacktothepaperonthetableandcontinuedtodescribe the fifty-fourth-generation duke. Sihui studied with therenownedmasterZhangXu(1236–1302)ofDaojiangtoinvestigatethedeeperprinciplesoftheClassics.TheemperordubbedhimGrandMasterofExcellentCounselandgavehimthesilversealofthethirdrank.Theritualtutor’sexpressionturnedgrave,andhecontinued,“Soonafterhebecameduke, aman claiming to be a kinsman attempted to enter theAncestral Temple to pay homage to our ancestors. Sihui conducted aninvestigationandfoundthatthemanwasanimpostor,adescendantofthe villainous Kong Mo, a serf6 who, soon after the fall of the Tangdynasty [618–907], had killed off nearly all authenticmembers of theKongfamilyandseizedtheestate.Sihuiexpelledtheimpostorandthenhad the correct genealogy engraved in stone and placed outside theAncestralTemple.”7Zhaohuanhadstopped togazeat this tabletmanytimes when he passed through the walled courtyard in front of theTemplebetweentheDucalManorandthelargeKongTemple.Thetabletstands nearly ten feet high and is engraved with the names of theancestors,who are divided into twenty branches. Themain lineage ofdukes—Kong Zhaohuan’s own line descended from Sihui—stretchesprominently along the primary or right side of the stone and is easily

distinguishablefromalloftheotherbranches.Standing now at the altars in Requiting Origins on this cold winter

morning, Zhaohuanwasmomentarily distracted by his frosted breath.His hands were cold, but he was otherwise comfortable in his heavywinter ceremonial robes. Then shadows of the tablets danced in theflickeringcandlelightasthespiritsbeckonedZhaohuan’sthoughtsbackto them and he recalled the last thing his ritual tutor said of theremarkableKongSihui:“Onthedayhediedaflockofcranesonhisroofcriedout,andasoutheasterlyspiritlightpiercedthroughthehouse.”StandingbehindZhaohuan, tohis right, the liturgist spoke: “Present

thewine!”Zhaohuantookthetripodofwinefromanacolyteandliftedituptowardthefifty-fourth-generationancestors’tablets,pouredasmallportionon the floor so that their spiritscould find it, thenhanded thetripod to an acolyte who placed it on the altar table. Zhaohuanprostrated himself, then rose, with all those present following hismovements;thenhemovedright,tothealtarontheFounder’sleft.8Hestudied the portraits of his great-great-grandparents and recalledwhathis ritual tutor had said of Kong Yuqi,9 who was the sixty-seventh-generationdescendantoftheSage.Hewasappointeddukewhenhewasten, and greatly impressed the emperor with hismature, ceremoniousconductduringimperialrites.Throughouthislongtenureasduke,Yuqiwouldriseearlyandworkuntillateatnight.Whileatleisure,helovedtopaintorchidsandbamboo.ZhaohuanlookedattheportraitofYuqi’sfirst wife. She was the governor’s daughter; themarriage had createdclosebondswithanimportantfamilyintheprovincialcapital.ShediedwhenYuqiwastwenty-two,sohemarriedagain:thedaughterofahighprovincialofficialinShandongwhooriginallyhailedfromthefamouslyrefined township of Kunshan in Jiangsu province. She was herself anaccomplishedpoet.SheboreYuqisons,butdiedwhenYuqiwasthirty-five, so hemarried a third time: great-great-grandmotherHuang,whowasnowinhersixtiesandsatwiththewomeninRequitingOriginsHall.ZhaohuanservedtheseancestorsjustashehadLineageFounder,then

moved left to the altar where his great-grandfather Chuanduo10 wasseatedwithhistwowivesinthreeseparateportraits.ZhaohuanrecalledthatChuanduohadonceopened the familygrain reserves ina timeofgreatfaminetofeedthousandsofstarvingpeoplewhocametohimfor

relief.HewasanaccomplishedpoetandascholaroftheRecordofRites.Zhaohuanwas struckbyhisgreat-grandfather’sportrait.Hemusthavebeen inhis late fiftieswhenhe sat for it. Thatwaswhenhebegan tosufferfromarthritisandfounditdifficulttowalk.TheemperornoticedthiswhenChuanduowas in thecapital and instructedhim todelegatehis ritual duties in the capital to another. Chuanduo’s eldest son haddiedover adecade earlier, sohis second sonmade the journey to thecapital to represent the Kongs. Later Kong Guangqi—Zhaohuan’s ownfather—was appointed duke when he reached the age of eighteen.Zhaohuandidn’trememberhisgreat-grandfather,whodiedjustseveralmonths after he was born. He sensed great-grandfather’s pain in hissunkeneyes,butall thatsurroundedthemwasglorious:awispybeardhungdowntohischest,his righthandheldacourtnecklaceofamberjadeandrosequartzwithshort stringsofgreen jadebeads.Heworearedsilkflosscapwitharedandyellowembroideredbrimcrestedwitharuby on a three-tiered insignia. His black robe bore the embroideredfive-clawedyellowandreddragononitsbreast,amotifrepeatedontheshoulders,sleeves,andhem.Hissheerblacksurcoatsubtlycloudedtherobe’s embroidery underneath. Chuanduo’s second wife, Li Yu, gavebirthtohisson,KongJihuo.LiYusatonachaircoveredwithatiger-skinrugandworeanelaborateblueheaddresswithinsetjewelsandsetsoftriplestringsofsmallbeads.Twomatchingpendantsoffivestringsofred, blue, and yellow precious stones hung from the crown of theheaddress and fell to her shoulders. Her hands were clasped in theflowing sleeves of her red robe, which bore embroidered four-claweddragonsandrestedacrossafull-lengthsleevelessdarkbluecourtvest.Heservedthesespiritsthesamewayhehaddonefortheothers,then

movedtothealtarofhisgrandparents.Helookedattheyoungfaceofhisgrandfather,11whowastwenty-threewhenhedied.Grandfather,anavidreader,hadcomposedavolumeofpoems.Hehadneverservedasduke,butwasposthumouslygrantedthattitleyears later, in1735.Hiswife12 hailed from the prestigiousWang family ofWanping district inBeijing,whose sons served as grand secretaries andministry directors.Herfatherwasdirectorofanimperialministryinthecapital.Nowinhermid-fifties,GrandmotherWangsatinthehallthatmorning.Finally,Zhaohuanlookedintohisfather’skindeyes,whichbetrayeda

slightsmile.Zhaohuanhadgrievedhisfather’spassingfortherequisitethree years, andhehadonly severalmonths earlier emerged from therelative solitude of mourning. He was now expected to approach hisfather in an entirely different frame of mind—with the propitiousdisposition of the auspicious rites that were the very foundation ofancestral veneration. The seventieth-generation duke, Guangqi (1713–1743),theritualmasterhadtoldhim,wascongenialinhisinteractionswithothers,andresolutelyforthright.Heneverharboredprejudiceinhisdeliberations and was loved by all, even his servants, to whom helistened attentively and remained tolerant, even when they wereimpertinent. His grandfather began to groom Guangqi for his dutieswhen he was very young, bringing him to court in the capital. Aftersucceeding his grandfather as duke at the age of eighteen, Guangqifrequentlyvisitedthecapitaltoaccompanytheemperorduringimperialobservanceof sacrificesat the ImperialUniversityand in theQianlongemperor’s thirdyear(1738) for thePloughingCeremony,celebrated ingrand scroll paintings.Afterwards,Guangqiwrote two essays on ritualthat pleased the emperor.He also traveled to the capital a number oftimes toattend the imperial lectureson theClassics.Theseyearswerethe heyday of the Kong family’s relations with the emperor, but theyweresoontobeovershadowedbycontroversywiththelocalmagistrate—a matter that Zhaohuan quickly put out of his mind. He thoughtinstead of the scholarly pursuits undertaken by his father, who hadwritteneightvolumesofessaysandseveralvolumesofpoems;thenhetookthetripodfromtheacolytetoservehisfather.Having served his ancestors for the first offering, Zhaohuan stoodwhiletheprayerwasread.Zhaohuanthenreturnedtohisstationatthefoot of the steps outside theHall andwaited until hewas summonedbackintoRequitingOrigins.Afterofferingthefeast tothespirits twicemore,Zhaohuandranksomeoftheblessedwineandreceivedaportionofthemeat,whichhewouldsharewithotherfamilymembers.Acolytesmoveddishesslightlyoneachaltartosignalthespiritsthatthefeastwascomplete. The spirits were escorted out of the temple, their tabletsreturned to the cabinets, and all celebrants processed out behind thespirits.Finallytheprayerwasburnedinabrickoveninthecourtyard,andtheceremonyended.

FROMANCESTORTODEITY

Chinese of allwalks of life have observed some formof ancestral cultsincetheSongdynasty.Regardlessofparticularreligiousaffiliation,theyshared certain basic beliefs that underlay ancestral sacrifice. Mostimportantamongthesebeliefswasthatspiritsofthedeceasedlingeredafter death and influenced the welfare of their living descendants.AccordingtosuchcanonicalsourcesastheZuoCommentaryandBookofRites,thespiritor“soul”isitselfacomplexentity,comprising“corporealbeing,” a yin force called po , which animates the physical bodybeginningatconception,and“spiritualessence,”ayangforcecalledhun, which constitutes a person’s consciousness. As the physical bodydecomposesintothesoilafterdeath,corporealbeing(po)dissipatesintotheether.Whenattendedtoproperly,thespirit(shen )ofthedeceasedretains its spiritual essence—its thoughts andwill—and can exercise acertain amount of power in the cosmos and offer protection to itsdescendants, both living and dead, joining them all in a mutuallybeneficial corporate body. The power that an ancestor wielded in thespiritworlddependeduponhisorherstatusoraccomplishmentswhilealive and the extent to which descendants piously maintained theancestralcultafterward.Despite this sharedconceptionof soul,Chinesediffered inmanykeybeliefs concerning ancestors and spirits, largely depending uponeducational background and social status. Inspired by a confidence inthe ultimate goodness of the cosmic order guided by Heaven and thecanonicalgodsthatinhabittheworld,Confuciansmaintainedanabidingreverence toward gods and spirits. Conversely, capricious and malignspirits crowded the religious landscape of popular consciousness.Godswho thought they had been ignored, corrupt underlings of the spiritworld,andrecentlydeceasedkinsmensoughtrevengeamongthelivingand therefore became sources of intense anxiety. People employedDaoist exorcists to combat the harmful effects of malign spirits andvengefulancestors.Suchbeliefsoftencrossedsocialboundaries; fearoftheworkingsofdemonic spiritsnot found in canonical sources existedamong cultivators, urban merchants, and members of upright literatifamilies. Graphic Daoist images of the underworld shaped howunletteredpeopleimaginedtheunderworldthroughwhichsoulspassed

after death. Perhaps most widespread of all were Buddhist notions ofkarma and retribution for past sins, which profoundly affected howpeopleinlateimperialtimesunderstoodthenatureandcausesofdeath,andhowtheyimaginedthetorturestheirancestorsmightendureinhell.TheKongsofQufuobservedaliturgybasedontheclassicalprecedents

that governed canonical rites at court and in the homes of literatifamilies.Closescrutinyoftheduke,whoembodieskeyelementsoftherite as a whole, yields important insights into these rites. In order toconsecrate offerings—to render them to the spirits—the duke musthimselfachieveastateofmental-corporealpurity.Todoso,hesecludedhimself in the temple in the days before the ceremony and single-mindedlydevotedhimself to the spiritswhowere to receive the feast.Justbeforetheceremony,hebathedandchangedintoclotheswornonlyfor such ritual occasions, washed his hands before handling the winetripods,thenwashedthetripodsbeforeanacolyte,whohadundergonesimilar ablutions, filled them with wine. Thus purified, the dukeconsecrated the whole feast by holding up the tripod to the spirits,focusing on their portraits, and recalling their demeanor andaccomplishments.Aftereachspirithadbeenservedthreetimes,thedukedranktheremainderofthewine,blessedbycontactwiththespirits.Thisactiondistinguishedthedukefromothercelebrants.Asconsecrator,hestood between the spirits and the assembled body of celebrants andacted for the latter by rendering sacrifice and by leading celebrantsthrough each phase of the liturgy; they followedhim in observing thepurification fastbeforehand,andkneltorprostrated themselvesduringtheceremonywheneverhedidso.Whenheapproachedthespirits,heobservedarespectfuldistanceand,

without actual contact with them, was not himself in any senseconsecrated.This respectful distancedistinguished canonical rites fromwhatConfucianssawasblasphemousceremoniesperformedbyshamanpriestsandexorcists,who,Confuciansmaintained,desecratedthespiritsthrough inappropriate intimate contact with them. Confucius onceadmonishedadisciple to revereghostsand spiritswhilemaintainingarespectful distance (Analects 6.22). A commentator on this passageexplains,“Revereghostsandspiritswithoutdesecratingthem.”The duke’s prerogative to lead the ceremony derived from his

genealogical proximity to the ancestors, not from esoteric knowledge.Indeed, the duke often lacked full ritual knowledge, and so a liturgistalwaysinstructedhimateachstepoftherite.Liturgicalsourcesstressedtechnicalmasteryof the rite,butevenaboy led the ritewhenhewasthe most direct living descendant of the ancestors. Success of anancestralriterequiredareverentdevotiontothespirits,engenderedbyfilial piety (xiao ) imbued in the “blood and bones” of descendants.Havinginheritedtheproperseminalspirit(jingqi )transmittedinthepo, descendants, especially the most senior lineage heir (zongzi ),could establish contact with their own ancestors. Birth sequence, notmerit,determinedwhowouldinheritthenobletitle,resideinthemanor,and lead the collective body of celebrants in temple ceremonies. AsKongzi’smostdirectmaledescendant,KongZhaohuanbecamepatriarchattheageofnine,andevenhisolderkinsmenoccupiedjuniorpositionsinrelationtohim.Descentwasnotaninviolableprinciple,however,foron rare occasions clan elders stripped senior heirs of their status ongroundsofcorruption.13TheKongs thusexpendedgreateffort througheducation and proper rearing to nurture the patriarch’s capacity toperformcompetentlyhisritualandadministrativeduties.Like most kinship organizations in late imperial China, the Kong

ancestral cult was internally stratified according to the principles ofpatrilinealdescent.TheKongsorderedtheirancestorsinthetempleinahierarchy determined by generational seniority: the Lineage Founder(shizu )seatedinthemiddleandfourgenerationsoftheduke’smostrecent ancestors arrayed on either side according to seniority,alternating between the senior position (zhao ) on the Founder’s leftand the junior side (mu )onhis right.14Orderingof the tablets andfeasting of the spirits in proper sequence accords with a hierarchybelievedtoinhereinthecosmosandthegodsthatruleit.Similarly,allliving male descendants occupied clearly designated positions in thepatrilineasdeterminedbyameticulouslyrecordedgenealogykeptinabox stored in the back room of the temple, never to be seen byoutsiders.15 The enormous size of the Kong clan—more than twentythousand living in the Qufu area alone—necessitated such scrupulousrecord-keeping.Theduke’s family, referred to as thepatriline (dazong), headed a massive kinship organization subdivided into sixty

collateral households hierarchically ranked according to patrilinealprinciples, whereby the households of elder male descendants heldhigher ritual status thansonsdescended frommore junior, cadet lines.Thesegenealogicalprinciplestranslatedthenaturalhierarchicalorderofthe cosmos, which ensured that the ancestors would be fed in propersequence, into the kinship organization of living descendants. TheprefacetotheKonggenealogy,completedin1745,attributedtotheten-year-old Kong Zhaohuan, establishes this sacred parallel: “A family’sgenealogy is like a state’s history. A history that lacks credibility is acrime against Heaven. A genealogy that lacks credibility is a crimeagainst the ancestors. The Rites says, ‘All things originate in Heaven,peopleoriginateinancestors.’”16

In addition to Requiting Origins, the duke led sacrifices at theAncestralTemple.All celebrantswhoattendedceremonies there eitherweresurnamedKongorweremarriedtoaKong.TheAncestralTemplecatered to all of Kongzi’s living descendants and thus had toaccommodate a significantly larger populace of spirits and living kin,conceivablynumbering in the thousands.RequitingOriginsceremoniesvenerated ancestors from theduke’s father to the founder of his ducalline.Conversely,theKongAncestralTemplehousedthespiritscommonto all living kinsmen, beginning with Master Kong—referred to asFoundingAncestor—his son, grandson, and theirwives. It also housedthespiritoftheforty-third-generationdescendant,KongRenyu,whowasreferredtoas theRestorationAncestor(zhongxingzu ). Accordingtothestorytoldinclanrecords,duringthechaosfollowingonthefalloftheTangdynastyanupstartserfnamedMoassumedtheKongsurnameandconspired tokill the seniorheir,Renyu’s father, andallhiskin inorder to claim the Kong ancestral lands as his own. After an officialinvestigation some years later, the court executed Kong Mo, restoredRenyutohisrightfulpositionasseniorheir,andgavehimthehereditarytitleofduke.As thesolesurvivorof those troubled times,KongRenyuheld the status of common ancestor of all authentic Kongs in theAncestralTemplecult.17

Zhaohuancrossedfromtheostensiblyprivatedomainofancestralritesto the public sphere of imperial cults when he led services in a thirdtempleinQufucalledtheKongTemple.Situatedalonganeast-westaxis,

these three templeshosteda seriesofdistinctyet interrelated cults. IncontrasttotheHallofRequitingOriginsandtheKongAncestralTemple,where ancestral cultwas offered, the Kong Templewas the site of animperial cult toConfucius,his followers,andhisdescendants.This cultoccupied the middle tier among the three tiers of imperial cults thatservednaturedeitiesandtutelaryandancestral spiritsdiscussed in thepreceding chapter. In the eighteenth century the Kong Temple, alsoknownastheCultureTemple,housed140spirits,includingConfucius’sfollowers,andthemostveneratedfoundersofcanonicaltraditions,withMaster Kong at its center as Sage. Because of its complex relationshipwiththeancestralcultinQufu(asheadedintheseventy-firstgenerationby Zhaohuan), the imperial cult of Confucius included elements fromboth imperial and ancestral cults. Whereas in the Ancestral Temple,Kongzi’s tablet named him Founding Ancestor, his tablet in the KongTemplecalledhim“SupremeSageFirstTeacher.”ThedukeusuallyactedasprincipalconsecratorattheKongTempleinQufu,buthedidsoasthehighest-ranking civil official in the area rather than as Kongzi’s mostdirect living descendant. At this and other Confucius shrines theconsecratorasimperialofficerdifferedfromtheconsecratorasfilialson,inthathewasnotactingasdescendantofthespiritsheserved.Thetiesthatboundconsecratorandspirit couldnotbe literally seminal.Ritualsourcesonimperialsacrificenonethelessofteninvokedfilialpietyastheideal inner state of the sacrificer, usually characterized as “reverent”(jing ).Celebrants at ancestral riteswere born intomembership in the cult,

whereas those who gathered at the Kong Temple in Qufu, at suchtemplesinthecapital,andatadministrativecomplexesinotherpartsofChina,aswellas inKorea,Japan,andVietnam,attendedbecause theyhad dedicated their lives to mastering Confucian learning and hadachievedsome levelof success in theexaminationsystem.Membersofthe Kong family may have predominated, but the celebrants includedboys attending local government schools and private academies, theteachers there, and all other holders of civil examination degrees.Celebrants were ranked according to their status in the civilbureaucracy, roughly paralleling the spirit hierarchy in the temple.Classically educated men and boys were marked by distinction in

relation to the rest of society, and imperial proscriptions forbadeunschooledcommonersfromattendingtheseceremonies.Kongzi’s statue today sits at the center altar in themain hall called

Great Completion, behind a tablet inscribed with his title: “SupremeSage, First Teacher, Master Kong.” Because this temple venerates theConfucianDao,Kongzi, likeall figuresenshrinedhere,sitsaloneinhisniche,unaccompaniedbyhiswife.Fourcorrelates sitting innichesarechronologicallyarrayedtwooneachsideoftheSupremeSage,basedonthezhao-muprincipleofseniorityusedinancestralhalls.Threeofthesecorrelates areKongzi’smostprominentdisciples:YanHui, said tobestexemplify benevolence, sits in the first position on the Master’s left;Zengzi,creditedwithcompiling theGreatLearning, sitson theMaster’sright;Kongzi’s grandsonKong Ji, creditedwith compiling theConstantMean, sits next to Yan Hui on the left. Mencius, whose writingsdefending and amplifying Kongzi’s teachings are contained in a bookthatbearshisname,sits inthe lastcorrelateposition.Thusfourof thefive men enshrined at the pinnacle of the temple hierarchy areassociatedwith the Four Books, which theMing andQing courts hadcanonizedasthefoundationoforthodoxyandthecivilexaminations.The duke offered sacrifice to these five spirits, while secondary

consecratorsservedallotherspiritsinthetemple.TwelveotherfiguresreferredtoasSavants(zhe )werealsohousedinthemainhall.Elevenof these men were Kongzi’s most outstanding disciples because theyexcelledinthefourdisciplines:personalvirtue,oratory,governance,andscholarship.TheKangxiemperorhadZhuXi(1130–1200CE)promotedfromthestatusofWorthytoSavantin1712,ongroundsthat“onlyhiscommentaries on the Classics illuminated the truth” and that “afterConfuciusandMencius,MasterZhu’sachievementshavemostbenefitedthisCulture.”The tablets of the remainingworthies and scholarswereplaced in the two long corridors, called cloisters, on both sides of themainhall,formingtheeasternandwesternwallsofthetemplegrounds.ThesefiguresincludeddisciplesoftheSage,mastersoftheFiveClassics,and the men who recovered the lost Way a thousand years after thedeathofthelastsage.The connection between the Kongs’ veneration of their founding

ancestor and the court’s veneration of Kongzi among other gods

underlayamorethancentury-longdebateintheMingdynasty.Attemptsto clarify this relationship notwithstanding, the ritual reforms of 1530producedby thesedebates left an ambiguous legacy. Spirits housed inimperial temples were, like those in ancestral shrines, represented byimages, sculptures in the former, paintings in the latter. In the earlyMing,thecourtorderedtheremovalofimagesfromallimperialtemplesexcept Kong temples.18 Although the 1530 temple reforms removedKongzi’s noble title, as had been done to other gods earlier, thesereforms nonetheless retained important connections with ancestralpietism.ThefeastingsequenceintheKongtemplesthroughouttherealmimplementedin1530clearlyillustratestheindelibleimprintofancestralveneration and filial piety upon the imperial cult. Kongzi’s father,Shuliang He, had received cult in his own shrine in Qufu since thefourteenthcentury.Asearlyas themid–fifteenthcentury,memorialistsadvocated similar rites in temples at local schools maintained by thegovernmentthroughouttheempire.Sincethefathersofthreecorrelatesalreadyreceivedsacrificeinthecloistersfortheirownaccomplishments,theywereineffectbeingservedaftertheirmoreprominentsons,which,thesememorialistsmaintained,violatedtheancienttenetoffilialpiety.TheZuoCommentary on theSpring and Autumn Annals, they remindedthecourt,said,“Evenifasonisasage,hedoesnottakeprecedenceoverhisfather”(DukeWen2.8).Aspartofthesweepingreformsof1530,thecourterectedanewshrinetohousethesefathers,behindthemainhallin all imperial Kong temples. It was called Giving Birth to the Sage(Qishengci),anditoccupiedthenorthendofthetemplecomplex—theprimary position—whichmeant that, beginning in 1530, the spirits inthisshrinereceivedcultbeforethespiritsoftheirsons.Imperial and ancestral rites operated according to the same basicprinciplesofsacrifice.Thespirits invokedintothetemplesatattabletsthatboretheirnamesandtitles.Theypartookofafeastofwine,meat,andgrainsconsecratedbyasacrificerwhohadachievedritualpurity.Asethereal beings, spirits took food and drink through their aromas, andthus left no visible or material trace of having done so. Canonicalsources admonished against expensive, elaborate feasts, because thespirits preferred a simple fare of unseasoned broth, grains, ediblegrasses,andmeats,whichweretypicallyofferedraw.Spiritsweredrawn

tothefeastwhentheirsensesofsmellandtastewerestimulatedbytheburial of the fur and blood of the primary victim outside the templegate,theburningof incenseattheiraltars,andthepouringofsomeofthewineontothefloorinfrontofthealtars.Neitherabstractsymbolnoremptygesture,theseactionsenabledthespiritstopartakeofthefeast.Thesuccessofsacrificialritesalsodependeduponproperlyharnessingthepowerofyinandyangandthefivephases.19Thefivecolorsoftherobes worn by consecrators and spirit images, the foods offered assacrifice,thematerialsusedtomakemusicalinstrumentsandthetonesthey produced had to bemodulated according to ascending yang anddescendingyin and to correspondenceswith the fivephases.Consider,for example, the bronze bell and jade chime used in the music. Thesequenceofbronzeandjadeinvokedthepowersofyangandyin.Metalis yang, thus thebronzebell, as ayang instrument, initiates a songormeasure,justasthemaleyangpowerinitiatesallthingsintheuniverse.Stone is yin, thus the jade chime, as a yin instrument, collects orconsummatesthepolyphonyofthesong,justasthefemaleyinreceivesand brings to completion all things. Each hymn was perfectlysymmetrical: first the sound of wood, then that ofmetal initiated thesong, and jade and finally wood again concluded it. A bronze bellinitiatedeachmeasureofasong,ajadechimeconcludedit;adrum—thesoundofskin—punctuatedeachmeasure.Eachnotewasplayedbysilkstringsandbythreekindsofwindinstrument,madeofearth(ceramic),bamboo,andgourd.The imperial and ancestral cults were distinct yet overlapping. Asdiscussedinchapter5,theimperialcultsituatedKongziastheSageofabroadculturaltraditioninapantheonofgodswhoreignedovernaturalelements and human civilization, patronized by the court, civilbureaucracy,andultimatelyallsubjectsofthethrone.Theancestralcultplaced Master Kong in a genealogy of ancestors patronized by theirdescendants. The spirits in the imperial and ancestral cults werearrangedhierarchically,basedontheprincipleofdescent.Thoughtheirqualificationsdiffered,consecratorsinthesetwocultsplayedanalogousroles in relation both to the spirits and to the assembled body whoattended. The liturgies of both operated according to the same basicprinciples,althoughnewelementswereaddedintheimperialrites.The

musicanddanceintheimperialceremonyillustratehowconsciouslythematerialandsonicelementsof theriteweredesigned toresonatewiththeelementalcosmicpowerofyinandyang.The liturgy, furthermore,fashioned or disciplined the person of the consecrator and othercelebrants into thereverentbodiesnecessary for therite’s success—theobeisances and dance positions represented nothing other than thereverence that gods and spirits would requite with due blessings.Repeatedcleansingofhandsandritualvesselsalsoassuredthemofthecelebrants’sincerity.If sacrifices toKongzi in the capital resonatedwith thepresences ofother gods in nearby temples and altars patronized by the throne,imperial rites toKongziperformed inhishometownofQufu resonatedwithdistinctivelylocalspirits.TheimperialriteinQufupenetratedpasttheKongTemplegatesandacrossthethresholdsofneighboringshrinesdedicated to spirits related to theSagebybloodandbymarriage,andeven to the tutelary spirit of the land. The permeability of cult ritesperformed at the many altars throughout Qufu was perhaps bestillustratedinthefirstweekofthesecondmonthofeachseason,when,atthehourofthetiger,thedukeledthesacrificeatGreatCompletion.

HOUROFTHETIGERSEVENTHDAYOFTHESECONDLUNARMONTHOFTHEQIANLONGEMPEROR’STWELFTHYEARGREATCOMPLETIONHALL,QUFU,SHANDONG

[5:00A.M.,17MARCH1749]

TorchescastbrilliantredandyellowhuesonthepaintedwallsofGreatCompletionwhenZhaohuanentered the templecourtyard throughBellChimeGate.Anusher ledhimalongthewalkwaypast theassembledguests—theduke’skinsmenandotherdescendantsof theFourFamilies,20anemperor’senvoy,localofficials,andstudents—tothefrontoftheApricotPavilion.TheSupremeSage, itwas said,had lecturedhisdisciples in thisveryplace.Thedancers waited in six rows of six on the elevated stone platform in front of GreatCompletion, which stood some twenty meters high and fifty across in the middle of thecourtyard.21 The imperial yellow roof tiles were shrouded in the darkness of the palemorningsky.

KongZhaohuanworealongsilkrobe,darkblue,frontedwithalarge,four-claweddragon(mang )ofgoldembroiderygazingintentlystraightahead.Twomoredragonsfloatedjust

belowit;anotherpairadornedthetopsoftheshouldersabovesolidbluesleeves,eachwithasmalldragonon its taperedcuff,whichflaredslightlyat thewrist.Patchesof lightblueandwhitecloudsdottedtherobe’sbackgroundaboveahorizonofbillowingseawaves.Fourgildedmountainssurgedoutoftheseainthefourcardinaldirections,andplantsswirledontheoceanflooralongthehem.Zhaohuan’sblacksilk flosscaphadatwo-tieredgoldpeakdecoratedwitheasternpearlsandcrestedwitharuby.Foursquareplaques,eachwithajadepieceateachcornerandasmallrubyatitscenter,decoratedhisbelt.

Music began as the supplicant left the courtyard through the main gate. In quicksuccessionasmallhammerstruckawoodenboxthreetimes, thena largebronzebellwassounded,followedbyasmalleronehangingonarackofsixteenbellsofdifferentsizes.Thena symphony of ten zithers, sixteen flutes of three types, sixmouth organs, and twopear-shapedceramicflutesplayedthehymn.Themusiciansplayedeachnoteinfull,evenpitches;fournotes toameasure,punctuatedby thesoftpatterof four rapsona smallhanddrumbetween every two notes. The sound of a jade chime hanging on a rack of sixteen—corresponding to the rack of sixteen bells—concluded each measure. Eight measurescomposedahymn,afterwhichalargehanging-jadechime,correspondingtothelargebellatthe beginning, was sounded, followed by the grating rustle of a bamboo switch rubbedacrosstheridgedspineofawoodentiger.AdrumintheApricotPavilionwassoundedasthe celebrants stepped back from the walkway to make way for the spirit, led by thesupplicant.

TheMasterofCeremony (tongzan ) stood at the front of the platform to announceeachphaseof therite.Nowhe intoned inaslow,evenvoice:“Offer thesilk.Performthefirst offering.” The liturgist (yinzan ), who stood beside the duke to instruct himthroughouttheceremony,said,“Gotothewashbasin.”Justasthedukesteppedtowardthebasin,thecourtyarderuptedintoinstrumentalmusic,song,anddance.ThemusiciansplayedandthechorussangtheProclamationHymn:

Wecherishhisbrilliantvirtue[yuhuaimingde ]….

Eachofthedancersinredrobeshadfacedthealtarholdinghisflutehorizontallyacrosshispheasantfeather,whichhehelduprightinaclaspedhandathischest.Asthefirstwordofthehymnwasslowlyintoned,theyuncrossedflutesandfeathersandheldbothverticallyattheirwaists.Withthesecondword,thedancersturnedinwardtowardthecenteroftheplatform, shifting their weight to the inner foot and turning their heads in the otherdirection,awayfromthecenteroftheplatform,whileholdingtheirflutesouthorizontallyintheir left hands across their feathers, held vertically in their right.As the thirdwordwassung,theyturnedbacktowardthealtar,standingsquarelyuprightagainwithfeathersand

flutesremainingcrossed.Withthefourthwordtheyheldtheirflutesuprightclosetotheirshoulders, and lowered their feathershorizontally across thebottomof their flutes.Theseearly transitions were subtle, but required concentration and discipline. For the youngerboys participating in this rite for the first time, thiswas the beginning of a life of ritualmastery.Themovementsof theninety-sixpostureswouldbecome increasinglydemandingduring three dances (or “sequences”) performed during the three offerings—almostinvariably,aboyfainted—butwithstandingthephysicalstressofperformingtheriteswasneitheragoalnoramarkofvirtue.Itwassimplytobemastered.

Whilethedancersexecutedthissequenceofsteps,anacolytepouredwaterontheduke’shandsoverthebasin,thenanotheracolytehandedhimatoweltodrythem.Thedukethenwashedanddriedthetripods,whichwerebornebythreewinebearers.Heladledwinefroma libation urn into each of the three tripods, one for the Supreme Sage and two for theCorrelates,YanHuiandKongJi,whosatinthezhaopositionontheSage’sleft,andZengziandMencius,inthemupositionontheSage’sright.Thehymncontinued:

Jadestoneschime,bellsrespond.IncomparableisHesincethebirthofthepeople….

Asthehymncontinued,theMasterofCeremonyannounced,“ProceedtothespirittabletoftheFoundingAncestor,SupremeSage,FirstTeacher.”Thesilkandthreetripodsofwinewere held high by their bearers, who ascended the steps and entered Great Completionthrough themiddle door. The silk bearer stood in front of the altar on the left, and thevessel-bearers stoodoff to the left side.As thedukeascended thestonestepson therightsidehesawtheplatform;itwasbrightlylitbyoiltorches.Dancersstoodinrowsatthefrontof the platform, and themusicians stoodnear the large opendoors of thehall. Thedukesteppedoverthedoorwellintothehall,pasttheCorrelates’andSavants’niches,pasttheox,goat, and pig prepared in the kitchenhours earlier and splayed on racks, and stopped infrontofthehighaltardevotedtoConfucius.Itwasladenwiththreepotsofunsaltedbrothandsoups, tenbasketsofgrains,dried fishandvenison,dates,nuts,honeycakes,and tenwoodenbowlsofsauces,leeks,celery,ediblegrasses,andbambooshoots.Thiswasasimplerepastwithnostrongflavors,meanttohonorthespirits,whodidnotcareforrichfoodsandfull-bodiedwines.

Now Kong Zhaohuan gazed up past the feast and looked upon the regal figure of hisFoundingAncestorandponderedtheSupremeSage.Thebeardedfigureofamansatinthealtarnichewearingtherobesofanancientking.Twelvestringsofgreenjadehungfromthefrontofthemortarboardatophishighcap,andthetwelveinsigniaofthesovereignadornedhisdarkbluerobes.Asun,moon,andastralconstellationwereembroideredontherobe’s

twoshoulders;amountain,afive-claweddragon,andafeatheredcreatureadorneditslongsweepingsleeves;andancestralvessels,awaterplant,fire,ricemeal,anaxe,andthefusigncompletedthelowergarment.22Hisroyalscepteroflustrousgreenjadeinscribedwithstarsandthesacredmountainsthatholduptheskyannouncedthesovereign’spacificationoftherealm.AgildedredtabletproclaimedthebeardedfiguretobeMasterKong,SupremeSageandFirstTeacher.

Thehymncontinued:

Expansive,hisGreatCompletion.Altarsandvesselsthroughouttheages….

Anacolytekneltandhelduparound,red-lacqueredincenseboxtotheduke,whotookastickfromthebox,lititinasmallbrazier,turnedtothealtarandknelt,thenstoodtoplacetheburningincenseinacenseronthealtar.Thesilkbearerkneltandhelduparectangularboxofcarefullyfoldedsilkdamask,whichinthetimebeforecoinagehadbeenthestandardofexchangeamongthe livingaswellas thespirits.Nowitwaspresentedtothespiritsaspreciouscurrencyforuseinthenetherworld.Theduketookthesilkandrespectfullyheldituptothespirit,thenplaceditinthemiddleofthealtar.Awinebearerkneltandheldupatripod,whichtheduketook,helduptothespirit,thenplacedonitsstandonthealtar.Heknelttoperformasinglekoutouandstood.

TheritesofSpringandAutumn.Thepurewinearrayed….

As the hymn continued, the dancers, who ended the last measure facing forward withfeather held at forehead level across an upright flute, turned inward while holding thefeatheruprightandcrossingitwiththeflute.Theythenturnedoutwardandbentforwardwiththeouterfootraisedandpointingupwardwhileloweringfluteandfeather,crossedatanobliqueangle,towaistlevel.Thedukewenttotheprayerstation,wherehekneltastheMasterofCeremonyintoned,“Allkneel,”justasthelastwordsofthehymnwerecompleted:

Incensewaftsaloft.

Themusicstopped,andthedancersendedtheirsequencewiththefluteheldhorizontallyhigh above the head across the upright feather. All present, including themusicians anddancers, thenknelt toperformasingleprostration.Thecourtyardwasutterlyquietas thesingularvoiceofaliturgistinstructed,“Readtheprayer.”Thesupplicantwenttotheprayerstation,knelttoperformthreeprostrations,helduptheprayerboard,anddeclaimed:

Let itbesaidthatonthis, theseventhdayof thesecondmonthof thetwelfthyearof theQianlongemperor’sreign,Zhaohuan,theseventy-first-generationdescendantwhoinheritedthe title Duke for Fulfilling the Sage, humbly announces before the Supreme Sage, FirstTeacher…

Thesupplicant’svoiceshiftedfromevenformalitytosong:

Our ancestor’s virtue matches Heaven and Earth; his Dao surpasses all for eternity; hecompiledtheSixCanonsandbequeathedtheregulationsforalltime.Onthissecondmonthof spring, we solemnly present these victims, silk, libation, grains, and other items allarrangedperfectlyonthealtarasofferingstoyouandyourCorrelates:theReturningSage,MasterYan;theAncestralSage,MasterZeng;theFollowingSage,third-generationancestor,MasterSi[KongJi];andtheSecondSage,MasterMeng.Wedoherebyofferupthisfeast.

Completingtheprayer,thesupplicanthelduptheprayerboardagain,thenrosetoplaceitin a box on the altar. Standing to the right of the altar, he knelt again, to perform threeprostrations,thenwithdrewtothefrontoftheplatformasallcelebrantsrose.

Thedukeledallpresentthroughanothersetofthreekneelingsandnineprostrations,thenwenttothealtarsoftheFourCorrelates.Theirstatuesheldtheearl’sscepter,theircapshadnine strings of jade pendants, and their robes bore nine embroidered insignia (sans sun,moon,andastralconstellation).Heofferedupincense,silkdamask,andwinetoeachoftheFourCorrelatesaccordingtothesameritualproceduresasthoseusedintheprimaryritestoConfucius.Whilethedukeperformedtheseofferings,twoconsecratorsofferedsacrificestothetwelveSavantsinthemainhallandsixmoretotheseventy-sevenworthiesandforty-sixscholarshousedinthetwocloisters.

The 140 figures housed in the Kong Temple played a major role in promoting theConfucianDaothatlayattheheartoftheimperialcultofConfucius.TheSupremeSagewasthe “teacher and paragon of the ten thousand generations,” his disciples advanced histeachings,earlyexegetesoftheFiveCanonstranscribedandexpoundeduponthewisdomoftheancientsages,andlaterscholarsreceivedtheDaothathadnotbeentransmittedformorethan a thousand years, and illuminated it in theworld again.Had this ceremony held inQufu’sGreatCompletionHallhonoredthesemenalone,thenitcouldberegardedassimplyveneratingthephilosopherswhopropoundedimperialorthodoxy.Althoughitcertainlydidso,itaccomplishedmuchmore.JustwhenthedukeservedtheCorrelatesandtheworthiesandscholars receivedofferings, five retinues left the templeyardanddispersed to shrinesadjacenttotheGreatCompletioncourtyard.TenassistantsaccompaniedaconsecratortotheHall of Repose behind Great Completion to offer feast to the spirit of Kongzi’s wife,surnamedQiguan.Alargeentourageoffifty-oneassistantsandacolytesaccompaniedthree

consecrationofficerstotheAdorationoftheSageShrine,locatedinawalledcomplexeastofGreatCompletion,toservethespiritsoffivegenerationsofKongzi’sancestors.23TwomorewenttotheGivingBirthtotheSageShrine,inanadjacentwalledcomplextothewest,toofferfeasttoKongzi’sfather,ShuliangHe,andmother,YanZhengzai,intheHallofRepose.AnotherconsecratorperformedritesintheKongAncestralTemple.Finally,anotherwenttoa small shrine behind the walled complex, where Houtu, the tutelary Spirit of the Land,receivedofferings.Inthesevariousritualsites,theconsecratorsseverallypresentedfeastsoflibation,agoatandpig,soups,eightbasketsofgrains,dates,andcakes,andeightbowlsofsaucesandceleries.24

CONCLUSION

The complement of rites performed on this day situated the cult ofKongzi in a nexus of imperial, ancestral, and local cults. The menenshrinedatthemostexaltedlevelofthetemplehierarchyproducedtheteachingsthatconstitutedthebasictenetsofimperialorthodoxy,whichcandidatessittingforcivilexaminationswereexpectedtomaster.Astheobjectofamiddle-levelimperialcult,theConfuciusoftheKongTempleoccupied a place among other deities and spirits of a pantheon alsopatronizedby the imperialbureaucracyelsewhere inChinaandby theroyal courts throughout EastAsia.As a temple literally surroundedbyancestral shrines where imperial officials also conducted services, thisConfuciusremainedason,husband,andancestor.TheritestoHoutu,atutelaryspiritwhonourishedandprotectedthesoilsofthesurroundingfields, located this cult in this particular place. The liturgy of theimperial cult of Confucius thus confounded clearly drawn boundariesbetweenpublicandprivateorbetweenimperialandancestraldomains.What can we learn from the rites to Confucius? They instilled a

profound devotion to one’s ancestors. Through pious feasting ofancestors, onegainedanabidingmindfulnessof themas the sourceofone’sbeing,whichparalleledHeavenas the sourceofall things in theworld.Thissamepietismextendedtoone’sparents.Somehavesaidthatan innate love of one’s parents provided the foundation for one’sreverencetowardtheancestors.Theritesalsoinculcatedaconceptionofthe self as part of a continuous lineage of ancestors extending backthrough time, which, if properly provided for through sacrifice, could

affectsomesmallpartofthecosmos—acosmosgovernedbyotherspiritsand powers such as yin and yang. This self-conception grounded inlineagetaughtaprofoundlypersonalsenseofhistory,because thepastinwhichone’sancestorshadlivedinfluencedone’splaceinthepresent.Thepious celebrant enteredhistory through remembranceofwhat theancestors did—their accomplishments and hardships. This historicallygroundedselfalso locatedonegeographically inaparticularplace: theland where one’s ancestors dwelled. Ancestral cults were not readilytransportable, in part because the tablets ideally belonged where theancestorshaddwelledwhilealive.Evenmerchantsandmigrantworkerswhose families had left home generations earlier still identifiedthemselvesasnativesofthetownorvillageoftheirancestors.Participation in these rites trained one to integrate an awareness of

spirit presenceswithphysical sensation, such as the feel of the carvedsurfaceofanoldwinetripodusedonlyforsuchoccasions,thetasteofasimple libation accepted by the spirits, and especially the smell ofburningincensefillingthehalltobringthespiritstothealtartoreceivecultfeast.Modulatedbyritualorchestrationofmusicalpitchandcoloredtones, yin and yang flooded the ears with harmonious sounds thatfacilitated human interaction with the gods and spirits. As etherealbeings,godsandspiritscouldnotbeseen,exceptfleetinglybythefilialsonwho, once purified, “catches faint glimpses of the spiritswhen heenters theshrineandagentle senseof theirmurmuringateverypointduringtherite.”Bythesheerforceofthesacrificer’sfiliality,godsandspirits received the feast through its aromaand formedonebodywiththeirlivingpatrons.Eventhemostphilosophicallydisinclinedcouldnothelp but appreciate the workings of esoteric principles in such richlytexturedritualexperiences.Onanotherlevel,wehaveseenthatthepermeabilityofcultsdisrupts

modern expectations of distinct boundaries between public ceremoniesand private, familial religious life. As we saw in chapter 5, theparticipationofthecourtandbureaucracyinreligiousactivitiessuchaspublicworship of gods sheds light on the very nature of the imperialChinesegovernment.Thatimperialandancestralcultsintersectedatkeymomentsduringtheritesshouldalertustotheinfelicityofdistinctionsbetweenpublicandprivate,stateandreligion,whichpeopletodayhave

cometoexpect.

SUGGESTEDREADINGSDescriptionsofthetempleritesarebasedonKongJifen,Queliwenxiankao(1762)andKongshijiayi(1765);PanXiang,Qufuxianzhi(1774).ForasocialhistoryoftheKongfamilyofQufu,seeChristopherAgnew,“CultureandPowerintheMakingoftheDescendantsofConfucius,1300–1800”(Ph.D.dissertation,UniversityofWashington,2006);fortheuseofimagesinofficialrites,seeDeborahSommer,“ImagesintoWords:MingConfucianIconoclasm,”NationalPalaceMuseumBulletin14(1994):1–24;forritualmusic,seeJosephS.C.Lam,StateSacrificesandMusicinMingChina:Orthodoxy,Creativity,andExpressiveness(Albany,NY:SUNYPress,1998).

ForQingritualrobes,seeGaryDickensonandLindaWrigglesworth,ImperialWardrobe,revisededition(Berkeley:TenSpeedPress,2000);JohnE.Vollmer,RulingfromtheDragonThrone:CostumeoftheQingDynasty(1644–1911)(Berkeley:TenSpeedPress,2002).SeealsoQinghuidiantu(Beijing:Zhonghuashuju,1991).

OnChinesereligion,seeEmilyAhern,TheCultoftheDeadinaChineseVillage(PaloAlto,CA:StanfordUniversityPress,1973);KennethBrashier,“HanThanatologyandtheDivisionofSouls,”EarlyChina21(1996):125–58;MichaelLoewe,WaystoParadise:TheChineseQuestforImmortality(London:GeorgeAllen&Unwin,1979);Mu-chouPoo,InSearchofPersonalWelfare:AViewofAncientChineseReligion(Albany,NY:SUNYPress,1998);StephenTeiser,TheScriptureoftheTenKingsandtheMakingofPurgatoryinMedievalChineseBuddhism(Honolulu:UniversityofHawaiiPress,1994);YüYing-shih,“‘OSoul,ComeBack!’:AStudyoftheChangingConceptionsoftheSoulandAfterlifeinPre-BuddhistChina,”HarvardJournalofAsiaticStudies47,no.2(December1987):363–95.

I

7

AConfusionofConfuciuses:InvokingKongziintheModernWorld

They [theChinese]areaharmless racewhenwhitemen either letthemalone or treat themnoworsethandogs.

—MARKTWAIN,RoughingIt

Thenotionofanationalreligiouscommunity…isdifficulttoinventexnihilo.

—VINCENTGOOSSAERT,LaPenséeenChineaujourd’hui

For many scholars it is now an article of faith that ruxue [Ru Learning], rujia [classicist,Confucian]culture,andrujiathoughtcommandedauniqueandhistoricallyprivilegedpositioninChina’straditionalculturalidentity.

—MAKEHAM,LostSoul

N CHINA, THE TWENTIETH CENTURY STARTED IN 1898, WITH the short-lived HundredDaysReformslaunchedbyKangYouwei(1858–1927).(Inthatsameyear, 1898, halfway around theworld, in England, the prestigious

Clarendon Press issued a luxury edition of English translations of theChinese Classics by the Nonconformist Protestant missionary JamesLegge, heralding the new discipline of “comparative religions” in theWest.) Essentially an attempt to resist the twin evils of Westerncolonialism and Christianity, Kang’s Reforms—supported by the youngManchu emperor—included a number of provisions bound to rileconservativesatcourt.TheReformsarenowchieflyrememberedasanattempttoturntheabsolutistManchugovernmentintoaconstitutionalmonarchyonthemodelofEnglandorGermany,theleadingimperialistpowersinEuropeatthetime.Oneimportantpartoftheplan(generallyforgotten)entailedconvertingallBuddhistandDaoisttemples,aswellaslocal shrineserected to localgods, intoprimaryandsecondary schoolsontheWesternmodel.AsecondplanaimedtomakeKongzithecenterof a “national religion” (guojiao) modeled on Christian sects and

equippedwithitsownchurchesandaunifyingideologycombiningthebest features (the “essence”)ofChinese culture.1 Through such radicalinnovations,KangYouweihopedtocounterthegrowingthreatposedtothe national culture and national sovereignty by the allied forces ofChristianity and Western imperialism. To justify such controversialchanges,Kangasserted—contrarytoallprevioustraditions—thatKongziwasthesingleauthorofallpartsoftheSixClassics,whosetexts,beinginvestedwithhis “subtlewords,”would reveal,after suitabledecodingunder Kang’s guidance, Kongzi’s master plan for major institutionalreforms.NotforthefirsttimeinChinesehistorywasKongzishowntoberemarkablyprescientwith respect tomomentouspolitical changes (seechapter3).Representatives of the Christian churches and states had littleopportunitytoconsider,letaloneformulatearesponseto,thesweepingimplications of Kang’s reforms to Protestant and Catholic missions inChinabeforetheabruptcollapseoftheReforms.InOctober1898,onlythreemonths after the first promulgationof theReforms, thedowagerempress Cixi seized power from the young emperor and placed himunderhousearrestwithintheForbiddenCity.2IttookCixi,anempresswhocertainlyunderstoodpower, remarkably little time to see that themainthrustoftheso-calledHundredDaysreformswouldbetosharplyreduceManchuhegemonywithinChina.PriceswereputontheheadsofKang andmany of his closest disciples, whowere immediately forcedintoexile(mostlyinJapanandIndonesia).KanghimselfneverreturnedtoChina.TheoutlineofthisdramaticsequenceofeventsiswellknowntoChinawatchers,athomeandabroad.However,veryfewrealizethatpart of Kang’s most ambitious plans were, in fact, executed in hisabsence, longbeforethedownfalloftheManchu-Qingempirein1911.True, Confucianism never became the state religion (guojiao ) ofChina, but in the years 1900–1904, following the debacle of theHundredDays,daringreformerssafelyoutsideofthecapitalofBeijing—reformers such as Cai Yuanpei (then in Shaoxing)3—oversaw theconversion of an estimated half-million temples in China into primaryandsecondaryschoolsorlocalgovernmentaloffices.Theseevents,comminglingpatrioticandreligiousfervor,setthestagefor thevirulentcampaigns forandagainstConfuciusduringtherestof

the twentieth century and into the twenty-first. Up to Kang’s time, asearlierchaptersinthebookhaveshown,Kongziwascreditedwitheitherfounding the Ru or serving as the chief moral exemplar for theseprofessionalsqualifiedbyclassicallearningforofficeholdingorteaching;in those two capacities, Confucius received cult offerings, along withotherdeitiesinthestate,local,andKongfamilypantheons.WhenKangYouweiadvancedhishighlyeccentricreadingofConfuciantraditionasthe basis for a new “state religion” in China, he expected his statereligion,modeledafterChristianity,to(a)receivestatesponsorship;(b)require absolute adherence from all Qing subjects; (c) suppress rivalreligions such as Daoism, Buddhism, and Christianity; and (d)successfullymergereligionandpolitics.4Thereafter, traditionalistswhowere repulsed by Kang’s ahistorical creation sought to counter itwiththeirownequallyahistorical inventionofKongzi,bywhichtheMasterbecame a “secular humanist” whose main contribution to Chinesecivilization supposedly consisted of the principled rejection of everysinglemanifestationof“superstition”(i.e.,religion).Notcoincidentally,thisversionofKongzias“secularhumanist”castChinese“tradition”asthoroughly compatible with modern political systems and therefore“acceptable” to foreign, especially European and Japanese, interests(religious and not), without alienating large segments of the Chinesepopulationcommittedtomodernizingefforts.Thusbeganwhatwereessentiallyaseriesofoscillatingculturewars,with some groups of reformers attributing the ruling elite’s adamantrefusal to embrace necessary political changes to the heavyweight oftradition,especiallyorganizedreligion,andothers insisting thatonlya“national religion” was likely to unify China to withstand the“barbarians.” Kang Youwei’s conflation of “Confucian” teachings withreligionprovokedtheanti-superstitioncrowdtotartheDaoist,Buddhist,and Confucian religions with the same brush, on the grounds that allrituals sapped time, money, and energy while diverting talentdesperately needed for more pressing national projects. Accordingly,suchgroupsofreformerssawthemselvesas“secularclerics”engagedinaholywar to “saveChina” from the corruptpowerbrokersof theoldorder who were cynically manipulating religion as the opiate of themasses. To counter these charges against hallowed tradition, other

equally fervent groups, loosely organized around the National Essencemovement and desperate to salvage something of the past, projected adifferentidentityforKongzi.Membersofthissecondgroupofreformersmade it clear that the Confucius cult they envisioned would notchallenge in any way the main theological tenets of monotheisticreligions by establishing a devotional community intent upon tappingthe fullpowersofHeaven-and-Earth.Thisnewfangledbrandof secularhumanism could embolden “anti-superstition” campaigns, ostensibly tofosteruniversaleducationandNewCulture,butmorecruciallytomakepatriotismtheprimaryfocusofeveryreligiousimpulse.Fromthecollapseofthe1898Reformsuptothetimeacenturylater

whenDengXiaopingwasfullyatthehelm,theseculturewarsflaredupwith depressing regularity. By turns, the Sage was to be dumpedunceremoniouslyinthetrashbinofhistoryor“restored”assomekindof“comebackkid”newlyinvogue.Thesameoldideaswereoftenrecycledagainandagain,evenwhentheywereplacedinnewconfigurationsandcontexts, without ever resolving such fundamental questions as howmuch of the past was needed to provide a stable foundation for thefuture and how much of the past must be jettisoned if China was tostridecomfortablyintoabravenewworld.Did“modernity”itselfmeanagrowthinsecularism(asMarxhadassumed),ordidthestateneedtodrumupakindofreligiousfervorinordertounifyandindustrializethenation? With many such questions unresolved, Confucius graduallybecame what one scholar has called “a free-floating signifier” (i.e., apseudo-historical figure onwhichpropagandapointswere inscribed inthe name of the Sage). Just as Kang Youwei had once called for thestate’s backing for a religious version of “Confucianism” designed tobolster,ratherthandistractfrom,patrioticfervor,so,too,didtheleadersof the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), a century later, look to aninvented figure of Confucius to shore up their tattered claims as“vanguardoftheproletariat.”5Morethanacenturyofdizzyingpoliticalchange witnessed the astounding transformation of formerrevolutionaries into entrenched politicos seeking ways to preserve thestatusquo.TheleadershipoftheCCPthensimplyborrowedaleaffromthe emperor’s book. Thus, in November 1986 the PRC governmentdecided to fund an experiment, paying nearly fifty scholars to devote

themselvesfull-timetothestudyofthe“NewConfucianism”movement—amovement thathadalreadysurfaced inTaiwan,Korea,Japan,andSingapore(seebelow)—inthehopesthatthepublicationofthousandsofbooks and essays devoted to the subject would help foster a more“aesthetic and harmonious” (youmei hexie ) society whosetraditional roots could plausibly be traced back to imperial teachingsandinstitutions.Throughout the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, the dominantanalysis of the crux of the Chinese problem has remained the same,regardless of the particular political orientations of specific would-beChinesereformersatanygiventime:

Thedifficulty of reform lies perhaps in the fact thatwe [theChinese inChinese-speakinglands]areconstantlyworryingover“whethertheChinesewillremainChinese”enough.6

Or,asanotherputit,

Thelargerproblemis:HowcanweChinesefeelateaseinthisnewworldwhichatfirstsightappearstobesomuchatvariancewithwhatwehavelongregardedasourowncivilization?Foritisperfectlynaturalandjustifiablethatanationwithagloriouspastandadistinctivecivilizationofitsownmakingshouldneverfeelquiteathomeinanewcivilization,ifthatnewcivilizationislookeduponas…alien…andforceduponitbyexternalnecessities.

ThatChinesethinkerscouldso incisively identifytheirdilemmamaywellhavebeenduetoChina’sunusualstatuswithinAsiaasoneofthefew countries—and the only empire—never to be colonized outright;7also as the only Asian empire where members of a semiautonomousliterati group—recruited, legitimized, and organized by meritocraticcriteria ultimately derived from the Classics associated with Kongzi—succeeded inmonopolizingaccess to the imperial thronevia theirhighstatus as scholar-officials.8 (These literati have often been dubbed“Confucian” by those who cannot decide whether Confucianism isprimarily an ethical or a professional orientation. It would be moreaccurate to say that the examination system in Ming and Qingencouragedthegrowthofalargegroupofclassicallyeducatedmenwhowere trained to apply a wide range of technical skills in governance,includingthecomplexliturgiesemployedbytheconsecrationofficersat

theimperialaltarsandancestraltemples.)Oversucceedinggenerations,theferventdesirebyoutspokenclaimantstonew-literatistatustosustainat all costs a comparable if not heightened degree of independence,socialsignificance,moralauthority,andpoliticalcapital inthemodernworld seems to have propelled every movement for and againstConfucius during the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. In otherwords, ever since 1898,members of the intelligentsia—at times alliedwithgroupsofworkers,peasants,students,andarmymenandatothertimesopposedtothesegroups—havesoughttoascertainwhetherandtowhat degree the monumental figure of Confucius (suitably modified)couldservetheirpoliticalandculturalagendas.Lu Xun (1881–1936), China’s most famous modern writer, once

observed wryly that “Confucius has not been treated kindly in thetwentieth century.”And it is true that in between these two spikes in“Confucius-fever”—1898, when Kang Youwei made Kongzi the divineprecursorofmodernconstitutional reformers,and1986,whenChineseCommunist leaders,anxiousto injectnewlife intotheParty, lookedtoConfucius as a long-lost savior, making “traditional values” their newslogan—thefigureofConfuciusoftenfaredpoorlyinthepopularpress,in party propaganda, and in academic journals. But the remarkableimportanceattributedtoKongzibytheChineseintelligentsia,nomatterwhetherhewasviewedasoutrightimpedimentorassublimerolemodelfor reform,ensured that imagesofConfuciuswouldneverberelegatedtothedustbinofhistoryso longasChinawasburnishingits imagefortheworldstage.Witnessthedecisionattheendof2007bytheofficialXinhua News Agency in the People’s Republic to unveil an officialportrait of Confucius—even if that image brings tomind the laughingBuddha.With the benefit of hindsight, it is clear that most if not all of the

bizarre twists that Kongzi’s reputation took before, during, and afterDeng Xiaoping’s (1904–97) triumphant return to power in the years1978–80 have faithfully mirrored the highs and lows of China’s self-confidence about its own place within modernity, in relation to thesuperpowers of the day. Recently this tight link between Chineseintellectuals and Chinese foreign policy has been forged through theexperience of thousands of intellectuals and partymemberswho have

spent time in theUnited States since the 1980s,many ofwhom cameaway with mixed impressions of American policies. As a result, notmerely the status, vanities, and incomes of the intelligentsia but alsoperceptionsofnationalhonoritselfhavecometobetiedtotheplaceofConfucius.This last chapter introduces awild array of Confuciuses and Chinas

enlisted in the service of the modern and modernizing world, manycreated within the context of the concerted Enlightenment attacks on“Asiatic theurgy” that survive in the crazed narratives of LyndonLaRoucheandinSamuelHuntington’sapocalypticpropheciesaboutthecoming“clashofcivilizations.”Naturallyenough,Kang’scompelling(iffalse) portrait of Confucius as Chinese counterpart to Jesus Christ hasprompted competing versions of Confucius. There are Confuciuses-in-Asiaasself-helpgurusandas“Asianvalues”posterboys.IntheUnitedStates, Confucius appears as a cookie-cutter law-and-order man, aprototypeofthecapitalistCEOwithadashofSunzi’sArtofWarthrownin for good measure, and a sublime thinker offering intriguingalternativestothedominantdiscourseof individualismandthenation-state. (No one has yet had the temerity to conceive of Confucius as aproto-feminist,butthatdaymayyetarrive!)Thepopularandacademicpresses have made Confucius the secular-humanist jog alongsideConfucius the running-dog of the idle rich and Confucius the earlychampionof democracy andhuman rights. This proliferation of latter-day Confuciuses has domesticated—and therefore trivialized—theteachings once ascribed to thismonumental figure.Not coincidentally,surprisingly few of the new Confuciuses conceived in China or in theUnitedStatesposeastarkchallengetothestatusquo.

PART1.BACKGROUND:CHINAFIGHTSBACK!(1900–1989)

Suddenly, at thedawnof the twentieth century, tobeChinesewasnolongertobesuperiorautomatically.Better-educatedmenandwomenofChineseethnicityneededtofindwaystodefendChina’sinterestsagainstthetwinpredationsofamoribundManchuQingcourtandaggressionbytheimperialistpowers.In1905,whentheQingcourtdecidedtojettisonthe classical examination system based on the “Confucian” Classicswithout making new provisions for selecting capable men by anothermeritocratic method, the dynasty unwittingly severed the mostimportanttiesbindingeducatedChinesetoitsrule,and,intheprocess,forfeited their allegiance. Henceforth the classical learning associatedwithKongziwouldnotevenoperateonalevelplayingfieldwithsocial,intellectual,andpoliticalmodelsimportedfromJapan,Europe,andtheUnitedStates,givenreducedstatesupportanditstiestothe“oldorder.”TheQingcollapsecamebarelysixyearslater,in1911.Atthatpoint,

those trained in the Classics could still hope to persuade theircompatriots that the crisis engendered by Manchu ineptitude hardlycalledforatotalrejectionofthe“Confucian”past.EquatingtheChineseNational Essence with the “old virtues” espoused in those Classics,passionate voices sought to defeat the “antiquity doubters” in theirmidst. The “doubters” openly scoffed at the idea that the Classicsaccuratelydescribedhistoricaleventsbeforeunificationin221BCE,sotheNationalEssenceproponentsaccusedthe“doubters”ofthe“worshipof… other countries,” even as they made the foreign discipline ofarchaeology their own handmaiden. Touted by proponents asincomparably more “scientific” than history or literature, archaeologywasusedandabusedtoshoreupassertionsthatChinawasthe“oldestcontinuous civilization”—and thus morally superior to that of theancientNearEastandEgypt,or classicalGreeceandRome.Of course,the rhetoric of National Essence ignored such challenging historicalquestionsas“WasChinaasingleandcontinuousentityduringthelongcenturiesofdisunion,someofthemunderforeignrule?”or,“IfwegrantthatChinawasoftenasinglepoliticalentity,whichspecificfeaturesofits culture and society besides the writing system were actuallycontinuous?” Even the most ardent defenders of the Chinese Classics

couldnolongercelebratethemassacredcanonsapplicabletoeverytimeand place, culture and society. Rather, they accepted the Classics aswindows onto a Chinese past that could successfully compete withWestern civilizations on either one of two contradictory grounds: thatChina was older and hence superior or that it was unique and socomparably great. Social Darwinism succumbed to the Lamarckianvision,thebettertoturnheritagefromaweaknessintoastrength.“Every policy shift in recent Chinese history has involved therehabilitation, reevaluation and revision of… historic figures,”9 withsuccessive governments pitching “history” as the “prime vehicle” forpropaganda. The consequent desire to fix a definitive narrative aboutConfucian traditions within the larger context of Chinese historyexpressed itself in four major twentieth-century movements: the MayFourthMovement(1919–26);theNewLifeMovementunderChiangKai-shek (1934–37); the “anti-feudal” mass movements directed by MaoZedong,whichculminatedinthe“CriticizeConfucius”campaignsoftheearly1970s;andtheNewConfucianRevivalofthe1980s–1990s.Quitesignificantly, in each of these movements the governing elite soughtdramatic changes within society to restore cultural integrity andcivilizational grandeur to China, so that it might resume its “rightfulplace”ontheworldstage.Eachmovementredefinedtraditioninhighlyidiosyncraticways, essentially reinventing thepast to facilitateChina’sstruggleswiththeWestern(andlaterJapanese)powers.Participants inthese four movements typically expressed a mixture of pride andhostilitytowardtheirownheritage.InonebreaththeychampionedtheunparalleledantiquityoftheChinesepastanddenouncedthedisablingweightof tradition.Suchextraordinaryambivalenceaptly reflected thecomplexity of real historical truths: on the one hand, for millenniaclassical learning had played a crucial role in establishing ChineseculturalandpoliticalhegemonywellbeyondChina’sborders,butduringthe last three dynasties in China, classical learning had justifiedupholding the narrow interests of the ruling classes at the expense ofinternal cohesion. Reformers looking to the future in the twentiethcentury (as in the twenty-first) therefore confronted an impossiblechoice:Shouldtheyplaceahighpriorityonpreservingtheliteraryandartisticmasterworksof thepast,orshouldtheywork insteadtoensure

thesurvivalandsecurityofthemajorityHan“race”?Inotherwords,asthewriterLuXun(d.1936)put it tohisreaders, the leadershipwouldhavetodecidewhetheritwas“moreexpedienttosavetheirownskins”orto“worshipConfuciusandperish.”Members of the May Fourth generation never settled on the bestprogram by which to “save China,” but they were unified in theiroppositiontoanythingtheyfeltsmackedofConfucianism.Tobefair,theincredible turmoil and treachery of Republican-era politics left theyounger generation little time to appreciate the finerpoints of theoldimperial system, which somehow had brought pre-modern China highratesofsocialmobilityandcapitalization,alongwithnomorerepressionthanthatofpre-modernEurope.Andunliketheirelders,theMayFourthstudent leaders could not be expected to appreciate the attractions ofclassical learning, since theyknewalmostnothingabout it. Steeped intheWestern-stylelearningoftheirownera,withitsalmostmysticalfaithinprogress,nationalism,and“survivalofthefittest,”studentsatChina’smostprestigiousuniversitiesblithelyproclaimedthe“natural law” thatthe old must give way to the new, since that would leave them incharge.Therefore,intheheadyfirstdecadeofthenewRepublic(1911–49), the “New Youth” gleefully watched as interest in Confucius andclassical learning plummeted in direct proportion to governmentshortfalls in funding for the old-style educational programs. Orientaldespotismwas indisputablybad,and ifConfucian teachingshadstifledthe natural human functions of innovation and self-renewal (except,quiteinexplicably,inJapan),10thenthe“OldConfucianCuriosityShop”had better be shuttered tomakeway for those brash newcomers,Mr.Science and Mr. Democracy. The students feared that any traditionaiming to instill aMiddleWay couldwell undermine China’s ongoingeffortsagainsttheimperialists.AsChenDuxiuandHuShih,leadingtheCommunist Party and liberal left, respectively, warned in New Youthmagazine in 1918, “It is Oriental [i.e., backward] to compromise andonly go halfway…for fear of opposition.” Cultural holdovers becameanathema. Given the spirit of the times, even Fu Sinian, perhaps themostprominentclassicalscholarofthetime,waspersuadedasastudentatPekingUniversitytocondemnthe“Confucian”familyas“thesourceof all evil,” insofar as it induced a “slavish” mentality of “blind

obedience” that constituted the major impediment to rapidmodernizationofindustryandsociopoliticalstructures.SuchMayFourthnarrativesconvenientlyblamedChina’ssorryplight

as much on the corrupt and corrupting Manchus as on their state-sponsored ideology. The racial overtones became more insistent after1931, when Japan’s swift invasion of north China and Manchuriapropelled many thoughtful Chinese to propose that national unity bebasedinasinglecommonethnicorigin.Initially,atleast,inthemid-tolate 1930s this heightened racial awareness on the part of Chineseintellectualsworked in favorofConfucius-as-Chinese.For instance, thesocialcriticLinYutang,alwaysjustaheadofthecurvewhenitcametoanticipatingnew trends,boldlymocked theSageas avulgarhypocriteand social climber in his 1922 satire titled “Confucius Meets DuchessNanzi,” but by 1938 Lin had grown quite fulsome in his praise of theMaster.HisbookTheWisdomofConfuciusbeganwiththeseruminations:

Can one be enthusiastic about Confucianism nowadays? I wonder. The answer seems todependonwhetheronecanbeenthusiasticabout sheergoodsense,a thingwhichpeopleusuallycannotworkupverymuchenthusiasmfor.Themoreimportantquestionseemstobewhether one can believe in Confucianism nowadays [emphasis added]. This is a questionespecially important to themodernChineseof today,aquestionthat…cannotbebrushedaside.Forthereisacentrality,orshallIsay,universalityabouttheConfucianattitudeandpointofview,reflectedinajoyinConfucianbeliefthatIseeevenamongmaturingmodernChinesewhohavereceivedaWesterneducation.

During the political chaos … Confucianism won the victory over Taoism, Motianism[Mohism], Naturalism, Legalism, Communism and a host of other philosophies. Itmaintained this supremacy of the Chinese people for the length of two thousand fivehundredyears…anditalwayscameback…strongerthanEver….Confucianism,asaliveforceintheChinesepeople,isstillgoingtoshapeournationalconductofaffairsandmodifyCommunisminChina.

The idea that Confucianismwas the only belief system and code ofbehaviorvigorousenoughto“modify”(i.e.,defeat)Communismgainedgreat currency in Chinese society and abroad. It became the commongroundforboththeill-starred“NewLife”MovementunderChiangKai-shek before 1949 and Mao Zedong’s attacks on the “remnants” ofConfucianismafter1949.

The failure of theMay FourthMovement to achieve any of its fourambitiousgoals(nationalindependence,modernization,emancipationofthe individual, and justice for all) naturally shaped the rhetoric of thesucceedingNewLifeMovementorganizedbyChiangKai-shekasheadofthe Nationalists (better known as the Kuomingtang or KMT, orGuomindang). The KMT welcomed Chinese who looked to “cultureconstruction” to root out debilitating “old” tendencies. The party sawthisprocessasthefirststeponthelongpathleadingChinesecitizenstorededicatethemselvestothe“greatergood”of theChineserepublic,asdefinedbytheparty.Meanwhile,toChiangKai-shek’swayofthinking,thepartydictatorshipandthetotalabnegationoftheindividualwouldserve to “nationalize, militarize, productivize” the Chinese people,restoring them to their formerpreeminence. InChiang’s logic,Chinesesociety could be reinvigorated “by adapting existing institutions orbusinesses to new needs.” The partymerely had to imbue themasseswith a carefully syncretized ideology embodying the best elements ofWesternandChineseculturesfortheresultantburstof“self-confidence”topromotefullnationalintegrationvia“exaltationofthenation.”Chiang Kai-shek, an incoherent thinker at the best of times,understood well enough that the specter of modernization frightenedvast numbers of ordinary people facing economic decline, politicalfragmentation, and forced entry into international markets and globalwars. To counter the masses’ panic, Chiang reasoned, one coulddemonizetheMayFourthreformers’supposedpropensityfor“smearingand slandering” Chinese culture and announce a backward-looking“revolution”thatlaidclaimtobeing“heirtoanancienttradition.”Afterall,iftheMayFourthstereotypeswereaccurate,andConfucianismtrulywasanti-individualistic,hierarchical,andundemocratic,itwaspreciselythisconstellationofvirtuesthatChiangKai-shekintendedtoharnessinthe service of his government. Accordingly, New Life PromotionAssociations sprang up everywhere under government prodding afterChiang Kai-shek delivered a series of five speeches in mid-February1934,explainingNewLifemethodsandgoals.Thesemethodsandgoalswereencapsulated inninety-six short rulesdesigned tomake lifemore“militarized, productive, and aesthetic,” more hygienic and moreorderly:

Lookstraightahead!Keepyourbuttonsbuttoned!Situpstraight!Beprompt!…

ThegapbetweenConfucius’sgentlemaximsandthoseofChiangKai-shek, which advocated “healthy violence”—not to mention the KMT’sunseemlydrivetolinethepocketsofitsofficialswithill-gottengains—madetheNewLifeMovementseemlittlemorethana“distortedechoofConfucianism,” irrelevant at best, regressive at worst. Still, Chiang’spromotion of New Life values from 1935 to 1949 meant that MaoZedong would remain deeply suspicious of any remnant Confucian“taint”inChina’scultureandsocietyafterhisvictoryoverChiang.Mao’ssenseofuneasefirstflaredupinthe1960s,inthelead-uptotheCulturalRevolution. But his vague unease blossomed into full-scale paranoiawhen two ofMao’smost trusted supporters, Liu Shaoqi and Lin Biao,queried the wisdom of the Supreme Helmsman’s radical policies,preferringgradualistsolutionsforChina’sassortedills.By 1967, the start of theGreat ProletarianCultural Revolution, Red

Guards under directions fromMao and his faction identified “Laudingand Glorifying Confucius’s Thought” with “Maliciously Attacking MaoZedongThought”and“MaliciouslyAttackingProletarianDictatorship.”FollowersofMaoZedongopenly attacked the “fourolds” (old culture,old ideology, old customs, and old habits), using the opportunitiesaffordedby the chaos to exact vengeanceuponold enemies. By1968,LiuShaoqiwasexpelled from theChineseCommunistParty;hediedayear later in prison. In 1971General Lin Biao’s planewas shot down,reportedlyasLinwastryingtodefecttotheSovietUnion.Immediatelyfollowing, a “Criticize Lin Biao/Criticize Confucius” mass propagandacampaignbegan inwhichPartyorgansmademuchofa1969decisionbyLinandhiswifetohangtwocalligraphyscrollsintheirbedroomthatquoted theAnalects maxim: “Of all things, this is themost important:Conquerthyselfandrestoretherites.”Allcounterrevolutionaryactivitieswere deemed desperate acts “made in imitation of Confucius.” BySeptember 1973, Jiang Qing, her Gang of Four, and working-classactivists made Confucius and the Kong family bywords for the worstexcesses of the reactionary slave-holding class. The “subtle words”

(weiyan) saidtobe inserted intothe“Confucian”Classicswerenothingmore than cheap rhetoric exploited to provide cover for Confucius’sbackward-looking anti-egalitarianism. Even Confucius’s pedagogicalapproach deserved condemnation for “chaining the minds of manypeople” and “hampering the in-depth development of the proletarianeducationalrevolution.”WithMao’sdeathin1976andtheascendancyofDengXiaopinginthe

early 1980s, orchestrated attacks on Confucius gradually died down.11Ironically,theverybellicosityofJiangQing’santi-ConfucianharangueslentConfucianismacertaincachetwithmanyinDeng’sinnercirclewhohad been tarred as “rightist” and “Confucianist” during the CulturalRevolution. Assertions that Confucianism had lulled the masses intoacceptingstabilityseemedample“proof”ofConfucianism’spotentialtotemperthedangerouspoliticalandeconomicextremismassociatedwithMao, his wife, and her henchmen. In the minds of Mao loyalists andcritics alike, then, Confucianism—by any definition—came to seemquintessentially“traditional”and“Chinese.”DenghimselfcouldseefewifanyobviousdisadvantagesinaConfucianrevival,solongasitdidnotimpedetheprivilegedaccessenjoyedbythoseinDeng’s innercircletothe fruits that globalization could offer.After all, such a revival couldprovidesafegroundonwhich“deculturalized”ChineseinthePRCcouldmeettheirChinesecompatriotsinthediaspora,sincebothsidesequallywelcomed the idea of a unique sociopolitical creation of Chineseintellectuals becoming a universally admired ideology propagatedthroughout the world. Thus Deng’s reintroduction of state-sponsoredConfucianism—thefirstmajorreversalofpolicydirectedatKongzisincethe early Republican era—became part and parcel of Deng’s well-coordinated “greater China” discourse. Deng’s “socialismwith Chinesecharacteristics” portrayed Confucianism as an indigenous alternativesuperior to the Protestant ethic that would inoculate true believersagainst“spiritualpollution”importedfromtheWest.Olderintellectuals,inparticular,lookedtoaConfucianrevivaltosafeguardthemfromtheperceived ills ofpostmodern life accompanyingChina’s latest “openingto theWest” (e.g., irrationality,nihilism, self-centeredness,hyperactivelibidos, absurdity, and gross consumerism). Thrift, education, and self-sacrifice—what could be wrong with these age-old prescriptions? A

revival would at the very least provide intellectuals with psychiccompensation for the abrupt loss ofMao’s “iron rice bowl” guaranteesforeducation,work,health,andretirement.RespectableChinesecouldatleastsavorthegloriesofChinesecivilization.ButwithConfuciusdeemedthepragmatic“solution”forsuchawidearray of modern ills, would-be salesmen pitched a profusion ofConfuciuses in the marketplace of ideas. One prominent “NewConfucian,”ZhengJiadong,amemberoftheChineseAcademyofSocialSciences,triedtoseethebigpicturein1995:

Against thebroadcanvasof saving thenation fromextinction…ithasbeenperhapsevenmore important to carry on the flame of national culture than to address the question ofwheretheultimatemeaningoflifewastobegrounded.12

Zheng’sstatementishighlysuggestive:apparentlytheNewConfucianrevivalofthe1980sand1990sdidnotgrowoutofaperceivedneedforamore coherent and well-defined cultural identity, let alone a securepresumption of cultural superiority. Rather, educated elites pressed anagenda premised on the Chinese community’s “primordial collectivepersonality of unique origins”13 as prelude to moral regeneration andeventual self-strengthening, promoting a type of “cultural nationalism”wellsuitedtoserveChineseinterestsintheglobalarena.

PART2.THREESNAPSHOTSOFASIATODAY

These three snapshots from Asia illustrate merely a few of the manycontemporary approaches to rethinking the role of institutionalConfucianism(andlesssoKongzi)thathaveprevailedwithinAsianelitecircles since the1990s.As thedominantapproacheshavebeengearedmainly to corporate types, academicelites, and leadingpoliticians, thethreesnapshotstakentogetherconstituteasamplingofmajorfiguresinthemedia, politics, and academia across Asia. There are the so-calledThird and Fourth Wave New Confucians based in the academicstrongholdsofHongKong,Taiwan,SouthKorea,and(increasingly)thePeople’sRepublic,who likewise seek to adaptKongzi’smessage to theintellectualdemandsoftheworldtoday.TherearetwoministersintheSingaporeangovernmentwhoroutinelyinvokethenameofConfuciustosanctionone-partyruleoveramultiethniccommunity.AndthereisYuDan, a popular TV personality and self-styled self-help guru whocheerfullyappropriatestheAnalectsasgristforhermediamill.Although the phrase “creative transformation” is continually on the

lipsofnearlyallself-professedConfucianRevivalistsinAsia,therhetoricof the contemporary Asian “New Confucianists” has paid shockinglylittleattentiontoethical,social,orpoliticalissues.14AstheHongKongscholarZhengZhongyicomplains,theNewConfucianshavebeenoverlypreoccupied insteadwith “intellectual Ru learning”—withmetaphysicsand ontology. In the People’s Republic, for example, two consecutiveFive-Year Plans for the social sciences (1986–1990, 1991–1995)subsidized large cooperative research projects devoted to ostensibly“Confucian”topics,producingthousandsofscholarlybooksandarticlesin the process. Notwithstanding the flurry of activity, the Chineseintelligentsiaorzhishifenzi,withrareexceptions,hasdonelittletotrytostimulate grassroots interest in the values they label glibly as“Confucian.”Advocates of a “return to tradition” (singular) tend to becultural nationalists more interested in preserving the status quo viaidentity politics than in engaging in the sorts of serious and sustainedeffortsthatwouldberequiredtodeviseConfuciannormsandpracticesforthemodernworld.AsYuYing-shih,aprominentAmericanacademic,hasputit,

Thesortofpracticedskillortechniquethatatrue“Confucian”(rujia)concernshimselfwithis putting into practice what he stands for.What is being developed right now [in NewConfuciancircles]isnothingmorethanaskillforclevertalking….Mereclevertalkcannot“summonthesoul”[i.e.,recapturetheoldspirit].Tosummonthesoulrequires individualpractice.15

The sacred character ascribed to classical learningperhaps ceases toexist as soon as classical learning becomes an object for scholarlyanalysisandcriticism,ratherthanaguidefordailyspiritualpraxis.Soitis fair to ask the following questions: Can the academic study of lateimperial Confucian ideology or theology ever really spawn a massmovement with the potential to shape China’s entry into the globalmarketplace of ideas and goods? Howmuch can a national or globalmovement rely upon a rarefied moral idealism composed of “soulfulexchanges” and “intellectual dialogue” among academics of similarpersuasions?16 What are we to make of the pious references to the“enduringChinesespirit”orto“humaneness,rightness,ritualpropriety,wisdom, good faith, doing one’s best for others”? Is there anythingspecificallyChineseorConfucianinthislistofvirtues?AndwhyhasthecurrentscholarlypreoccupationwiththeroleofConfucianisminChinesehistorynot spurredmajor revisions to the standardportraits ofKongzithatdrawuponthedisparaterolesattributedtohimthroughtheages?As one Western expert sniffs, the New Confucians have given a“perfunctorygenuflection”to“vague,contextlesscosmologicalnotions”(e.g., harmony; the unity of Heaven and humans), plus a nod towardsome “traditional virtues” deemed “central to the Chinese culturaltradition”(usuallyobedienceandfilialduty),butthis“hardlyaddsuptoa compelling vision for the rapidly evolving future.”17 Onemay pressfurthertoaskwhyelitesinChina,Taiwan,SouthKorea,andHongKonghaveeachchosentoassertproprietaryclaimsovertheone“true”lineoftransmissionfortheDaotong,orConfucianWay, in the faceofbroadertrends—international investments, academicconferences, flowsof legalvisitors,andtrafficinworkers(someofit illegal)—thathavetendedtoreducecross-straitstensions.

Snapshot1.“NewConfucians”andtheNeoConsinTaiwanandHongKong

Modernists and postmodernists alike identify interconnectedness as themostseminalfeatureofthelastcentury,thankstosuchinventionsasthetelegraph,thefaxmachine,theInternet,thesatellitebroadcast,andthecell phone. Of course, the ongoing circulation of ideas, peoples, andthingshasbeena featureofhuman life since time immemorial, as themanySilkRoadsattest.Butduringthefirsthalfofthetwentiethcentury,thinkers promoting a Confucian revival left the mainland for Taiwan,HongKong,andtheUnitedStates,wheretheytrainednewgenerationsofintellectualsinthefineartofsplicingWesterncultureontoConfuciantraditions.Inthemid–twentiethcentury,membersoftheso-calledThirdWaveConfucianmovementknew that they, as the chiefproponentsofKongziinthemodernworld,wouldhavetoassistthecauseofWesternscienceanddemocracyinAsia,ifanyformofConfucianteachingwastosurvive.18Theyalsobelieved thatpolitical equalitywasasvital to thefull realization of Kongzi’s virtue of “humaneness” in the twentiethcentury as self-abnegation and moral purity had been in earlier eras.Equalitywasnotsuchabigstretchafterall,sinceKongzi’sMiddleWayinvestedexemplaryfigureswithapowerfulcharismathatstemmednotfrom hereditary privilege but from a combination of learning andhumaneaction.The most impressive of these Third Wave New Confucians, thehistorianHsuFu-kuan(XuFuguan,1903–82)andthestatesmanCarsunChang (1887–1969), were strong voices calling for full equality inpolitics, law, and society, despite the repressive conditions in Asiaduring World War II and the cold war. Angry at Chiang Kai-shek’ssuspensionof theChinese constitutionbefore and after 1949,Hsu andChang, in defiance ofmartial law, continually agitated for the greaterseparation of governmental powers, for greater freedom of expressionandassembly,andforotherindividualhumanrights.Chang,oneoftheauthorsoftheUNUniversalDeclarationofHumanRights,sawtoitthatArticles 22–27, devoted to social, economic, and cultural rights, wereincludedinthefinalDeclaration.Hsu,aprominentacademicinTaiwan,producedmassivecompilationsonthehistoryofearlythoughtinChina(some fiftyworks in all), each acquainting readers ofmodern Chinesewith the relative strengths and, yes, weaknesses of their traditions.Outside academic circles, Hsu and Chang are mainly remembered for

their courageousdecision topublish “AManifesto for aReappraisal ofSinology”(1958),aplanforaConfucianrevivalinAsiathatremainsatouchstoneforsomeConfuciansinTaiwanandHongKongtothisday.Meanwhile, the more conservative among their New Confucian

contemporaries (the neoCons),19 alongwith their successors in today’sFourth Wave, have consistently sought to restore the old powerstructuresthroughaneotraditionalideologyshotthroughwithreligiousinflections, in the belief that only this sort of powerful ideology cansimultaneouslyensuresocialstability,cureChina’sills,andco-optusefulWestern techniques, soas topave theway forChinesecommunities tostride confidently into an uncertain future. For the neoCons, thepatriarchal family remains the basic unit for moral education. TheDoctrineofMindandNature,firstreadintotheConstantMeanandtheMenciusbytheChengbrothersandZhuXiandlaterelaboratedbyWangYangming (1472–1529), explains the process whereby these moralpatterns generated within the family can and do multiply themselvesthroughout societyand thecosmos.According to thatdoctrine,nature,mind, and Heaven are manifestations of the same unitary Principle,whichfindssupremeexpressionincosmicharmony,personalpurity,andsocialunity.Inhumans,thedesiredstateof“integrity”and“wholeness”(bothsignifiedbycheng )isattainableonlyviaasettledmind(jing )that is bothaprecondition for anda final realizationof thenuminous(ling )andgodlike(shen )natureendowedbyHeaven.TheneoCons’corollary to theDoctrineofMindandNatureposits a “transmissionofthe Way” (Daotong) that relies less on historical institutions orphilosophical proofs than on the intuitions, even mystical revelations,grantedachosenfew“ScholarsPoisedbetweenHeavenandEarth.”TheneoCons’portraitofthe“authentic”moralself20whose“solitarymind”operates amidst loneliness and isolation owes much to Weber’sProtestantEthictheory,inwhichthesuccessfulmercantilespiritreflectsan inward-looking,agonizingdrive formoralpurity.Perhaps thisgivesthe neo-Con spokesmen (there are no spokeswomen as yet) theconfidencethatthisrarefiedinteriorconditionoftheselectfewcanyetserveasthesinglemostwidelyacceptedmarkerofChineseidentity,thebasis of a national ideology, and a major force in global economicprogress.

Adopting a sectarian model more typical of Catholic-Protestantdisputes than of imperial Chinese traditions, the neoCons adamantlydenyDaoismandBuddhismany role in shaping “mainstream”culturalexpressions in Chinese culture. The neoCons nonetheless have beenforced to address Enlightenment and post-Enlightenment notions ofpersonalautonomyand liberty, ifonly toexpose their limitations.Lessdoctrinaire than their predecessors—or at least less anti-Communist,sincethePRCisaforcetobecozened,ifpossible—theThirdandFourthWaveneoConsfreelyciteMarxandKantandFreudinorderto“setupadialogue” between Confucianism, Christianity, Marxism, and Freudiananalysis. Since the result tends to be unwieldy abstractions thatreferenceseveraltraditionssimultaneously,thesewould-bedefendersofAsian values and Confucian learning are in danger of leaving hardlyanythinginplacethatisgenuinelyConfucianorChinese.Theirsubtextismoreeasilyunderstandable:anAsianculturalpridethatresistssloppyequationsofmodernizationandWesternization:

Todaywehave left behind thedaysof theMayFourthMovement (1919–25, in the earlyRepublicanera).WenolongerapproveoftalkingabouttotalWesternization.Whatwewantis to harmonize traditional and contemporary values, to accomplish the modernizationprocess,inordertoadvancetowardthepostmodernnewworld.21

Inotherwords,onlythepursuitofConfucianethicalurgescanevertrulysatisfyChinesepeopleexperiencinglate-stageconsumercapitalism.Doubtless, the most important philosopher providing inspiration tothisneoconservativebranchoftheThirdWavewasMouZongsan(1909–94),whotried todevisearigorously logicaldefenseofKongziandthe“moral conscience” by engaging with—critics call it “rummagingthrough”—modern Western philosophy, from Descartes to Kant toWhitehead, plus Tiantai Buddhism.Mou beganwith the same premisethat informs all of Zhu Xi’swritings: that afterMencius nearly all theConfucians substantially misconceived the “true” transmission of theWay,whichaccountsfortheirfailuretoproduceperfectedteachings.Atthe same time, Mou faulted Zhu Xi for a formal rationalism and anemphasis upon intelligible cosmic principles that Mou deemed too“intellectualistic”andalientotheemotions.InMou’sconstructionofthe“praxisofmoralintuition,”truesagesdefinecorrectvaluesthroughthe

propagationandstrengtheningoffourHeavenly22patterns:Tianmingorthe Mandate of Heaven; humane acts within society; the xin (theheart, creditedwith intellectual and emotional capacities); and humannature, most specifically, inborn inclinations to do good. To fullyapprehendthefundamentalpatternsinherentinthesepreordainedmoralorders,Mouargued,theheartsandmindsofgoodpersonsmustoperateon two levels simultaneously: at the level of a penetrating moralawarenessandatthelevelofeverydayconsciousnessoftheexperientialworld.Therequisiteknowledgeofthisexperientialworldistobegainedthrough the studyof science andof human cultures, past andpresent;theuseofritualasaprofoundtoolforcommunication;learninghowtodirecttheqi,orconfiguredenergy;andstrivingforthehighestgoodinevery situation. ThusMou’s teachings urge his students to “explore tothe utmost the wisdom of the ancients” while sharply reducing theburden of the pastwhen it interfereswith efficient functioning in themodernworld.Increasingly, the neoCons in the Third and Fourth Waves have

portrayed themselvesasa fearlessvanguardspearheading internationalethicalprojects,firstandforemostintheEastAsiancountriesthatoncelooked to China for models and institutions, but secondarily in anycountries open to the Chinese diaspora (i.e., anywhere in the world).Since most neoCons contend that an authentic embrace of Confuciusmustbegrounded inreverence foracontinuous traditionpasseddownthrough small groups of highly trained intellectuals, someviewsofYuYing-shih, recent recipient of a million-dollar prize from the KlugeCenter at the Library of Congress, have found particular favor to thedegree that Yu, a highly respected historian, blurs the distinctionsbetweenpre-modernandmodernChineseformsoflearningandpraxis:

AsmuchasIwouldliketodistinguishtheshi(“scholar-official”ofimperialChina)fromthezhishifenzi(modern“intellectual”),Imustpointoutthatspirituallythelatterhascontinuedmuchofwhathadbeencultivatedbytheformer.Forexample,theideathattheintellectualmust always be identified with public-mindedness is not a cultural borrowing from themodernWest,butfromConfucianheritagetraceableultimatelytothesagehimself.23

Though Yu, to do him justice, quite often emphasizesjian/remonstranceoverzhong/loyalty,suchstatementsencouragemore

conservative intellectuals rooted in and rooting for backward-lookingpoliticstomaintaintheirsenseoftime-hallowedlegitimateprivilege.Lately the ranks of the Third and Fourth Wave neoCons have

witnessedacrimoniousdisputesoverwhoisworthyofinclusionintheirselect group. A leading concern of researchers throughout Asia hasalwaysbeentoclarifywhodoesanddoesnotqualifyfortheprestigioustitle of “New Confucian,” given Asia’s tumultuous political historyduring the last century. After all, for hundreds of years, moralists inimperial China busied themselves with the task of constructinggenealogies of the Way (see Suggested Readings).24 Such an intensecompetition for “proprietary rights” over the New Confucian identityreflects the urge to exert an interpretive monopoly (jieshiquan )over Confucian discourse in the twenty-first century. While “heretics”like Jiang Guobao (Suzhou University) blame Mou Zongsan and hisdisciplesforaninfatuationwith“scholasticrationality”and“theoreticalsystems”thathavecontributedmoretothedemiseofRuLearningthantoitsreinvigoration,mostoutlinesofsagelytransmissionschooseoneofthefollowingdefinitionsfortheNewConfucians:

1. the disciples of Mou Zongsan and Tang Junyi (i.e., agenealogicallinethatgenerallyomitsliberaldemocratsevenasitexaltsvisionsofunendinghumanecreativity),

2. theadherentsofWangYangming, theMingthinkerandcriticofZhuXi,or,moreinclusively,

3. any persons who “strive for a renaissance of Confucianism,”“believe that Confucianism is the ‘core belief’ and ‘dominantforce’underlyingallofChineseculture,”andaccept theneedto “absorb and amalgamate Western philosophies, so as tobringaboutthemodernizationofConfucianism.”25

The more elitist of the neoCons evidently do not believe that allpeoples—orevenallChinese—have inherited fromConfucius the samepatrimony, since the transmission of a Confucian way of life wasinterrupted for decades in the People’s Republic (by Maoism), inSingapore(byBritishcolonialism),andinotherareas(byotherfactors).Views of the Chinese past and of modern China will continue to

evolve, if they do not founder once again on two self-congratulatorymyths that have been pushed aggressively in China and in theUnitedStates for a century or so: the Chinesemyth of a unitary and unique“Han[majority]identity”withremarkablepowersofethnicassimilation,and the American myth of the Western origins of Enlightenment,modernity, and modernization, which makes these three phenomenairretrievably“foreign”toChina.AsrecentSinologicalworkhasshown,thewordsnowused to convey “Han identity”werenotmuch in favorbefore the (foreign) Liang dynasty in the sixth century CE, when thesamewordsdidnotconnotetoday’sbeliefinasuperiorChineseculturethat absorbs the inferior cultures of its neighbors. (TheHanpowers ofassimilation were first systematically touted by Republican-eraintellectuals intent upon justifying their anti-Manchu revolution anddefendingtheircultureagainstdiffusionisttheoriesclaimingthatmajorfeaturesofChinesecivilizationcamefromoutsideitsborders.)Researchinto Western history and Chinese science demonstrates that thepresumed pillars of Enlightenment tradition—science and equalitybeforethelaw—arenotsomuchWesternasmoderninorigin,giventhatthey can be found nowhere in their present forms before the lateeighteenthcentury.Furthermore,importantfeaturesofmodernlifehavereliedheavilyonaseriesofChineseinventions,includingmassprinting,sail-riggingtechniques,thecompass,paper,andruddersforoceangoingvessels.Whyhavethesetwomythsproventobesopowerful,eveninthefaceof repeated academic studies proving them false?Quite possibly someideas are just toobad to die. But one recognizable pattern throughouthuman history is that myths of autochthony (i.e., miraculous self-generation) usually exert maximum pull on human societies when agiven population fears the wholesale importation of new ideas andinstitutions into areas of life that it prefers to take for granted. Thispatterndoesnotaugurwellforanincreasinglyglobalizedfuturetossedthiswayandthatbyinventedtraditions.

Snapshot2.MinisteringtotheMajority:One-PartyRuleinSingapore,underDeputyPrimeMinisterGohKengSwee(1968–86)andPrimeMinisterGohChongTong(November1990–August2004)26

Lee Kuan Yew (b. 1923), the grand old man of Singaporean politics,reckons that his city-state is situated “at the confluence of three greatcivilizations fromAsia, the Confucianist, the Hindu, and theMuslim.”ThatassertionprovidedtheostensiblerationaleforSingapore’sdecisioninthemid-1980stoestablishanInstituteofEastAsianPhilosophies,tospearheadeffortstoreintroducethestudyofConfucianismtoAsiawhileresearching its potential to promote social harmony within pluralisticcommunities of diverse ethnic identities. In reality, Lee fashionedSingapore as abastionof “Asianvalues”becausehehoped to kill twobirdswithonestone:Asianvalues,ifcraftedwithsufficientcare,couldprovide a sound ideological justification for the “soft authoritarian”policies mandated by Singapore’s ruling party, while supplying aplausible way to edge closer to Deng’s China after the United States,Singapore’sstaunchestallyduringtheVietnamWar(1954–75),abruptlylost interest in Southeast Asia. (Recent PAP party platforms explicitlylinkSingapore’seconomicfuturetothe“transformationofcontemporaryChina’s economic institutions” under the direction of the ChineseCommunist Party.) So, in 1991, the Singaporean government, underLee’s direction, produced a government position paper devoted to thetopic of “Shared Values,” code words for Lee’s frontal attack onindividualism and “permissiveness.” This white paper broadly definedthe “Confucian heritage” in terms of four attitudes that supposedlyunderpinnedallEastAsiancultures:(1)awillingnesstoplacenationandsociety above self, and a willingness to embrace the “transcendentwhole”—the state sanctioned by the cosmic order—over thecountervailing draw of the individual and the nuclear family; (2) anallied belief that the family rather than the individual constitutes thebasic building block of society; (3) a decided preference for conflictresolution throughconsensus-building;and (4)anemphasis—consciousand unconscious—on harmony and “blending” (i.e., conformity) asopposed to individuality and legal rights. To this list of four sharedvalues,afifthwassoonadded:dedicationtoa“Confucian”workethicinpursuit of national economic progress.27 As Mark Hong, Singapore’sformerambassadortoRussiaandtheUkraine,phraseditwhentalkingtothedomesticmedia,

The challenge is tomodernizewhile remainingAsian….We fear that ourpopulations [in

Singapore]maybegintobelievethattheexistingpatternsoffamiliesindevelopedsocieties[with their high rates of divorce, mental illness, and crime] represent the wave of thefuture….AnewDarwiniancontestforthebestsocialvaluesandpracticeshasalreadybegun[intheglobalarena].28

WithSingaporetakingthelead,agroupofAsianleadershastenedtoadopt similar language while preparing to resist “any attempts to usehuman rights as a condition…for extending development assistance.”(TheBangkokDeclarationof1993formallydenouncedsuchattemptsonbehalf of forty-plus Asian and Pacific states.) For these Asian states,political stability is the sine qua non for economic growth, nationalpride, and the future health of the body politic; the introduction of“Western science and technology” is welcome so long as it does notinterferewiththeongoing“valuesconversation.”Howhad theSingaporean leaders forgedsucha strong identification

between traditional Asian values and conservative policies so quicklyand effectively? After all, Singapore never hid the fact that it hadescapedwhatearliergenerationsperceivedas“corrupt”andcorruptingConfucianinfluencesduringitslongcolonialperiod(1867–1942)undertheBritish.AsSingapore’sDirectorofCurriculumDevelopmentInstituteconfessed,SingaporeanshadlittlerealfamiliaritywithConfucianethics.Yet Singapore knew how to turn this potential disadvantage to itsadvantage:becauseSingaporewasavirtualtabularasabeholdenneitherto Taiwan nor to the PRC, Singapore boasted that it was the optimalenvironmentforthecreationofanewmultiracial“ConfucianThirdWayexperiment”thatwouldbecapableofbrokeringcompromisesacceptabletoalltheregionalpowers.Adoptingabusinessmodel,Singaporeinvitedoutside consultants to “drawup a conceptual framework” for teachingConfucianismasanewacademic subject.Themost influentialof theseoverseas experts, Professor TuWei-ming (Harvard University) and sixotherself-identified“Confucian”scholarsfromtheUnitedStates(allbutone a Chinese-American), concurred with Lee’s vision. They furtherargued that a prudent selection of “Confucian” values from the pre-moderneracouldeasilybeaccommodatedwithinarapidlymodernizingsociety. Ignoring the profound religious dimensions of the Confuciuscult, underscored since Kang Yuwei’s Reforms in 1898, Minister GohKeng Swee proclaimed that Confucian ethics had always been

“completelysecular,”andhencecouldserveasanidealtypeof“culturalballast against the less desirable aspects of Western culture.”29 Gohblandly continued, “Now, that is the sort of ethic we should teach inSingapore. It is up to the scholars to find it somewhere in Confucianliterature.”Despite all the hoopla surrounding the development of those

“Religious Knowledge” courses, in which “Confucian ethics” featuredprominently, Singapore decided to quietly phase out the courses afteronly a few years. As Lee KwanYewnoted in a 1994 speech, the newReligiousKnowledgecurriculum,contrarytoexpectations,threatenedtodestroythedelicatebalanceofpowerinmultiethnicandmultireligiousSingapore. Evidently all that media attention had contributed to anupsurgeofinterestinthemoreorganizedbutless“Chinese”religionsofBuddhism, Islam, and Christianity. And the very existence of theConfucianEthicsoptionenragedleadingcriticsofthegovernment,whosawtheoptionasyetanotherconcertedattemptbythePAPtoreinforceauthoritarianruleoverSingapore.Nomatter.By1997theSingaporeanministers stated that “Confucius had already taken up permanentresidence in Singapore.” The second Goh-in-high-office confirmed hisdetermination to “pragmatically adopt only those aspects ofConfucianism which were relevant to Singapore.” “If necessary,” Gohsaid,he“wouldturnConfuciusonhisheadtomakehimappropriateforSingapore.”SincethelegendaryfigureofConfuciushadlongbeenthought,under

Lee’s tutelage, “the most enduring, broadest, and uncontroversialrepresentation of Chinese culture” available to the Singaporean statepropagandists, it was not long before other “Confucian” activitiessupplanted the Confucian ethics course in the hearts of localbureaucrats. A national Filial Piety holidaywas duly instituted, and anew“lifeskills”curriculumthathighlightedintensive“familyetiquette”courses was organized around “Confucius’ Hometown Cultural Tours.”The Ministry of Education also offered to sponsor the “professionaldevelopment”ofcitizensofChineseoriginsolongastheydemonstratedawillingnesstoparticipateinthe“propagationofChineseculture.”Onthe campus of Nanyang Technological University (NTU), a newConfucius Institute sprang up, with the explicit mission of “branding”

Confucius’s name and story. According to the institute’s literature, thesupposed benefits to be derived from the Primary One EnrichmentCourseincludetheinculcationof“importantvalues,suchasfilialpietyandrespectforelders,”alongwithlearninga“fun”waytoabsorbbasicinformation and business strategies while “managing human capital.”The purely instrumental resurrection of “traditional values” to fostereconomicgrowthandpoliticalstabilitymeantthatquotations fromtheAnalects jostle against lines from Sunzi’s Art ofWar in the institute’stextbooks. As the cynics have observed, a stock version of “Confucianpaternalism”nowpropsupthePAP’sjoint“disciplinarianandcustodialroles”inmaintainingitsChinesemajority.30

Singapore’srulingpartyaspirestore-createtheidealoflateimperialChina, whereby a Confucian male elite educates the family in ritual,directsscholarshipthrougheducation,andcontrolsaccesstostatepowerthroughameritocraticcivilserviceexamination.Butabackward-looking“creative transformation” of Confucian values runs counter to thoseConfucian teachings that encourage those with access to power tomaintainanindependent(andoccasionallycritical)voiceinpoliticsandsociety.KongziintheAnalectsdespisedthe“villagegoody-goodies”whomade conformity to local mores the supreme value in their lives.31Besides, it isnotaltogetherclear that invented“Confucian”ritualswillprovepopularenoughinacity-statelikeSingapore,wheretheextendedfamilyisananomalyandtheWebrules.Onlytimewilltell.

Snapshot3.YuDan,thePRC’sSelf-HelpQueen

YuDan, China’s home-grownOprah,manages her own book club andpublishingindustry,thanksinlargeparttoherroleashostessofLectureRoom,apopularafternoonTVtalkshowbroadcast inMandarinonthestate-run Channel 10. Once a university teacher in Media Studies inBeijing,theirrepressiblyperkyYuDan,attheageofforty-one,leftthechorusoftalkingheadstobecomeavirtualpopstaraftershedevoted,in2006, an entire series of programs to the teachings of the ConfucianAnalects.YuDan’s fansaccepther as adevout “defenderof traditionalculture” and a significant “force for harmony”within Chinese society.Certainly the TV series proved to be such a hit that it spawned a

bestseller,YuDan’sTheAnalects:Insights,whichsoldthreemillioncopiesinitsfirstfourmonthsofpublicationinChina—beforeYuDanlaunchedarecord-breakingtourofTaiwaninApril2007.(SomebureaucraticunitsofthePeople’sRepublicreportedlypurchasedhundredsofthousandsofcopies,sendingthemtoschoolsandprisonsforuseinpoliticaltrainingandreeducation.)YuDan’s vision battens upon nativist impulses positing a particular

“Chinese people’s view of history” as well as a “singular and unique”culturaltrajectory.ButpresumablyYuDan’shordesoffansalsoshareacommon perception with those teachers and guards regarding CCPpoliciesunderDengandhissuccessors:thosepoliciesleftamajorityofChina’s1.3billionpeoplewithmoredisposableincomethanunderMao,butwithoutaclearmoralcompass.32

ThecondescendingpremiseofYuDan’sTVshowandherbestsellerismuch thesame: since“Kongzi iswhat themassesneed,” the“colorlesspedant”oftheChineseimaginationcanandwillbejazzeduptoinducegreatermass consumption. The genius of YuDan’s enterprisewas thisfreshrebrandingandmultimediamarketingofafamiliarnamethathadalreadybecomemoreorlessemptiedofactualcontent.Tothisend,YuDan’s Confucius becomes a dynamic go-getting pragmatist in the JohnDewey mold (building on Dewey’s current vogue in China)—exceptwhen he’s being morphed into a dreamy recluse in the style of TaoYuanming (365–427) or a Zhuangzi-clonewho regards theworldwithcooldetachment.Ingeneral,YuDan’sConfuciusavoidsconflict,reduceshisdependenceuponothers,and“tendshisowngarden”(paceVoltaire).UniqueamongthemanyConfuciusesonofferinthemodernworld,YuDan’sKongzicomesperilouslyclosetomakingtheSageaneeriedoublefor Chauncy Gardiner, the vacuous cipher at the center of the PeterSellersmovieBeingThere.Confucius,YuDanseemstothink(contrarytoall early traditions), got ahead in the fame game throughhis enviablepliabilityandhiswillingnesstokowtowtothoseinpower.Celebrity and wealth are easily mistaken for shrewdness and

profundity. Yu Dan’s detractors—and they are legion in the PRC,especially in academic circles—accuse her of seriously distorting theoriginalteachingsofConfucius,althoughtheyconcedewithasneerthatmostofhererrorsmaybeunintentional.Afterall,herreading level in

classical Chinese is so inadequate that she regularly mistranslates thephrase “pettyperson”as “littleperson”or “child.”AsConfucius, innofewer than twenty-four Analects passages, reserved his disdain for“petty” adults of weak morality in high positions at court, Yu Dan’s“insights” are as likely to mislead as to illuminate. Critics blame YuDan’s avidity formonetary gain for leading her to “amuse themasseswithidiocyallday.”Shestrikesthemasmoreofacrasshawkerofcheapsecond-rategoodsthanastheversatileandaccomplishedacademicshepretends to be. The harshest of her critics in the PRC compare herunfavorablytothe“scholar-officials fromthefeudalsociety”whoweresimplydeterminedtouphold“thevestigesoftheoldsociety.”Ofcourse,Yu Dan may well be laughing all the way to the bank. What isunfortunate is that the controversies over her book provide additionalopportunities for the uninformed to recycle old slanders against theSage.Totakebutoneexample,YuDanrepeatstheoldcanard,advancedfor the first time during the Ming dynasty (1366–1468), that Kongzi“famously considered a good woman to be an illiterate woman.” Nomatter that no credibly early tradition has Confucius weighing in ongenderissuesatall—notsurprising,giventhathelivedinanaristocraticagewhenbirthtrumpedgender.YuDan’s“insights”frequentlyappeartocontradictoneanother.(Her

preface intends to forestall potential objections with a comment thatConfuciushimselfwasnotmuchgoodatlogicanyway.)The2006PRCannual state report speaks of 87,000 violent incidents involving onehundredpeopleormore.YuDannonethelessinsiststhatthe“harmony”advocatedintheAnalectscanalreadybe found in today’sblessedPRC,where people “exercise tolerance of others” and ethnic groups “blendtogether,”33 giving due deference to the latest CCP injunctions againstethnic and class tensions. In the same breath, however, Yu Danproclaims that the material improvements of the post-Mao erademonstratethewisdomofallowing“differentvoicesanddifferencesofopinion” to contend. The consequent social dislocation, she predicts,cannot really last for very long, given the political and biologicalperfectionsthathappilycometogetherinthepersonsofPRCcitizens.AsYuDan’sConfucius reminds theChinesepeople, a thoughtful citizenrywith“settledhearts”makesforamoresecuresocietythateventuallywill

achievethegreatestgoodforthegreatestnumber.YuDanmakesKongziinto a marvelous birthright, if you’re biologically Chinese and luckyenoughtoberesidinginthePeople’sRepublicofChina.CitingPRCpollsthat claim the Chinese are happier than EuroAmericans—polls thatcontradict other polls conducted elsewhere—Yu Dan believes that theSage wanted the Chinese people to learn how to “make friends andinfluencepeople,”whileshieldingthemselvesfromtheworstexcessesofcapitalism. (Apparently, Yu Dan has been too busy to visit shoppingmalls in today’s China.) In Yu Dan’s parallel universe, China is vastlysuperior to theWest, forChinaalonerecognizes thepowerofmoralityandcivility, engages in the search tobalancecreativitywithharmony,andmaintainsanenviable“onenesswithHeaven”orthecosmicorder—andall thisdespitenear-lethal levelsofair,water,andnoisepollution.Still, it is not enough for the Chinese to hearken to the Analects’injunctions; they should buy her book, if they mean to be happy,orderly,andcontentto“stayintheirplaces”!EvenKongzibenefitsfromthis latter-day interpreter who has helped him “adjust” his ethicalprescriptionstoanewage.Whatislostandwhatisgainedinallthis?YuDanreadstheAnalects’emphasisonpracticalwisdom(learningtoreliablyactinhumaneways)as references to“talent,”whichYuDanequateswith theability togetahead. Since Yu Dan reads “good learning” as “learning that guidesthoughts” so that they are “in compliance with [present-day] societalneeds,” she blithely ignores the connection that Kongzimade betweenself-improvementandseriousstudyofthepast.Evenmorestunning,YuDan’sworkoffersnaryahintthatroughlyathirdoftheAnalectsdealswith social justice and economic redistribution. In the end, Yu DandeemsConfuciustobeextraordinarysolelybecauseofthestrengthofhiscommitments.Sheseemstothinkitmattersverylittlewhattheobjectsofthose commitments were, nor does she fathom the subtle role thosecommitments play in shaping a person’s character and fate. Typically,greatteacherspromotearadicallynewsetofintuitionsabouttheworldand its operations, and it is up to their followers to explain away themostunconventionalaspectsof theirmasters’often inchoatevisions inordertorenderthemmorepalatabletotheordinarypublic.Inonesense,however,Kongzimayhavemethisbestdiscipleyet inYuDan, forYu

tellsusthatnosacrificesarerequiredifwewouldmakeourselvesintohappier,moreproductive,andmoremindlesshumanbeings.Understandably,responsestoYuDanrunthegamutfromadulationtoexcoriation. A popular website devoted to her in China recorded thefollowingblogsontwodays,May8–9,2007:

ItissogreatthatsomeonetalkingaboutKongzi’steachingshasbecomefamous.ItisasignthatChinawillbeagreatnation.IfonlyamanweretocometolectureaboutLunyu(justastheladydid),itwouldbeperfect!

Includemeamongthosewhoareoutraged—OUTRAGED—bythisbook.Tothosewhoask“What’stheharm?”sinceoneEasternHanbookcompiledbymembersoftheKongFamilyurged people to “recite the Classics to help oneself” ( ),” we might reply:“Becauseitmissesthepoint.”

As John Dewey once observed, “Apparent contradictions alwaysdemand attention.” Up to now, nearly all the players dominating theAsian scene have accepted the inevitability of particular patterns ofpolitical,economic,andculturaldevelopmentintroducedtoAsiabytheWesternpowersandWesternmissionaries,evenwhilecastingChinaastherisingstarofthetwenty-firstcentury.China’sunprecedentedleaptoglobal influence since the 1990s means that some Yanks have finallydecided to takeConfuciusas seriouslyas theEuropeans (especially theFrench) take the eighteenth-century philosophes. But lest those in theUnited States absolve themselves of parading their own brands ofincongruity, this chapter turns to examine Sino-American relations inrecenttimes.

PART3.AMERICAINTHEMIRROR(1900–1989)

In his provocative 1993 essay, Milan Kundera characterized thementalityof“smallnations”bymeasuringthe“intensityoftheirculturallife”andtheirprofoundly“humanscale,”whilenotingthatthetight-knitcultures builtwithin small nations tend to feel confining: “Within thatwarm intimacy, each envies each, everyone watches everyone.”Kundera’s thesis sounds plausible, and students of Chinese history canquicklyrelatehisthesistothelifeofKongziinhissmallhomestateofLu,whereenvyandfearsupposedlypreventedanyofthegoverningelitefrommakinguseofKongziorhis teachings.ButoneobviousobjectionmayberaisedtoKundera’sobservation: theUnitedStatesandChina—amongtheverybiggestofthecontinentalpowers—havebeenwatchingeachotherwiththatsamedegreeofobsessivenesssincethedawnofthetwentiethcentury.This phenomenon was first explored in Harold Isaacs’s now classic

work,Scratches on OurMinds (1958; revised in 1980), which charts aseriesofcrazedreversalsinAmericanimagesofChina,bywhicherasofprofoundadmiration forChina alternatewith eras of extreme loathingandcontempt.InthechartAmericanPerceptionoftheChinese,IfollowIsaacs’sleadincharacterizingAmericanattitudestowardeventsinChinaintermsofstarkdespotismorsunnysocialharmony,implyingthatsuchcontradictionshavecontributedtopoliticalinstabilitywithinbothChinaandtheUnitedStatesat leastasoftenastheyhaveprovokedreasonedresponses. A perceived capacity to “understand China” relies on thecoherence of the stories told about it by “authoritative sources.”Unfortunately,studyafterstudydocumentstheignoranceandprejudicewithingovernmentcircles intheUnitedStatesthathaveinspiredthesepopularimages.34Formorethan150years,Isaacsnotes,Sino-Americanrelations have been “heavilymarked” by the continuing impact of theAmerican missionary enterprise in China.35 The warring moralizingstereotypes derive, in no small part, from self-righteous sentimentalimperialistsonbothsidesofthePacificclaimingGod,history,orempireon their side. Remember, from1949 to 1971 (officially) and 1980 (inactuality),nearlyall contactbetweenChinaand theUnitedStateswasabruptly severed, after which the bilateral exchanges swiftly resumed

theiroldpatternofswingingbetweenadulationandexcoriation.LargershiftsintheAmericanpsychehavealsocoloredviewsofChina,theChinese,andConfuciusoverthelasthundredyearsorso.Asaresult,American engagements with China can be divided into eight separateeras—each characterized by different “moods”—eras ending with theAges of Re-enchantment (1980–June 1989, i.e., Tian’anmen) andRevulsion(June4,1989,tothepresent).Notably,theonlythreepointsof continuity within these contradictory portraits of China are theAmerican emphases on the teemingmasses (the “human sea”)makingup the Peoples’ Republic of China; the image of the Chinese ashardworking;36andtheexpectationthatsuchcoolies—“bitter laborers”to the end—invariablywill uphold customs that are anathema to red-blooded,freedom-lovingAmericans.ThenotionthatclashesbetweentheUnited States and China are inevitable has grown evermore insistentsince 1989, the date of the government crackdown on the Chinesedemocracy protestors in Tian’anmen Square. Reports that China’senvironmentaldevastationisonascalesufficienttodamagetheUnitedStates adds fuel to the fire. (While an estimated one-third of thepollution in Los Angeles comes from China, only in 2006 did ChinasurpasstheUnitedStatesinpolluting.)ReportsofsweatshopsinChina,inferior quality control over Chinese exports, and widespread officialcorruptionmerelyunderscoretheperceivednegatives,evenasChinaiswhat Isaacs calls “a central and often even a dominating factor in thehost of decisions forced on the United States by its… place inworldaffairs.”ThinkoftheUnitedStates’roleinreconstructioneffortsinAsiaafterWorldWar II; its struggle fordominanceduring the coldwar; itseagerness to fight proxy wars in Korea and Southeast Asia aimed atweakening communism in general and China in particular. ThenconsidertheencouragementofU.S.investmentinChina,thepeggingofthe Chinese RMB to the American dollar, American dependence oncheap Chinese imports, and the PRC’s $288-billion investment in U.S.governmentbondsthatsubsidizesourexplodingdeficit.Forbetterorforworse,intheUnitedStates,aselsewhere,thefigureof Confucius has come to signify the “timeless essence” of Chineseculture.Putanotherway,Confuciusand“Confucianculture”—howeverill-defined—have come to symbolize China and the Chinese. As one

prize-winning documentary put it, “It was Confucius who through histeachings founded the strict moral orders and political ideology thathave dominated over two thousand years of Chinese life.”37 Thisconflation of “Confucian” and “Chinese”—nevermindwhich period orwhich aspect of Chinese culture—crops up with equal frequency inworks by rabid China-haters and by the vaguely pro-China liberal left(seeSuggestedReadingsattheendofthechapter).Inotherwords,boththe champions and the critics of Chinese culture have resurrected thesame master narrative equating “Chinese” with “Confucian” and“NationalStudies”with“ConfucianLearning,”alongwith theenduring“factoid” that throughout Chinese history the dominant societalrelationships have always been asymmetrical and vertical (ruler tosubject; parent to child; husband towife;male to female), rather thanfriendly or consortial. In particular, the resurgent coldwarriors in thenew millennium consistently conflate China-the-nation, the Chinesepeople, and Chinese culture. China suffers, in their view, from threetremendouslacks:(1)thelackofawell-developedtraditionofequalitybeforethelaw;(2)thelackofequalitywithinandbetweengroups(e.g.,betweenmenandwomen)guaranteedbothbylawandbycustom;and(3)thelackofthatelusivequalityneededtoproduce“good”scienceandart(seethefilmdocumentaryFromMaotoMozart).ThesecoldwarriorsthenconfidentlytraceChina’sperceivedlacksbacktoConfucius’slackofprescienceandhissupposedelitism.Chinaloyalists,bycontrast,areapttocharacterizethequintessentialChinese self as religious or artistic, two qualities that they see assomehow “spiritual.” Generally speaking, defenders of Confucius-and-China plug Kongzi into “the oldest continuous civilization,” whoseinstitutionsandideastheyhopewillhelpprovidesolutionsforthegrab-bagofassortedillsascribedtotheconsumercapitalismof“theWest.”Sothat “looking toward the future” (xiang qian kan) might turn intosomethingmore than“looking tomakemoney”(alsoxiangqiankan inChinese),thedefendersarguethefollowingpoints:

A stronger code of mutual and reciprocal relations (withsuperior and subordinate ideally equally conscious of theirmutual obligations) might serve as a useful corrective foralienationandantisocialbehavior.

A reliance on more extended families and communities, incombination with more holistic views of the cosmos, mightfosterbettercarefortheelderly,theinfirm,andtheyoung,nottomentiontheenvironment.A different and sophisticated notion of human potentialfundamentally unbound to birth, inheritance, or religiousinstitutions or ideas might provide “common ground” formultiethniccommunitiesseekingparity.A revisednotion of “human rights” that foregrounds economicjustice as the key to citizen participation and responsibilitymight give greater voice to the poor and disenfranchisedcurrentlyignoredintheso-calleddemocracies.A greater focus on academic achievement and hardwork, andlesspreoccupationwithpersonality,genius,andcelebrity,mightameliorate the fin-de-siècle impulses of “the culture ofnarcissism.”38

CuriouslylittlehaschangedinAmericanperceptionsofConfuciusandChinafromthetimethirtyyearsagowhenHaroldIsaacsproclaimed:

TheChinese are seen as a superior people and an inferior people; devilishly exasperatingheathensandwonderfullyattractivehumanists;wisesagesandsadisticexecutioners;thriftyand honorable men and sly and devious villains; comic opera soldiers and dangerousfighters….Theseandmanyotherpairs…areoftenjumbledalltogether.

Shouldwebe surprised that such bipolar views leavemanyChineseaskingformorenuancedandmoredignifiedidentities?

PART4.AMERICANSNAPSHOTSOFTHEETHICALREALISTS39

WiththeexceptionofYuDan,whoseemsintentonconstructinganidealtype of “Confucian” entrepreneur for the twenty-first century, the vastmajority of East Asian political and academic leaders have gone onrecordurgingtherevivalofoneparticularbrandof lateneo-Confucianteaching,theso-calledDoctrineofMindandNature,whichexaltsmoralpurityasthetiethatideallybindsthehumanandcosmicorders,despitethefact—orbecauseofit?—thatthisdoctrineflourishedinlateimperialChina under state sponsorship. In stark contrast, Americans arenoticeablylessenamoredoftheinstitutionsandcustomsoflateimperialChinathatprivilegedpatrilineandthrone.HencethedecisionbymanyacademicsintheUnitedStatestofocusontheearlywritingsascribedtoKongzi,Mencius,andXunzi,whosecoreconcernsweresocialcultivationandpoliticaljustice.A second obvious difference separatingmost Asian Confucians from

their American neighbors is that while Asians—especially those ofChinesedescent—areapttoseebiologicalorgeographicalcontinuityasapreconditionforthetransmissionofauthenticConfucianism,insofarasit represents the “transcendent, eternal, cultural spirit” of the Chinese“soul,”Kongzi’sAmericanbackerscredittheSagewith“importantviewsnotboundedbythecalendarortheGreatWall,”40andthereforerelevantto the humanpredicament in all times and places. Sowhile theAsianfactionsmightilycontend forpossessionof themantleof theSage, thebettertoappropriatehisiconicauthority,theAmericansgenerallyseektoportraytheextraordinarycapaciousnessofthecloakthatKongziandhisearlyfollowersoffer.Perhaps,whenallissaidanddone,Americansare simply more used to endowing their pet theories with universalappeal.41 Then, too, Americans are more likely to ascribe ongoingdisputes between China and the United States less to the ideals orcynicismof theirpolitical leadersoracademic figures,pastorpresent,than to conflicts over trade, energy, and military prowess.42Consequently, disputes over the relative importance and meaning ofKongzitakeonaverydifferentsignificance, inpartbecauseAmericanshavebeenluckyenoughtoworkouttheirviewsonConfuciusandChinawithout undue pressure from on high. By contrast, when Peking

University professor Li Ling had the temerity to publicize a list of themost flagrant ethical lapses of some prominent Chinese neoCons withlofty pretensions to moral purity, he provoked smear campaigns andassassinationthreatsinwhatcanonlybedescribedasthefirstrecordedConfucianfatwah.Late-stageConfucianmoralism,itseems,canbecomea“culturalfever”nolesspronetoviolentmoodswingsthanevangelicalChristianityintheUnitedStates.Works by three thinkers, Herbert Fingarette (Emeritus, UC SantaBarbara), Henry Rosemont Jr. (Brown University), and Roger Ames(UniversityofHawaii;WuhanUniversity),arediscussedbelow, for thefollowingreasons:

1. Inputtingeconomic,political,andlegalissuesatthecenteroftheir analysis, these thinkers adopt a stance that is implicitlyopposedtothatoftheneoCons,whohavetypicallyadvocatedbackward-looking movements that celebrate a set of“traditional virtues” generally construed as “interior virtues”(usuallyobedience,frugality,andacravingfororder).

2. Equallyconversantwith theAmericanpragmatist tradition (ifnotequallyenamoredofall aspectsof that tradition),43 thesethree American thinkers are impatient with the idlespeculationspromptedbysterilehypotheticalsposedin“crisisethics”exercises (e.g.,Would itbewrong to steal to feedmystarving children?), and prefer hard questions aboutresponsibleactionswithinreal-worldconstraintsandplanetarystakes.

3. All three thinkers focus their philosophical efforts upon thestudyoftheHanandpre-HantextsassociatedwithConfucius,inanattempttorecoverwhatonceexcitedtheearlyadherentsofKongzi,thepracticesofeverydaylifethatcanlendcharismatothoseaspiringtoauthority.

4. All three thinkers see the Confucian texts of the classical erapresenting sharper contrasts to themore questionable aspectsofcontemporaryWesternphilosophy.

5. Skeptical of both the “rugged individualism” and the“competitive capitalism” that figure in many contemporary

theoriesintheEastorWest,allthreethinkers—butespeciallyRosemont—emphasize the interrelatedness and performativityof family and social life in the complex andhighly ritualizedsocializationprocessesthatstartfrombirth,ifnotbefore.44

Distinctive concerns oblige these thinkers to sketch differenttrajectories for ethical thinking, although all three Americans urge apoliticalphilosophymoreakin to thedemocratic socialismofnorthernEurope than to thederegulated capitalismof today’sPeople’sRepublicor United States. Rosemont is hardly alone in believing that fewcontemporaryWestern philosophers would givemuch credence to theSong-or Ming-style metaphysics underlying much of late imperialConfucianism.Bycontrast, theearlysourcesonConfuciusandclassicallearning hold up under deeper scrutiny as well as or better than the“virtueethics”propoundedbyPlatoandAristotle,duetotheirsteadfastrefusal tomandate a single set ofmetaphysical or scientificprinciples,sincemanyaspectsofhumanandcosmicexistenceareunknowableorlargely irrelevant to the proper conduct of social life. Finally, becausetheworksofFingarette,Rosemont,andAmesarewidelyavailableinthebookstores and libraries of these United States, this chapter concludeswith short summaries of their work. Of course, there are many otherAmerican philosophers doing original work today (see SuggestedReadings),not tomention thinkersofequal stature tobe foundwithintoday’sChinese-speakingcommunities.ReadersofmodernChinesemayenjoytheworksofLiZehou (China’sforemosthistorianofChineseaesthetics), LinAnwu (TaiwanNationalUniversity), Li Ling(the eminent paleographer at Peking University), and Huang Junxing

(Academia Sinica, Taiwan), amongothers, all ofwhomconsidertherewardsofrefinedsocialpraxis.

FINGARETTE’S CONFUCIUS: THE SECULAR AS SACRED jump-started recent revisionistviewsofKongzi,challengingthelongstandingconventionsthatsituatedKongzieitherwithinthe“secularhumanism”envisionedbyLinYutangand the laterproponentsofChristian-Confuciandialogueorwithin thequasi-religious patriotic cults favored by Kang Youwei and the CCPhelmsmen of the post-Deng era. Fingarette, a highly respected

philosopherwhoseinitialtrainingwasnotinSinologybutintheethicsof behavior and responsibility, began his path-breaking book on theAnalectswiththisopeningsalvo:

WhenIbegantoreadConfucius, I foundhimtobeaprosaicandparochialmoralizer;hiscollected sayings, the Analects, seemed to me an archaic irrelevance. Later, and withincreasingforce,IfoundhimathinkerwithprofoundinsightandwithanimaginativevisionofmanequalinitsgrandeurtoanyIknow.IhavebecomeconvincedthatConfuciuscanbea teacher to us today—a major teacher, not one who merely gives us a slightly exoticperspectiveontheideasalreadycurrent.Hetellsusthingsnotbeingsaidelsewhere;thingsneedingtobesaid.Hehasanewlessontoteach.45

ForFingarette,theanalysisofli (holyrite)iskeytointerpretingtheAnalects, in that Kongzi’s emphasis on ren (acting in a humanefashion)flowsfromit.Bythephrase“holyrite”Fingarettedenotesmorethan the formal activities associated with weddings, funerals, andseasonalfestivals(inChina)orchurchservices(inEuroAmerica),orthemundane formulae for greeting or leave-taking, even the customs,propriety,manners,andetiquette(inboth).Ritesarewhatever“complexbut familiar gestures are characteristic of human relationships at theirmost human,” and holy rites are themost “emphatic, intensified, andsharply elaborated extension of everyday civilized intercourse.” Hencethosetermsmaybeusedofeveryactdesignedtoindicatebasicrespectfor the dignity of others andourselves, regardless of the particular formthat the communication of respect entails in a particular culture. Ahandshakeoranodoftheheadcanbeasmucha“holyrite”asthemostsolemnceremony,solongasitsucceedsinhelpingtheselfandotherstoperceivethesacred:

ThereareseveraldimensionsofHolyRitewhichculminate in itsholiness.Ritesbringoutforcefully not only the harmony and beauty of social forms, the inherent and ultimatedignityofhumanintercourse;it[HolyRite]bringsoutalsothemoralperfectionimplicitinachievingone’sendsbydealingwithothersasbeingsofequaldignity,asco-participantsinli.Furthermore,toactbyceremonyistobecompletelyopentotheother,forceremonyispublic, shared, transparent…. It is in this beautiful and dignified, shared and openparticipationwithotherswhoareultimately“[seentobe]likeoneself”[Analects12/2]thathumansrealizethemselves.46

Notingthat“weareleastlikeanythingelseintheworldwhenwedonot treat each other like physical objects, as animals, or even as sub-human creatures to be driven, threatened, forced, maneuvered,”Fingarettearguesskillfullythatweareconverselymostsublimelyhumanwhenever we fuse personal presence to “(learned) ceremonial skill,”until that point when the ceremonial act becomes “the primary,irreducibleevent”constitutinghumanexperience.Fingarette’sdescriptionsofholyrites resonatewithawistfulpassagefromWendellBerry,theKentuckypoet-farmer,thatnames“thegreatestdisaster of human history” the change that “happened to or withinreligion” leading to “theconceptualdivisionbetween theholyand theworld.” Fingarette’s Confucius: The Secular as Sacred would have usglimpse the rich possibilities to be had from restoring that holiness tothisworld.InFingarette’stelling,Kongzithesageconfrontsuswithonlyone significant choice in our lives: whether to deny the holy humancompact and so belittle our own humanity, or to commit ourselves tofindingwaystostrengthenthefragilesenseofconnectednessthatbindshumans together as social beings. To act intentionally on behalf ofhuman community—and then to keep acting the same way over andover again—is Kongzi’s definition of “following theWay.” In ordinarysocialsituationsitisusuallyfareasiertoascertainthehighestgoodthantocommitourselvestothetaskofattainingorpreservingit,sinceahostof self-interested considerations cananddo intervenebetween thoughtandaction.Nonetheless,forConfucius,thesuccessfulinculcationofthishabitofwanting todogoodwas “theultimate concern,” thegoal thatmatteredmorethanlifeitself.Therefore ren (reliably humane conduct) is less a quality thatinheresinaninnerself(itsgoodness,itsbenevolence,oritshumaneness)than a dynamic, fierce, and ultimately artful dedication to actinghumanely in every social situation, driven by the conscious aim torealizethehumanpotentialtobecomemorethanthesumoftheanimalparts with their insistent drives for food, sex, and companionship.Consistentactsofdoinggoodbuildthekindofcouragethatcanlightupthe person, making him or her a person of “a new and holy beauty”visible to all but the most blind. And since beauty invariably provescompellingtothosepreparedtoperceiveit,wehavetheexplanationfor

the seemingly unrestricted “magical powers” possessed by the junzi(nobleperson)whoaccomplisheshisorherwill“directlyandeffortlesslythroughritual,gesture,and incantation,”“withoutneeding to resort tocoercion(mentalorphysical).”Oncethevisibleperformanceofourlivesis coherentandwhole, the sereneexpectation is that something in theinner state will shift, mature, and ripen—in a stark reversal of theinner/outerprioritiessetforthinthemajorChristianreligions.Turning to the thorny question of how to act in theworld at large,

FingaretteconcludesthatConfuciusbelievedtheregulationofsocietytobetooimportanttoleavetogovernmentsandpoliticalgroupsthatclaimtoknowwhat isbest for everyone.Farbetter to letpeople themselvesindicate, through their actions, what actions can andwill be taken tobind themone to another, economically, socially, and aesthetically. Insuchcontexts,conventionandtraditionneednotbedeadeningroutinesthat impose a state-sponsored “regime of truth” and so impede cleararticulation of our most deep-seated desires and fears. Instead,reasonable convention and tradition, as artful spoken and gesturalperformance,canhelphumansfindawaytoreliablynoticeandexpresstheir appreciation of particular human beings. Resort to conventionalforms is an absolute requirement if each person is not to have toreinvent the wheel every time the desire arises to communicatesomethingtoothers.(Notetheabsurdityofeachpersontryingtocomeupwithanewlanguageeachtimeforeachexchange,andyouwillseehowcriticalitisforhumanstoemploywell-establishedforms.)Clearly, Fingarette aims to shock Americans into surrendering their

knee-jerk attitudes toward “sterile tradition,” “empty custom,” and the“forceofhabit.” (Rosemont reinforced thispointwhenhenoted, inanearlyreviewofFingarette,thatbureaucracies,armies,andcorporationsoppress people more than do customs, rituals, and ceremonies.) Onepersuasive traditionalviewheld that “the riteshad theirorigins in theemotions, and in accord with what people took comfort in, codes ofconductwerewrittendown.”47Fingarettewouldhaveusmarvel, then,at Kongzi’s repeated attempts—and even his occasional failures—toconvey the magnitude and power of the process by which we learnritual, for each attempt commits the person to taking responsibilitywithin a community. But the phrase “accepting responsibility” means

littleunlessitmeanstakingstockofthespecificsocialformsoflife,art,and language we need to communicate the fact of our essentialhumanity from birth, equipping ourselves with those social forms,refusingtotakecomfortinmanufacturedimagesofbliss,andfacingthehard reality that neither theWestern legal tradition, with its peculiardefinition of “responsibility,” nor hard-line socialism (or hard-linecapitalism, for that matter) encourages humans to make informeddecisionsaboutwaystoseekmoral,psychic,sociopolitical,oreconomicgoodswithintheirownlives.48SowhiletheAmericanethicaldiscourseand the legal journals blather on about “freedom,” “autonomy,” and“freewill,”Fingarettequietlyredirectsourattentiontoteachingwhat itis that must be accepted about ourselves as moral agents and theconsequencesofsuchacceptance.Rosemont’swritingscomplementtheinsightsofFingarette,implicitly

posingapracticalquestion:InaworldwithoutscripturalConfucianism,where22percentoftheworld’spopulationliveinthePeople’sRepublicof China but few Chinese intellectuals still study the Classics, whatmeaningfulformscanagenuineinterestintheworksascribedtoKongziandhisfollowerstake?Rosemontrefersustothewell-knownmaximbytheSongstatesmanFanZhongyan (989–1052), “Literatimustbethe first to bear hardships [on behalf of others] and the last to takepleasureintheworld’spleasures,”andtoKongzi’s“properuseofnames”(zheng ming) that holds each person accountable to act responsiblywithin the social and political roles that she or he claims. The firstpractical step toward embodying Confucian ideals, then, would be forthe privileged to take responsibility for what happens in theircommunities, demystifying the most basic aspects of the humanconditionwhile striving for that fusionof economic, social, andmoralwell-beingthatpermitshumanstoflourish.Whilenames-as-languagearenevertransparentoradequatereflectionsofreality,solongasthenamesfor social realities do not paradoxically obscure or controvert thoserealities(aswhenanOrwellianstateorabusiveparentmasqueradesasanurturing “motherland” or “mother”), humanswill findways to sharetheir experiences and enrich their personal and communal senses.Kongzi and his early followers offered three additional methods bywhich to cultivate the fully humane person: practicalwisdom (zhi ),

ritual observances (li), and empathy and consideration (shu ).But inRosemont’sview,toomanylatter-daydisciplesofKongziforgetthefirstand third methods, while misconstruing the second (as Fingarettesuspected).As Rosemont notes, the Analects mentions the need for practicalwisdom (knowing how to act effectively in the political and socialspheresinordertorealizeone’sideals)moreoftenandmoreincisivelythan the final goal of reliably humane actions (ren). The first duty ofeveryone, it seems, is to learn how to translate good impulses intoeffectiveaction in the largerworld,adutythatwillbehappilycarriedout only by the personwho learns to tap the emotions to derive andcreate pleasure from such acts of translation. Disembodiedminds andCartesianrationalitymaypervademuchofWesternphilosophy,buttheearly Confucian wisdom links head to heart, the cognitive to theaffective, and commitment to deed, since little practical good can begained from either the multiplication of good intentions or theaccumulationofvaststoresoffactsandtheories.49TofindmeritintheConfucianWayistolongtoperformitinasocialsetting—andperformit in suchaway thatotherswilladmireandemulate theperformance,creating a snowball effect within the community. And since Kongzitaught commonsense morality, what another calls “the impossibleimmediacy of the ethical,”50 Rosemont equally deplores the reallifeconsequencesoftakingeitheroftwotheoreticalpositions,thathumanshave no independent position or value outside the social net (as someAsianpoliticianssuggest),orthathumansaresubstantiallyautonomousin their decision making (the preferred fiction of most Westernphilosophers).Furthermore,Kongziand theearlyConfuciansbelievedaheightenedpotential forunderstanding thehumancondition could result from theconstantneedto jugglecommitments toelders, tocontemporaries,andto descendants. Armed with a passionate desire to break out of theconstraints imposed by a single life span, these thinkers offered aplausible portrait of authentic spirituality premised on the insight thatchange, adaptation, and accommodation were not only inevitable butdesirable, if we would merely respond adequately to the myriadcontingenciesencounteredina“seeminglyrandomworldnotofourown

making.”Ashumansocialbeings,wehaveurgentneeds—instrumental,psychological,andsocial—toengageothersincooperativeventures,buteffective cooperation requires us to coordinate and strike a balanceamong the partial viewpoints, isolated experiences, and situatedjudgmentsthatweallperforcebringtothetable.Thatexplainswhytheways we learn to deliberate together on the wisest course of actioncannotbeeasilycodifiedinafixedsetofrules.51Still,Rosemont is willing to bet that collective deliberation about ourfundamental needs and fears will elicit more precise commitments tofuture courses of action than will the fine-sounding exhortations toabstract moral perfectionism that pepper Partyspeak and the neo-Contracts. As theAnalects line has it, “The noble man reveres those thatexcel,butfindsroomforall.”Rosemont and Ames remind us that Chinese thinking, prior to theencounter with the Jesuits, evinced less interest in identifying entities(what is this? what kinds of things exist in the world?) than inarticulating useful processes (e.g., how does one go about being aneffectiveagentinthesituationathand?).Ergo,theChineserefusaltoseea notion of “transcendent”Western-style political rights lodgedwithineach individual and overriding all other considerations andconsequences, including those relating to economic justice. Rosemontfairly revels in how littlewe lose andhowmuchwe stand to gain bysimilarly positing “aworldwithout substances or essences.” Followinghis train of thought, it is obviously not enough for rights to betheoretically available (as the phrase “equality under the law” wouldsuggest),ifactualgroupsandindividualscannotafford,psychologicallyoreconomically,toexercisethoserightsforpracticalends.ShameontheUnitedStatesforitshypocrisy,then.Equallytothepoint,acceptingthereal-world limitations on “absolute” but entirely abstract freedomsdemolishesoneseriousbarriertobetterunderstandingbetweenChineseand Americans, allowing full condemnation of government repressionandactsoftortureandterrorism,withoutresorttotheconceptofhumanrights,whichhas been the subject of endless bickering betweenChinaandtheUnitedStates.52

Even if the two superpowerswere toagree to forgo their squabbles,conceding thepoint thathumansneedkinderandgentlerpoliticaland

economic arrangements, Rosemont fears that unthinking culturalrelativism—ironically enough, oneof the few concepts sharedbymostwell-educatedAsiansandAmericans—maydousallin.Simplyput,thesense that “impassable barriers” separate cultures, nations, and ethnicgroups gives politicians the language they need to devise their owneconomic,energy, immigration,andenvironmentalpolicies indefianceofcommonsenseandthecommongood.Withallwenowknowaboutglobalwarming,whatotherrationalewouldallowthePRCtoencourageitscitizenstobuymorecars,whiletheEnvironmentalProtectionAgencyin Washington refuses to allow states to implement stricter emissionsstandards? Both decisions are defended in the name of nationalsovereigntyandtherightofaculturetochooseitsowntoolstoimperilitself.Abeliefintheexistenceofsuchbarriersmoreoverforestallssuchobviousbutuncomfortablequestionsasthese:

Whyiseightypercentoftheworld’swealthconcentratedinthehandsoftwentypercentofitspopulation?

WhydoonepercentofAmericancitizenscommandwealthequaltothatofthebottomfortypercent?

WhyisAmerica’smilitarybudgetstilllargerthantherestoftheworld’scombined?

Particular times, places, and cultures may indeed produce specificvalues and standards, as Rosemont acknowledges, but surely humanhistory,with its surging flows of peoples, things, and ideas, belies themyth of “impassable barriers,” for no hallowed barrier ascribed tobiology,geography,assortedethnicclaims,oralackofinformationhaseverlastedforverylong.53

Thisemphasisonrealismandcross-culturalawarenessfairlycriesoutforareturntothepoliticalandtheaesthetic,ifthepoetTaoYuanmingwas right, and “what gives value to a person / lies within this singlebody’s life.”The sheercomplexities involved incarefuldeliberationonreliably humane conduct calls into question the claims of some in theintelligentsia and the party to be the best judges of the “essence” ofChinese culture and the proper methods by which to “upgrade thepeople”untiltheyreach“nationalperfection.”Participationbyeachandeveryperson is vital.And if theperson is constitutedbya complexofhabits formed through successive social relations, as the Confucians

wouldhaveit,ratherthanbeingtheproductofDNAorearlychildhoodexperiences over which the person had little or no control, then theaestheticenjoymentimpartedthroughritualsandceremoniescanimpartzest and dignity to individual lives while supporting efforts tocommunicateandparticipate.Aestheticpursuitsenhance thateveryday“perceptionoftheimmediategoodofobjects”whichissocrucialtothehumanspirit,54 and, as IrisMurdoch once observed, “Good art revealswhatweareusuallytooselfishandtimidtorealize,”becauseitconveysa“truthfulvisionofthehumanconditioninaformthatcanbesteadilycontemplated.”Then, too,asAdornocontended, theaesthetic responserepresents one of the few avenues left for authentic subjectiveexperienceinstrictlyadministeredmodernsocietiesthatgivepeopletheillusion of subjectivity and self-reflexivity even as they criminalizecertainformsofpersonalexpression.Perhaps because Ames, along with the late David Hall, has

foregroundedthe“aestheticorder”ofChinesethought,heleavesreaderswith a grand vision of a China “able to provide cultural values andinstitutions sufficiently attractive to the rest of theworld” to offset atleast someof thedisastroushumanandenvironmental costsof furtherrapid and unsustainable development.55 China’s governing elite,accordingtoAmes,isprincipallyconcernedwithquestionsofeconomicequity, freedom from want, and class and ethnic conflicts within andacross cultures. The very next American economic downturnmay findAmerican citizens calling for more open and frank discussions of asimilar setof issues.Hence,Ames’soptimistic scenario, inwhich therewillgraduallyemergemoreconvergentorevensyncreticnotionsoftheindividual, society, law, and human rights. InAmes’smind, the “goodnews”isthat“howeverdistinctConfucianismandAmericanpragmatismcontinuetobe,thereissufficientproductiveoverlapintheircorebeliefs,and sufficient commonality in their sense of responsibility to theirrespective cultures and to the world beyond, that a real alliance ispossible…alongatleastaslightlybetterpath.56

Around the globe and across the ages, pragmatic traditions haveasserted the utility of the Golden Rule and of leaders’ reliance on thesupportofthepeople.Whatpragmatismneversubscribestoisatribalistbelief in an unchangeable identity—“being Chinese” or “being

American”—thatimbuesthenation-statewithametaphysicalpowerandrectitudeakintoHistoryorTruth.Continual cross-cultural conversations may prevent some of the

mutual misunderstandings that have flared up during the last centurywheneverAmericans,Chinese,orAmerican-bornChinese startblamingtheOtherforthemosthatefulaspectsofpostmodernlife,whetheritbethe increasing regimentation of their daily interactions, the continualindignitiesheapeduponworkingpeople,orthedearthofopportunitiesforallbutatinyelite.57OrdinarycitizensofChinaandtheUnitedStateslead strikingly similar lives, despite their unquestioned belief inimpassable barriers and the whiff of cordite that lingers over theirexchanges. Both countries have seen repeated attempts at socialintegration across ethnic, class, and national boundaries stifled bypowerful forces integrating the economywith the state administrationunder thebanners of “ethnic difference” and “class harmony.”AsHanYuhai, a Beijing New Left historian, has observed, for all too manycitizensthemuchvaunted“freedom”ofthemarketeconomyboilsdowntolittlemorethanthe“freedomtowanttobeaslave.”The New Sinology58 aims to “engage in constant and equitable

conversations with the Sinophone World.” Over the last century,American views of China have influenced Chinese realities andperceptions, justasChineseviewsofAmericahave shapedpresent-dayrealities within the States. One new symptom of this burgeoninginterconnectedness, as well as the Chinese deft manipulation of “softpower”diplomacy, is theproliferationofConfucius InstitutesspringinguplikemushroomsonhundredsofAmericancampusesandaroundtheglobe,andanother, theoutrageousparodiesof theConfucius Institutesoffered on the Net.59 So rapid is the pace and volume of change andexchange that Chinese scholars now routinely cite American thinkers,even to thepoint of retranslating theirEnglish translationsof classicalChinese back into modern Chinese, for ready reception within China.TherecentdecisionbyseveralChineseuniversityheads(e.g.,atPekingUniversity, Fudan University, Peking Normal University, WuhanUniversity, and Taiwan National University) to extend regularinvitations to foreign scholars to lecture on early Chinese thought islikelytoencourageevenmorespiriteddebatesbetweenSinophoneand

English-speakingthinkers,asacademicsandpoliticiansonbothsidesofthe Pacific come to appreciate the gaps between and the subtletieswithin the Other’s notions, preoccupations, and methods of criticalinquiry.

KONGZI,THEPROTEANDRAGONRIDINGTHETIMES

Inthemiddleofthelastcentury,HenriMaspero,oneofthegreatestofthe French Sinologues, wrote of Kongzi in his avatar as a god—an“unseeninfluenceeffectingmajorchange,”bytheChinesedefinition:

LikealltheGodsoftheofficialreligion,Confuciusclimbedallthestepsofthehierarchyonebyone:hewasnameddukeinthefirstyearA.D.,kingin739,reducedforawhiletotherankofdukein1075,emperorin1106….AndonDecember4,1530,theShizongemperorstrippedhimof this status,givinghimsimply the title“PerfectSageandAncientMaster,”whichhehaskepttoourpresentday.”60

Gods in the traditional Chinese pantheon are said to experiencechangeandtransformationeffortlessly,andtheyareofferedcult intheserene expectation that they will requite offerings by bestowals ofblessings on the celebrants. What, then, are the chief blessings thatKongzi bestowedon thisworld, andhowarewe to assess the proteannature of Kongzi, Confucius, and the Classics? Certainly, Kongzi’selevation in the state-sponsored pantheon paved the way for theconversion of the Five Classics and Four Books from the commoncultural coin of the realm into holy scriptures composed of separaterevelations, on the model of the Buddhist sutras, Daoist canons, and(afterMatteoRicciandtheJesuits)theBibleitself.Arewethentoreadinto“Confucianism”andwhatarenowcalledthe“Confucian”Classicsauniversalwayof life, thesecure foundation fora futureglobalculture,thepossessionorbastionofoneethnicculture(theChinese,inChinaorin diaspora), a local manifestation devoid of cultural memory, anideologythatlegitimizes“soft”or“hard”authoritariangovernments,orsomethingmorethanwhatiscapturedbyanyofthesecharacterizations?Is“Confucianism”aphilosophyorareligion,an“ism”orapanoplyof“isms”?And,ifthelatter,howmaywebegintotalkaboutthepluralityof Chinese traditions in ways that are comprehensible to beginning

studentsofChineseculture?AcontemporaryChinesewriter,WangXiaobo, inan irreverentessay

called “My Views of National Studies” (i.e., “Confucian Learning”),remarks that Confucius, Mencius, and “all that crowd” seem like oldchewing gum to him: the flavor has gone right out of them throughoverlongandoverearnestmastication.Successiveregimesandleadersonthemake have used and abused Kongzi’s authority too often for theirowngood.Butletusreturntothebasicsfirst.Ritual decorum and integrity are the two main threads of the

teachingsassociatedwithConfuciusdownthroughtheages.61Withoutamodicum of ritual decorum, integrity has no effective way tocommunicate itself, and with insufficient integrity, decorum becomeshollow display. One anecdote has Zigong, one of Kongzi’s closestdisciples,saying,

TheWayofKingsWenandWuofZhouhasnotcollapsed; it lives inthepeople.Thoseofsuperior character have grasped the greater part of it, while those of lesser parts havegraspedabitofit.EveryonehassomethingoftheWayofWenandWuinthem.Who,then,doestheMasternotlearnfrom?62

WhatismoststrikingaboutAmericanandChineseperceptionsduringthelastcenturyorsoistheirequalobliviousnesstothesimplefactthat“everyone has something of the Way” in them. If they would “OnlyConnect,”ChineseandAmericanscouldprofitagreatdealfromlisteningto and learning from each other. Some attempt of this sort is longoverdue, since John Dewey voiced the following sentiments in 1926,whichseemnolessapplicabletoday:

Chinaisrapidlygrowingup….Itwillhenceforthresentmoreandmoreanyassumptionofparentaltutelage,evenofaprofessedlybenevolentkind….Politically,theChinesenolongerwish for any foreign guardianship…. In the next ten years we shall have to… alter ourtraditionaltemperofpatronage,consciousorunconscious,intooneofrespectandesteemforaculturalequal.

Still,“eventhemostintelligentthinkerwill,ifhetalkstoolongaboutcultures and civilizations, begin to spout nonsense.”63 Therefore, the

authorsofthisbookrespectfullysubmitthat,inthespiritofKongzi,weshouldtrytalkinglessandattendingmoretosocialpraxis,inthehopeofwreakingaslittledestructionandrestoringasmuchdignitytosociallifeashumanlypossible.Ifthechieffeatureofdailylifeinthetwenty-firstcentury is an inability to restrain ourselves for the benefit of others,64theConfucianexhortationtoconquerselfishimpulsesand“returntotherites”maybe just theantidoteweneed tomakecommunities flourish.Theliveswesavemaybeourown.

SUGGESTEDREADINGSANDVIEWINGSOntwentieth-centuryresearchintotheorigin(s)oftheRu,seeZuffereyin“SuggestedReadings”forchapter1.

JohnE.YoungandJaniceB.Corzine,“TheSageEntrepreneur:AReviewofTraditionalConfucianPracticesAppliedtoContemporaryEntrepreneurship,”JournalofEnterprisingCulture12,no.1(March2004):79–104.LiketheSingaporeangovernment,thisarticlearguesthecompetitiveadvantagetobegainedfromfollowingtheSageEntrepreneur.

ForanentréeintoKang’s“OneWorld”thought,seeK’angYuwei[KangYouwei],Tat’ungshu:Theone-worldphilosophyofK’angYuwei,translatedandannotatedbyLaurenceG.Thompson(London:Allen&Unwin,1958).

Onthecreationoftheacademicdisciplineof“comparativereligions,”seeNormanGirardot,TheVictorianTranslationofChina:JamesLegge’sOrientalPilgrimage(Berkeley:UniversityofCaliforniaPress,2002);WarrenI.Cohen,EastAsianArtandAmericanCulture:AStudyinInternationalRelations(NewYork:ColumbiaUniversityPress,1992),arguesthatmanyoftheseattitudeswereshapedbyexhibitionsofChineseartintheUnitedStates.

OnmissionaryworkinChina,seeJacquesGernet,ChinaandtheChristianImpact:AConflictofCultures(Cambridge,England:CambridgeUniversityPress,1985);andKennethScottLatourette,AHistoryofChristianMissionsinChina(NewYork:Macmillan,1929).

OnrecentconstructionsofRuxue,Rujia,andConfucius:JohnMakeham,LostSoul:“Confucianism”inContemporaryChineseAcademicDiscourse(Cambridge,England:CambridgeUniversityPress,2008);VincentGoossaert,“1898:TheBeginningoftheEndforChineseReligion,”JournalofAsianStudies65,no.2(May2006):307–35.

Ontheuseinwartimeofneo-Confucianwritingsasaweaponinoccupationpolitics,seeJohnHunterBoyle,ChinaandJapanatWar,1937–38(PaloAlto,CA:StanfordUniversityPress,1972),esp.ch.12.

OnthepoliticizedgoalsoftheyoungdisciplineofarchaeologyinChina,seeJamesLeibold,“CompetingNarrativesofRacialUnityinRepublicanChina:FromtheYellowEmperortoPekingMan,”ModernChina12,no.2(April2006):181–220;alsoIanC.Glover,“SomeNational,Regional,andPoliticalUsesofArchaeologyinEastandSoutheastAsia,”inArchaeologyofAsia,editedbyMiriamT.Stark(Oxford,England:Blackwell,2006),17–36.

Forviewing:JudithandBillMoyers,AConfucianLifeinAmerica:TuWei-ming,FilmsfortheHumanities&Sciences,1994.

On“discontinuous”writingsystemsinChina,seeImreGalambos,OrthographyofEarlyChineseWriting:EvidencefromEarlyChineseManuscripts(Budapest:DepartmentofEastAsianStudies,EötvösLorándUniversity,2006).

ForcontemporarydilemmasaboutChina’splaceinthefuture,seeGloriaDavies,WorryingAboutChina(Cambridge:HarvardEastAsianMonographs,2007);HenryRosemontJr.,“WhoseDemocracy?WhichRights?AConfucianCritiqueofModernWesternLiberalism,”inConfucianEthics:AComparativeStudyofSelf,Autonomy,andCommunity(Cambridge,England:CambridgeUniversityPress,2004),49–71.

ForthedifferencebetweenearlyGreek“virtue”ethicsandearlyConfucian“role”ethics,seeEricHutton,“Character,Situation-ism,andEarlyConfucianThought,”PhilosophicalStudies127,no.1(January2006),37–58;MaryPatersonCheadle,EzraPound’sConfucianTranslations(AnnArbor:UniversityofMichigan,1997).

T

Epilogue

ThelegendaryrulersFuxiandShenNongarefarfromusintime,Inthiswholewideworld,fewreturntothetrue.Hurrying,theoldmanfromLu[Kongzi]Wouldmendthetearstomakeitpureandnew.

HEPOETTAOYUANMING(365–427CE)LOOKEDTO“THEOLDmanfromLu”tomakesenseoflifeinachaoticera.Asprecedingchaptershaveshown,Taowasmerelyoneofmanyeloquentvoices tryingto

imaginewhatConfuciuswoulddoinhisownage,asifananswertothat question would effectively repair not only their sense of theworld, but also their displacementwithin it. The radical subjectivitythatmanyhavebroughttotheseemingly“historical”and“objective”figure of Confucius is equally obvious in assertions like that of LuJiuyuan(1139–93CE),whosaid,“IdonotannotatetheClassics;theClassics annotateme.” This book intends to help readersmake theirwaythroughadizzyingarrayofpracticesandbeliefsthathavebeenattributed to Confucius over the centuries by adherents and criticsalike. Its method is to follow the sage advice offered once by thehistorianGuJiegang(1893–1980)to“takeoneConfuciusatatime.”Thismethodacknowledgesthatashumansourwaysof thinkingandtalking are inevitably saturated with outdated metaphors, erodedfiguresofspeech,andoldghoststhatrattlearoundamongourmentalfurniture.Nooldghost—aside,perhaps, fromChairmanMaohimself—appearsquiteasvividlytothoseofChinesedescentasKongzi, theMaster.Chapter 1 opens with a comparison of the two earliest and most

authoritative accounts of Confucius’s life: the lengthy formalbiography of Kongzi (aka Confucius) that appears in China’s mostfamous work of history, Sima Qian’s Shiji or Historical Records(compiled ca. 100BCE); and theabbreviatedportraits of theMaster

found in theAnalects, a compilation that probably dates to ca. 100BCE,eventhoughsomepassages—especiallythoseframedasKongzi’sdialogueswithhisdisciples—mayreflectoldertraditions.SimaQian’sbiography appears in a section of the Shiji titled the “HereditaryHouses,” whose entries typically trace the fortunes of the mainfamilieswhoruledtheCentralPlainbetweenthefoundingoftheZhoudynasty,ca.1050BCE,andtheunificationoftherealmbyQinin221BCE.Kongzi is one of only two individuals to appear in the “HereditaryHouses”section.TheotherisChenShe,therebelleaderwhosparkedthe chain of events that toppled the short-lived Qin dynasty, whichhadunifiedsixmajorrivalkingdomsforameredecade,from221to210 BCE, forging the first empire in the area we know as “China.”(Thinkterra-cottawarriors.)ReadersoftheShijihavealwaysassumedthatKongziwasincludedinthe“HereditaryHouses”sectionbecauseHan thinkers and statesmen saw him as an “uncrowned king,” aperson of enormous influence who, in some sense, “ruled” over thehearts and minds of all, even if he had no kingdom. By implicitlylinking Kongzi and the rebel Chen She, it seems possible, however,thatSimaQianintendedtohighlightKongzi’srebelliousnature.Afterall,asreaderswilldiscoverinchapter3,Kongzi’scompilationoftheChunqiuwasmeantto“criticizeemperors,reprimandfeudallords,andcondemnthehighofficialssothatthebusinessofatruerulercouldbeknown,” and criticizing high officials had always been the soleprerogativeofrulers.ThoughKongzineverattainedsuchrank,hewasemboldenedbyhissenseofHeaven’songoingfavorwhenheblamedhis political superiors, past and present, for the sorry state of theworld he knew. Yet another curious link between Chen She andKongzihasKongzi’slinealdescendantKongZiyubeingoneofthefirsttoforsaketheQinhousetojoinforceswithChenShe.WhiletheAnalectsportraysKongziasasagewhomanages,evenindefeat, to accept his fate gracefully, the Shiji biography portraysKongzi, from his youth through the middle years, as an ambitiousadviser unwilling to take, or incapable of taking, the time tounderstandthecomplexitiesoflocalpolitics,letaloneholdhistongue.Inotherwords,Sima’sKongziisimpatient,headstrong,andoutspoken

to the point of indiscretion. By the Shiji account, only after Kongziabandonshisfruitlessquesttoachievehighpositiondoeshebegintounderstandandundertakehispredestinedtask:torestorethepowerfultraditionsoftheritesandmusicofoldentimestothecultivatedmenandwomenofhisownbenightedage.Thepivotal scene in theShijibiography in which Kongzi accomplishes this transition from brashknow-it-alltothoughtfullearnerhasKongziworkinghardatlearningto play a musical composition. Finally, after fifty straight days ofpracticing, Kongzi completely internalizes the rhythm, lyrics, andintentionsinthepiececreatedbythatparagonofvirtue,KingWenofZhou.By“channeling”KingWen,Kongzithenbecomesasimulacrumof his exemplar, whose civilizing influence radiates throughout theentire Central States region. Following this dramatic transformation,KongzibeginstoorderandedittheOdesandtheDocuments,toconsulttheYijing,andtocompilehisfamousAnnalsinthelastyearsbeforehisdeath.Bychapter’send,Sima’sKongzihasbecomea“localhero”ofsorts fortheareanearQueli, thecapitalofLu.HehasalsobeguntogarnerareputationinkingdomscloselyalliedwithLu,especiallyChutothesouth.But it isbynomeans inevitablethathewillgoononedaytobehailedasthesinglemostsignificantfigureinallofimperialhistory in China. How he posthumously manages to become thatsingularfigureisthestorytakenupinchapters2and3ofthisbook.Chapter2depictstheslowbutsteadygrowthofKongzi’sreputation

over the course of two and a half centuries after his death. InitiallyKongzi’s reputation grew in part as a result of reflected glory, forseveralinthecircleofdiscipleshehadtaughtfilledhigh-rankingpostswithdistinction.But inpart it grew through the spiriteddefensesofhis ethicalWayby the thinkersMencius andXunzi, two ofKongzi’smostfamousethicalfollowers—neitherofwhomwasadirectdisciple,butbothofwhomhailedfromthevicinityofLu.Ifelegantdefensesofthe local hero had not been offered by Mencius (a century afterKongzi) and by Xunzi (a century afterMencius), theMaster’s namemight have disappeared from sight. A Han tradition remarks thatMencius and Xunzi together “tarted up” Kongzi’s teachings, makingthemmore“glossyandappealing”byadaptingtheirargumentstosuitthetastesofinfluentialcontemporaries.Menciusaccomplishedthisby

forging a tight equation between the aristocrat’s arduous training inpreparation for battle and thedisciplined commitment to cultivationofthegentleConfucianWaybythenobleinspirit.Alsoinhisdefenseof Kongzi, Mencius devoted much time to refuting several explicitcharges to which Kongzi was particularly vulnerable: first, thatKongzi’sloveoflavishritualswasdistinctlyatoddswithhispurportedconcernforthecommonpeople,sinceexpensiveandtime-consumingrituals and musical performances inevitably meant more exorbitanttaxes and levies on the poor in states whose budgets were alreadybusted, owing to military campaigns waged against rival powers;second,thatKongzi’stalkof“gradedlove,”whichmeantthatgreaterfavor was owed to one’s kith and kin than to any extrafamilialrelation,placedfartoomanyunnaturalrestrictionsonhumanfeelingswhilethreateningthesupremeauthorityofthestate;and,third,thatKongzi’s preoccupationwith securing office undermined a stillmorebasic duty to preserve one’s person from harm, since the body wasreceivedfromone’sparentsandheldintrustforthefamily.Mencius’sspirited defense of the Sage was badly needed, since Kongzi’steachingsinMencius’stimewerenotaspopularasthoseofhisrivalsMozi andYang Zhu,whosewell-reasoned arguments left theMasteropentocensure.That left Xunzi, teaching shortly before unification in 221 BC, to

confront the more subtle charges against Kongzi—the very sort offault-finding that would have devastated Kongzi’s long-termreputationhad theygoneunanswered.Forexample,Xunzidedicatedmuchtimeandefforttorebuttingthemostseriousobjectionregisteredagainst Kongzi by Xunzi’s famous peer, Zhuangzi: that Kongzi’sbeloved “ritual consists in being false to one another,” since thelanguageandgesturesofritualareinherently“unnatural”tohumansandmustbelearned.Xunzirepliedthathumanscouldhardlyjettisonall instances of artificiality in their lives since (a) all of culturewasartificial by Zhuangzi’s measure, and (b) society and politics bothdemandedcertainformsofsocialgreaseiftheyweretofunctionwell.Therefore, Kongzi, Xunzi argued, asks humans to carefully considerwhatsortsofrefinementmostconducetoasocialorderthatassuresallhumans will “achieve their proper place,” and so enjoy a sense of

dignityandself-worth.Afinalcriticwhoappearsinchapter2isWangChong(27–97?CE),

anEasternHanstudentoftheClassicslivingsomesixcenturiesafterKongzi.AsummaryofWang’sargumentsconcludeschapter2becausethey show—contrary to the common wisdom—that long after HanWudi’s reign (r. 141–87 BCE) in Western Han, even among theclassicists, Kongzi’s reputation was still not entirely secure. Wang’scriticism of Kongzi boils down to five points: (1) the Classicsassociated with Kongzi as author or editor are just as riddled witherrorasotherbooksandthereforecannotbetreatedasinfallible;(2)Kongzifailedtoelucidatemanyofhisideaswhenheconversedwithhis owndisciples; (3)Kongzi often contradictedhimself,while goodteachers convey a consistent message; (4) Kongzi’s chosen disciplesdisplayed no special aptitude for learning the Way, nor did theydemonstrate any notable commitment to it, which suggests thatKongziwashardlyaninspiringteacher;and(5)Kongziwasnoproperpedagogicalmodel, as he failed to push his students to clarify theirown thoughts about either ethical or practical dilemmas. Ironically,then,inWangChong’sview,onteaching—theveryaspectofKongzi’sreputation that historically faced the fewest detractors—the Masterwasunreliableanderratic.Movingintotheimperialera,chapter3letsusseethesinglemost

troubling question that preoccupied Han thinkers and statesmen: IfKongziwasindeedsuchaparagonofvirtueandcompassion,whydidhe never rise to high office in his own lifetime? After all, thelegendary sages Shun and Yu had ascended from the ranks ofcommoners to become Sons of Heaven, and Heaven had sent sage-kingstotheCentralStateseveryfivehundredyearsorso.Whathadgonewrong, then?Han theoristswereunderstandablyobsessedwiththis single question, for they were hard-pressed to explain suchhistorical anomalies, especially in view of the rise of the commonerLiuBangtothepositionofHandynasticfounder,forLiuBangwasaboorandacoward,andremarkablyun-sage-like.Thoseintheemployof the Han throne devised the most powerful response to thesemisgivingsaboutKongzi’slackofworldlyachievement.TheyinsistedthatthelandlessSage,inseemingdesperation,hadconstructedinhis

writings a veritable realm of the imaginationwhere hewould reignsupremeforever.Moreover, fromthat lofty,albeit imaginaryvantagepoint,Kongziofferedhisfullpatronageandgodlikepowersinsupportof the Han whose dynastic rise he had not only predicted but alsoplanned for. By this logic, Kongzi had composed the Annals orChunqiu, the single piece of writing most closely associated withKongzi during Han, to provide the Han governing elite with ablueprint for how to consolidate the powers of a centralized state.Throughthe“subtlewording”ofthattextandtheapplicationofpastexamplestocontemporarysituations,theHancould,ineffect,ruleinthenameofKongzi,thesemi-deified“uncrownedking”ofremarkablepresciencewho, in death, sat at the right hand of theHigh Lord inHeaven. Accordingly, under Han, the Annals of Kongzi, thought tocontainthemostsignificantpronouncementsoftheSage,becametheprimaryclassicconsultedwhenrulerandministerssettheirmindstointerpreting the laws, building a more unified world throughadministrative reforms, or contemplating the sympathic relationsbetween microcosm and macrocosm. Thus by the end of the Hanperiod, Kongzi’s signal lack of illustrious forebears and reputabledescendants was posthumously remedied: Kongzi was duly awardedhisownplaceintheranksofthestargods;hewasalsoappointedFirstAncestor to a long line of Kong familymembers granted hereditarynoblestatus.ThisstoryofKongzi’scompilationoftheAnnalsevidentlydrovealltheotherstoriescirculatingaboutKongziduringthefourcenturiesofHan, inspiring the lesser-known but equally compelling portraits ofKongzi as seer-prophet, scholar-etymologist, and even as the astralBlackLorddeity,informingthepowerfulimagesofKongziasteacher,editor, and compiler of canonical texts. ByHan definition, a sage isone who manages handily to convert “disasters into blessings,”thereby earning the admiration of succeeding generations. That theman Kongzi,whose political acumenwas so derided bymost of hiscontemporaries, somehow achieved a fame far greater than princesand kings constituted proof positive that Kongzi’s Way meritedinvestigationandimplementation—orsomanyHanthinkersasserted.Chapter4describesthefateofConfuciusintheeightcenturiesafter

thecollapseofHanpowerca.200CE.Itdoessobyshiftingthefocusaway from the pre-Han and Han primary sources presentingauthoritative portraits of Kongzi to yet another early text called theZhongyong orConstantMean, attributed to Confucius’s grandson. (AsbothhereditaryprivilegeandtheKongfamilypowergrewmightilyinthe immediate post-Han period, the link forged betweenMaster andgrandsonbecameevermoreimportantinthinkers’eyes.Furthermore,in the post-Han period, texts like theMean proved instrumental insalvaging the reputation of Confucius once his erstwhile standing aspatronfortheHanrulinglinebecamealiabilityratherthanasignofsagely prescience.) Two commentaries to theMean—one by ZhengXuan (127–200 CE), the greatest commentator living at the end ofEasternHan,andthesecondbyZhuXi(1130–1200)inSouthernSong—becomethesubjectofchapter4,firstbecausetheyablyencapsulatenearly the entire range of thinking about the significance of theMaster’s teachings in middle-period and early modern China, and,second,becausetheyrevealthehugegulfthatseparateslateHanfromlate Song thinking about theWay, even among groups of Confucianadherents.SinceZhu’scommentariesontheFourBooks(theAnalects,theMencius, theGreat Learning, and theMean, the latter two beingseparate chapters in the original Liji or Rites Record) served as thebasic curriculum for the civil service examinations during the sixcenturiesfrom1313to1905,familiaritywiththemaintenetsofZhu’sreadingsrepresents,inturn,thefirststeptobetakenwhentracingtheevolutionofConfuciantraditionsinlateimperialChina.According to legend, Kongzi supposedly transmitted his mostmature formulation of his teachings shortly before his owndeath tohisgrandson.ThecommentatorZhengXuan,believingthis legendtobetrue,positionedtheMeansquarelyatthecenterofhiscoherentandorderly synthesis of the entire “Confucian” canonical corpus,intentionallyreplacingalltheoldercommentaries—eachdevotedtoasingleoneoftheClassicsandtreatingthatcanoninpiecemealfashionby chapter and verse—with a veritable textual monument thatskillfully wove together references to all the Classics into a single,powerfulwhole.Likenearlyallofhiscontemporaries in lateEasternHan, Zheng showed a historicizing bent. Zhengdedicatedhimself to

tracing the “subtle wording” embedded in the Classics thatpurportedlypredatedKongzibymanyhundredsofyears,seekinghisultimate inspiration in the figure that supposedly inspiredConfuciushimself:theDukeofZhou,thelegendarystatesmancreditednotonlywithconsolidatingtheZhoudynasticfortunes,ca.1050BCE,butalsowithdevisingthesystemsfortheritesandmusic.Again,incompanywithmostofhiscontemporaries,ZhengwantedtoreadintotheMeana distinction entirely absent in the original: a distinction between“human nature” (the basic endowment of capacities and appetitesgiven to all) and “talent” (imagined as a kind of energetic stuffapportioneddifferentlytodifferentpeople).Zhengalsoanalogizedthevarious modes and expressions of the sovereign’s commitments andactivities to the sequential operations of the Five Cosmic Phases,importing what was, for him, a current (and therefore highlyanachronistic)terminologyintohisreadingoftheolderMeansoastoprovide a secure cosmological foundation for his portrait of theexaltedidealsovereign.Most important, however, Zheng Xuan acquired his sense ofConfucius the thinker from three sets of writings, which, like theAnalects, by middle to lateWestern Han (206 BCE–8 CE) had beenascribedtoConfuciushimselfortomembersofhisinnercircle(fornotverygoodreasons, in theeyesof somemodernscholar-skeptics): (1)theChunqiuorAnnals,whichdescribesthesteadydisintegrationinthedomestic and diplomatic spheres of moral authority in Confucius’shome state of Lu during the years 722–479BCE; (2) theXiaojing orClassicofFilialDuty,whichcelebratesthevirtuesof loyaltyandfilialsubmissionasthetwinbuildingblocksforthestateandpatriline;and(3)twotreatisesincludedintheRecordofRites(whichZhenghimselfraised to the status of Classic), the Constant Mean and the GreatLearning, both of which sketch the potential for charismatic powerinvestedinthereliablyhumaneandmeasuredconductofthejunzi(atermoftenappliedtotheidealruleraswellastothebettermeninhisservice).While the majority of Western Han thinkers emphasized theimportanceoftheAnnalsandtheirthreemaincommentaries intheirtreatments of Kongzi, underscoring the message that the Annals

political program represented the Master’s central legacy to thelegitimaterulersandministersoftheHan,resorttotheConstantMeanwasfrequentduringthetwocenturiesofEasternHan,atimeofweakcentral power whose state-sponsored ideology tended to exalt theemperor, as if in compensation, endowing him with semi-divinepowersonaparwiththoseofHeavenandEarth.ByZheng’stime,theMeanwas thought to be one of the textsmost in tunewith currentcosmological and social constructions, which located a mysterious,divine, and resonating charismatic power in both the public anddomestic actions of the sovereign and, to a far lesser extent, hisrepresentatives.Zheng’sinsistencethattheauthoritativepersonneverwaversfromtheWay,regardlessofwhoiswatching—inthewordsoftheMean,thathe“protecthisdivinequalitiesevenwhenalone”(shenqidu)—wasexpresslydesignedtoinjectahighermoralstandardintothe politics of the daywhenmany leading figures boasted ofmoral“flexibility”andfactionsbattledfor favoratacorruptcourt.Zheng’sfurther insistence on the authoritative leader’s reverence for theancestors couldplausiblybe construedbycontemporariesasaharshrebuke of the leading contenders for power. Conflating secular andsacred,inamannertruetotheteachingsofKongzi,ZhengwantedhiscommentaryontheConstantMeantoconveyasinglelesson:thattheawesomeprivilegeofcreatingnewritesandmusicmustbe reservedfor sage-kings on the throne. Still, Zheng was hardly averse toprescribingnewparadigmsfortheresponsibilitiesofthesage-king,inactionandatrest,andhetherebysetthestagefora“new”andrevisedConfuciussuitabletothepost-Hanrealities.Writingnearlya thousandyearsafterZhengXuan,ZhuXihadthetemeritytoposithisteachersandhimselfasamongtheonlyqualifiedinterpretersofConfucius’s“subtlewording,”claiming forhimself themantle of Zisi, Kongzi’s grandson, and of Mencius. Thus Zhu Xiclaimedundisputed legitimacy forhisownparticular readingsof theClassicsevenwhentheydeparteddramatically fromreadingsofferedbyearlierauthoritativetraditions.ZhufocusedmuchofhisattentionontheConstantMean,treatingitasthefinalwordandsummationofConfucius’s teachings; conveniently for Zhu, theMean provided thebestavailablecanonical justification forZhu’sowncosmologicaland

social constructions crafted to defend his version of the ConfucianWay against detractors well versed in Buddhist metaphysics andBuddhist viewsof humannature. Zhu’s peers and followerswere allconversantwith the strict Buddhist division of the originally unifiedheart-mind (xin) into “selfish emotions” (the seat of destructivedesires)atwarwith the“highermind”open to thedivine laws (i.e.,Principle). Accordingly, Zhu Xi’s commentary likewise posited theexistence of two suchmindswithin eachhuman,with eachmind incontinual if somewhatone-sided conversationwith theother, exceptfor those sages able to transcend selfish desires and externaldeceptions tocommunewith the infallibleMindofDao (alsoknownby the synonyms of Mean, Integrity, and Principle). That infallibleMind, it need hardly be said, is the proper object of single-mindedcontemplation for allwould-be seekers afterDao.Unfortunately, theinfallibleMindis“barelyperceptible.”Forallthosewhoarelessthansages, glimpses of it must be gleaned painstakingly from successiveinvestigationsofthepatternsofsocietyandcosmos.Booklearningandordinary erudition, by Zhu’s theory, offered the single best hope formarshaling and correlating such gleanings. This emphasis on booklearningwasitselfareflectionofthenewpervasivenessoftextculturein Zhu’s era, reinforced by the more meritocratic civil serviceexaminations. Zhu’s reading of the Mean therefore stands in starkcontrast to that of Zheng Xuan, who looked elsewhere for its coremessage,tothesublimepowerofthesovereign’sactiveinterventionswithinthecommunitiesofthelivingandthedead.InhisreinterpretationoftheConstantMean,Zhufounditusefultodepart from tradition, assigning some parts of the Classic to Kongzihimself(therebylendingthemmuchgreaterauthority)andothers toKongJiorZisi,Kongzi’sgrandson.Ofcourse,ZhuXiandhisreadersreckoned that only those sections assigned to Kong Ji could containerrors,though,inthemain,thegrandsonwasafaithfultransmitterofhisgrandfather’smatureteachings.Generallyspeaking,thepartsZhuassignedtoKongzitendedtodiscussHeavenlyPrinciple,whereasthepartsassignedtoKongJiconcernedtheWayofMan.Zhuinthiswayshiftedthemainsubjectofthetextfromtheexemplarysovereignrulertogentlemenofgreatcultivationandlearning,castbyZhuaspersons

verymuch like himself, scholars and teachers in loyal opposition tothe government. From this, other changes by Zhu followed. Forinstance, Zhu tended to gloss over some parts of the canonicalConstant Mean text, specifically its opening section depicting theemotionsasadmirablybalancedandcenteredprior to takingaction.Healsoredefinedsomekeytermsandphrasesinthetext.“Protectingone’sdivinequalitieswhenalone,”totakebutoneexample,nolongerreferred to the sovereign’s conduct within a domestic setting, as inZheng Xuan’s reading, but rather to the gentleman’s ceaselessvigilance about his ownmotives and inner qualities even when notengagedintheperformanceofhissocialandpoliticalduties.Ideally,thisinteriorworkofself-cultivationgraduallyculminatedinIntegrity,a wholly inner quality of perfect wholeness and power, and thisbecame the main focus of Zhu’s readings, supplanting the earliercommentaries’concernwithpowerholders’ tangibledeedsandpublicdisplays of authority. Key to Zhu’s message was the notion that allmen like himself, either by nature or by dint of hard work, couldattainsagehood,andtherebyharnessallthepowersoftheuniversetotheirowninteriorefforts.Many different titles for chapter 5, “The Supreme Sage and theImperial Cults,” were possible, since this chapter explores thetransmogrificationofKongzifromFirstTeacherandSupremeSagetoanexplicitlydivine figurewhois theobjectofestablishedcultswithspecialized rituals, especially during the last three dynasties ofimperial China—Yuan,Ming, andQing. Twice a year, in spring andfall, from themid–eighth centuryuntil the fall of theQing in1911,officialsinthecapitalandintheempire’smainadministrativecentershad rendered cult offerings to Confucius as a very high-ranking godwithintheimperialpantheon,positionedjustbelowHeavenitselfbutabove the Sun,Moon, and Five Planets.While this cultic Confuciusheld a distinguished place in the cosmos, he evidently remainedaccessible to exemplary humans and amenable to their influence.Duringthesebiennialritualevents,ConfuciusTemplesthroughoutthelandbustledwithactivitiesinwhichConfuciusfiguredasbothsymboland ultimate source of inspiration for the empire-wide civil serviceexaminations,thede-facto“ancestor”ofclassicallearning.

Readersmaygleanseveralnoteworthy(ifalltoooftenoverlooked)principlesfromchapter5’sreviewofthehistoryanddoctrinalcontentofthesesacrificesandthepantheon:

1. In the three-tiered hierarchy of gods corresponding to thethree tiers of the earthly administration (imperial,ministerial, and lower-ranking officials), various gods heldsway over particular albeit overlapping spheres, whileancestralspiritswerebelievedtobeabletomovebetweenthetierswithunusualfreedom,reflectingthecriticalimportanceoffilialpietytothestatecult.

2. Typically the state-sponsored Confucius cult, in contrast tothose of Daoism and Buddhism, did not promise personalsalvation in this life or the next for those offering cult;instead,blessingswouldbeconferredmorebroadlyuponthecommunitiesandconstituenciesofthoseofferingcult.

3. Theefficacyofsuchsacrificeswasbelievedtodependmoreupon the celebrant’s innerpurity thanuponhis punctiliousperformanceofthecult’sritualprocedures.

4. Theimperialrites,whichsomewhaterraticallyuntil739hadfocusedsometimesmoreontheDukeofZhouandsometimesmore on Kongzi, were split in 739 in such a way thatConfucius thereafter served as primary exemplar of thegentleman steeped in classical learning, and the dukerepresentedtheparagonoftheloyalpublicservant.

5. Over time, the doctrinal content of the state-sponsoredcurriculumwasdistilled—orwatereddown,ifyouwill—toacore set of teachings well suited to bureaucrats in theimperialservice.

6. TheConfuciuscultsurvives, insomewhatdistortedform,inthe cults offered today in East Asia (People’s Republic,Taiwan, and South Korea) and in the Chinese diasporiccommunities(e.g.,Indonesia).

Interestingly, a reviewof the history of theConfucius cults showsthat it was during the decades following the collapse of Han,

specifically in 241 CE—precisely the time when standard accountsallege the influence of Confucius to be waning and Daoism andBuddhismwaxing—thattheextantrecordsdetailthefirstattemptstofully integrate imperial sacrifices toConfuciuswithin the rest of thestate-sponsored cults. Meanwhile the later histories show, equallyastonishingly, that neo-Confucians of the twelfth centuryunceremoniously hauled down from their honored places in theConfucius Temple two of the fourmasters considered as late as theeleventhcenturytobethebestproponentsofConfucius’sMiddleWay,XunziandYangXiong(53BCE–18CE).Toretaintheoldsymmetryoffourmasters supporting Confucius, the reputed authors of theGreatLearningandConstantMean,ZhengShenandKongJi,wereenlistedtojoin Yan Hui and Mencius in the Temple by Kongzi’s side. Thisreconfiguration of the Four Masters is one tangible sign of theenormous gulf separating the classical-era faces of Confucius fromthoseoflateimperialChina.Nonetheless,even inSong,aschapter5notes,any impulseby thethrone to promulgate a narrow or precise definition of Confucianteachings tended to meet with stiff resistance from cultivated meninsideandoutsideofficialdom.TheSongstate’seffortsspearheadedbyWang Anshi (d. 1086) to increase centralization in many areas ofculturalandpolitical lifehadmanifestlyfailed.ThefirstunequivocalimpositionofastateorthodoxyoccurredlaterundertheYuan,Ming,and Qing dynasties, when candidates sitting the civil examinationswererequiredtofollowZhuXi’scommentariesontheFourBooks intheiressays.(EveninlateimperialChina,however,teachersinprivateacademies were free to proselytize divergent views, so long as theywere not openly treasonous, in this enjoying farmore freedom than“heretics” inmedieval and earlymodernEurope.This explainswhy,centuries after Zhu Xi, it is accurate to speak ofmany thriving andevolvingConfuciantraditions—notjustoneunitary“Confucianism”—that generally traced their origins back to one of twomain lines oftransmission, that followingZhuXiand theChengbrothersand thatespousingWangYangming [1472–1529]. It also explainswhy a fewsturdy critics like YuanMei [1716–1797] continued to gentlymocktheMaster.)

WhileitishardtogaugetheimpactoftheCheng-Zhuorthodoxyoncourt and society under the relatively short-lived Mongol-Yuandynasty,whentheMongolsputastrictlimitonthenumberofChineseeligibletosit thecivilserviceexams, there isnodoubtthatZhuXi’sinfluencemade itself felt in every aspect of the Confucius cult fromearlyMingthroughlateQing.Zhu’sinfluencecanbediscernedinthedecisioninMingtoreplacesculptedorpaintedimagesoftheSageandhisdiscipleswithwoodentabletsinConfuciusTemplesthroughouttherealm.Thisdecisionoverturnedacenturies-oldprecedent,anditwasno surprise when, in Qing, Zhu Xi was elevated to the rankcommensuratewithKongzi’simmediatecircleofdisciples.Aswehaveseen, doctrinal and ritual shifts occurred fairly often within state-sponsored“Confucianism.”Meanwhile,proponentsofthelateimperialorthodoxysoughttosettleanumberofcenturies-oldquestionsaboutthe place of Confucius as uncrowned king, supreme sage, and firstteacher.Chapter 6 explores the role of Confucius as Founding Ancestor ofthe Kong family, the only noble line to have persisted through therisesandfallsofsuccessivedynastiesfromEasternHantimesuntilthecollapseof theQingdynasty in1911.Basedmainlyon sources fromthe Ming and Qing periods, the chapter outlines the distinct butoverlapping practices of the ancestral and imperial cults devoted toConfucius througha reconstructionof three recordedofferingsmadetoKongzibyhisseventy-first-generationdescendant,KongZhaohuan(1735–1782). After Zhu Xi (1130–1200), performing family ritualsassumed ever greater significance, since Zhu made reverentperformanceofthevariousfamilyrituals—especiallythoseconnectedwith marriages, mourning, and the auspicious ancestral cult—a keystatusmarkerforanyfamiliesclaiminganillustriouspatrimony.Asaresult,KongZhaohuan,asyoungscionof theKong family line,withthehelpofliturgicalexperts,tutors,andadvisers,engagedinavarietyofpracticesdesigned to impressall thepowersofHeavenandEarthwithhisgreatfilialdevotion.Theseexpressionstooktheformofdailyofferingstotheheadsofthefivemostrecentgenerationsofhisfamily(from deceased father to great-great-grandfather in the direct line)represented by portraits; veneration of Master Kong, the Founding

AncestorofallKongfamilydescendantsintheAncestralTemple;andtheseasonalofferingspresentedtotheKongTemple(alsodubbedtheCulture Temple or Wenmiao). In the seasonal offerings, KongZhaohuan,atthebehestoftheQingemperor,paidhomagenotonlytoKongzihimselfbut toall theoutstandingsagesbeforeandafterwhohadcontributedtotheeventualtriumphoftheMiddleWay.WhetherengagedinthedailyprayersofferedtohisancestorswithinthefamilyorleadingimperialenvoyswhotraveledtoQufutohonorhisFoundingAncestor,KongZhaohuanperformedthecomplementaryroles of officer of the state, humble supplicant before his ancestorConfucius,andofficialrepresentativeoftheenormousKongclan,withsome twenty thousandmembers in theQufu area alone. Thus KongZhaohuan’s devotions were expected to confer benefits upon thedynasty,upontheKongfamily,andultimatelyupontheentirerealm,asaresultofexploitingthecollectiveinfluenceofallmembersinthedistinguished Kong patriline. Each role had its own venue, takingKong Zhaohuan from his in-house temple to the all-important KongTemple in Qufu, the latter—replicated in everymain administrativeseat of the realm—being open to all males who aspired to becomecultivated“gentlemen,”withtheformer,theAncestralTemple,closedtoallbutthemalemembersoftheKongfamily.Chapter 6 reminds readers of the single canonical principle thatinformed all ancestral sacrifices in imperial China: that piousdescendants, after the requisite purification rites, recalled in detailtheir ancestors’ daily activities, smiles, gestures, preoccupations, andpredilections, composing a complete mental image of the ancestorfrom these discrete elements that would be powerful enough toconjure thedead.Bysuchpractices theancestraldeadwererestoredto life, if only for the duration of the sacrifices. These arduousexercises entailing memory, invocation, and a measure, perhaps, ofselective amnesia became the principal means to convert personalknowledge of theworthy dead (firsthand or via texts) into practicescapable of sustaining the auspicious influence of the ancestors oversucceeding generations. The solemn fasts, the consecration andoffering of dishes, and the reading of prayers all underscored theinterdependenceofthelivinganddeadwhileestablishingsecurelines

of communicationbetweenearthlyand spirit realms.Theefficacyofthese repeated applications to the dead, as readers of Zhu Xi’sinjunctions will recall, supposedly depended on the degree of innerpuritytobefoundinthemostdirectlinealdescendantwhileofferingancestralsacrifice.Thegreaterthepurityofthesupplicant,themorelikely that the punctilious ancestorswould overlookminor lapses ofdecorum.ThehistoryoftheKongfamilypatrilinewouldhardlybecompletewithoutmentionofthe“villainousKongMo,”ahereditaryindenturedtenantoftheKongfamily,who,inhopesofinheritingtheentireKongfamilyestateintheturmoilfollowingthecollapseoftheTangdynastyin 905, falsely claimed to be the most direct lineal ancestor of theSage.KongMo’streacherywasnearlyunparalleledinthelongcourseofChinesehistory:thoughadependentoftheKongfamily,henearlysucceededinexecutinghisplantomurdernotjusthismaster,butallofhismaster’srelatives.Stillworse,KongMopurportedlyintendedtoput an end to the entire ritual structure centered on efficacious cultofferingstoKong-fu-tzu(GreatMasterKong,Confucius).AsKongMowell knew, ancestors would receive cult only from their biologicalheirs, absent special ritual arrangements for the adoption of anunrelatedpersonintothefamilyline.FortunatelyfortheKongfamilyand for the realm, one genuine Kong family member, Kong Renyu,survived KongMo’s plot and ultimately succeeded to the hereditarytitleofdukeintheearlytenthcentury.Chapter 6 introduces readers to the sorts of theological concernsthattendedtopreoccupyritualspecialistsoftheMingandQingcourts—for example, whether pious veneration of the worthy dead wasbetter facilitated through prayers before plain wooden tablets ofuniformsizeandqualityorbeforepaintedandsculpted images.Theritual reforms of 1530 resulted in the removal of all painted andsculpted images from every state-sponsored temple in the empire.AnotableexceptionwasmadefortheKongtemples,whichretainedthelifelike images that had been the focus of cult offerings, in Qufu atleast,frombefore221BCE.(Curiously,asimilartheologicalproblemdivided Protestant and Catholic theologians at just about the sametime,withProtestantscondemningas idolatrytheuseofeffigiesand

purging local churches of these offending images.) Theologicalcompromises had to be forged whenever famous sons came to beexaltedovertheirfathers,aswasthecasewithextraordinaryteachersanddynasticfounders.AccordingtotheFiveClassicsprescriptions,ason could not take precedence over his father, but there was thebelated decision, in the fourteenth century, to institute the first cultofferings for Confucius’s own father, Shuliang He, in Qufu. Finally,chapter6offersintriguingglimpsesintothecomplexgenderrelationsbelieved to pertain among the worthy dead in late imperial China:KongZhaohuan’sgreat-grandfatherreceivedcultofferings,alongwithtwoofhiswives,onlyoneofwhomhadproducedaboyandheir,andKongzi—referred to as FoundingAncestor—andhiswife, alongwithhis son, grandson, and their wives. The various rites controversiesdescribed in chapter 6 attest to the unsuitability of applying to pre-modern times themoderndichotomiespittingpublicagainstprivate,andstateagainstfamily.Theseventhandfinalchapterofthisbookopenswithadescriptionof the 1898 “Hundred Days Reform” project led by the radicalreformerKangYuwei.WhereasbeforeKang,Kongziwascreditedwithfounding theRu ethic of public service andwith serving as chiefmoralexemplarforprofessionalclassicistsholdingofficeandteaching(inwhichlogicallydistinctrolesConfuciusmadehisappearanceinthestate, local, and Kong family pantheons), Kang Yuwei would havemadehishighlyselectivereadingofConfuciantraditionthebasisforanew “state religion” (guojiao ) modeled more closely onChristianity than on indigenous Chinese traditions. Kang fullyintendedthisnewChinesereligionto(a)receivestatesponsorship;(b)require absolute adherence by all Qing subjects; (c) suppress rivalreligions, including Daoism, Buddhism, and Christianity; and (d)successfully merge religion and politics. Recoiling from Kang’sproposals,traditionalistscounteredKang’screationwithanahistoricalinventionof theirown thatwasno less false: they spokeof “secularRu”guidedbyKongzi’svisionofajuststatethatcondemnsorrendersinnocuousallmanifestationsof“superstition”(i.e.,religion).Thus began the series of oscillating culturewars that have playedthemselves out in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Thekeen

desire to fix a definitive narrative aboutConfucian traditionswithinthe larger context of Chinese history expressed itself in four majorculturewarsduringthetwentiethcentury:theMayFourthMovement(1919–26);theNewLifeMovementunderChiangKai-shek(1934–37);the “anti-feudal” mass movements directed by Mao Zedong, whichculminatedinthe“CriticizeConfucius”campaignsoftheearly1970s;andtheNewConfucianRevivalofthe1980sand1990s.Theseculturewars cast Kongzi/Confucius by turns as “national savior” or as“proponent of a slave mentality” requiring strict submission topolitical and family hierarchies. In the twenty-first century, theCommunist Party has belatedly embraced Kongzi in the hopes thatgreaterdeferencetotheMastermayconditionarestlesspopulationtoconformtoamore“aestheticandharmonious”society,despiteseveredislocations caused by a rapidly expanding economy and ethnicseparatistmovements.Hencethedecisioninlate2007bythePeople’sRepublic’sofficialXinhuaNewsAgencytounveilan“official”portraitof Confucius that recalls the laughingBuddha farmore than it doesthegraveMasteroflegend.Three snapshots of recent events occurring within the tightlyconnectedcirclesinAsianmedia,politics,andacademiacaptureafewof the dominant approaches to rethinking the role of institutionalConfucianism(lesssoofKongzihimself)withinstateandsociety.Thesnapshots chosen foranalysisportray the so-calledThirdandFourthWave New Confucians based in the academic strongholds of HongKong,Taiwan,SouthKorea,and(increasingly)thePeople’sRepublic,allofwhomseek,forgoodreasonsandbad,toadaptKongzi’smessageto the demands of today’s world. Those featured in the snapshotsinclude twoministers in the Singaporean governmentwho routinelyinvoked the name of Confucius in order to sanction one-party ruleover a multiethnic community. And there is, last but not least, thebizarreYuDan,apopularTVpersonalityandself-styledself-helpguruwhocheerfullyappropriatestheAnalectsasgristforhermediamill.Thischapterarguesthatmost,ifnotallofthefreakishtwiststakenby Kongzi’s reputation in China before, during, and after DengXiaoping’s (1904–1997) triumphant return to power in 1978–80faithfullymirroredthehighsandlowsofChina’sself-confidenceabout

itsownplaceas“risingdragon”inapostmodernage,particularly inrelationtotheUnitedStates,thedecliningsuperpower.Therefore,thefinal sections of this last chapter consider (mis)perceptions ofConfuciusandChina in theUnitedStatesover thecourseof the lastcenturyorso,whichhaveshaped(andsometimestwisted)Americanpolitics and policy. In this context, the chapter places the UnitedStates’reconstructioneffortsinAsiaafterWorldWarII;itsstrugglefordominanceduringtheColdWar; itseagerness to fightproxywars inKoreaandSoutheastAsiaaimedatweakeningcommunismingeneralandChina inparticular;and,more lately, theofficialencouragementofU.S. investment inChina, thepeggingof theChineseRMB to theAmericandollar,AmericandependenceoncheapChineseimports,andthe PRC’s $288-billion investment in U.S. government bonds tosubsidizeAmerica’sexplodingdeficit.Chapter 7 insists that it is worth taking the figure of Confucius

seriously, if only because the twenty-first century will require evergreater cooperation between the two superpowers, and Confucius’sroleinChinesehistoryprovidesoneoftheveryfewpossiblemeetinggrounds for Chinese and American leaders confronting a host ofseemingly intractable problems, including the environment andeducation.ThechapterthereforeconcludeswiththreeviewsofKongziarticulated by Herbert Fingarette, Henry Rosemont Jr., and RogerAmes—scholars who, like it or not, have revolutionized the wayAmericans see and teach Confucius and China. Strong defenders ofearly Confucian traditions all (though for different reasons),Fingarette,Rosemont,andAmestogetherurgeuponus(a)astrongercode of reciprocal relations between superior and subordinate (withboth equally conscious of theirmutual obligations) to function as auseful corrective foralienationandantisocialbehavior; (b)agreaterrelianceuponextendedfamiliesandcommunitiesdesignedtonurturetheelderly, the infirm,andtheyoung;(c)moreholisticviewsof thecosmos, consonant with environmental stewardship; (d) a moresophisticated notion of human potential, fundamentally uncoupledfrombiologicalinheritance,nationalidentity,orreligiousinstitutionsand ideas, that might conceivably provide “common ground” formultiethnic communities seeking parity; (e) a revised notion of

“humanrights”thatforegroundseconomicjusticeasthekeytocitizenparticipationandresponsibility,soastogivegreatervoicetothepoorand disenfranchised currently ignored in the so-called democracies;and (f) a greater focus on academic achievement and hardwork inconjunction with less preoccupation with personality, genius, andcelebritytoamelioratethefin-de-siècleimpulsestowardnarcissismandsolipsism.Onecannotexpecttounderstandtheroleof“tradition”inChinaor

the United States today without knowing what happened in thosecountrieswithintherecentpast.AsSørenKierkegaardremarked,“Weliveforward,butweunderstandbackward.”Nordofamilies,societies,or states typically exist for very long without feeling the need toinvoketheancestors inordertoconstruct identities.Kongzi’scall forpast traditions (plural) to be “warmed up” or adapted to currentexigencies,coupledwiththeincreasingspeedoftheglobalcirculationofideas,compelsustoaskifinevitablechangescaneverbechanneledtoward proper ends. Possibly. We cannot know unless we try. ThatwouldbeKongzi’sanswer,atleast.Kongzihimselfdeemedtheeffortto become a clear emblem of one’s values and virtues to others animpressive way of being and acting in this world. And, it seems,Americanshaveremarkably little to lose ifwechoose toexplore theimplicationsof thatpractical answer.Now,Cassandra-like,ChalmersJohnson, the erstwhile conservative critic ofMao’s exploits, catalogsinstances of the disastrous “blowback” stemming from the recentforeign-policy initiatives of the United States. Both practical andethical considerations, then, propel us to get better acquaintedwithourglobalneighbors’history,aswellasourown.Thevery figureofKongzi, that protean dragon riding the times, has always promisedthattriumphcanbewrestedfromadversitybydintofhardworkandhumankindness. But if Americans continue to react as if “history isbunk,”everfeweroptionswillremain.ZhangZai (1020–77),aSongdynasty thinker,wrote the following

whenhelookedbackatthesweepoftheConfuciantradition:

TheaffairsofHeavenandEartharenothingmorethantransformation.TheintentionsofHeaven and Earth are nothing more than divine. To understand transformation andplumbthedepthsofthedivineistobegoodatemulatingandimplementingtheaffairs

and intentions of Heaven and Earth….Onewho is not ashamed in the privacy of thehouseisnotdisgracedbeforeHeavenandEarth.TheheartandmindandinnernatureareHeavenandEarth.Topreservetheheartandmindandnourishtheinnernature…istoserveHeavenandEarth.

Heaven and Earth have amply supplied our lives with wealth, high status, goodfortune, and kindness. However, poverty, low status, worries, and sorrow are alsoexpressionsoftheloveofHeavenandEarth,theretohelpfulfillme.IfinlifeIfaithfullyserveandobeythetwopowersandifindeathItakemyeaseintheirmindsanddonotcreatedisorder,thenIam…theirperfectlyfilialchild.

Soaring to mystical heights, Zhang Zai’s account yet manages toconveywhat itmeans to practice theMiddleWay in the journey oflife. Contrast his elevated register with the cynical summary ofKongzi’slifeandreceptionprofferedbyLuXun,China’smostfamouswriter of the twentieth century: “Confucius’s establishment as a‘fashionableguru’wassomethingthathappenedafterhisdeath.Inhisownlifetime,hehadaprettyroughride….Confuciusoweshisexaltedposition in China to the powerful. It had nothing to do with themasses of the common people.” Each of these opposing statementstellsussomethingprofoundlytrue.Itisoneofthechallengesfacingusthatwe now, as ever, ignore at our peril the host of contradictionsdragged in thewakeof themultiple livesofConfucius.But, “If it isreally possible to govern countries by decorum and yielding, whatmore need be said?” Nothing but the Master’s fervent wish,apparently: “In dealingwith the aged, to be of comfort to them. Indealingwithfriends,tobefaithful.Andindealingwiththeyoung,tocherishthem.”

Notes

CHAPTER1

1.Kongzi(“MasterKong”)istheChinesenamerenderedinEnglishas“Confucius.”ThischapterspeaksofKongziortheMasterforreasonsthatwillbecomeobviouswithsucceedingchaptersofthisbook.

2.Ruisthetermnowconventionallyrenderedas“Confucian.”

3.Somethingvery like thisverse is saidofKongzibyYanHui inAnalects9/10. Inclosinghisbiographywiththispaeanofpraise,SimaQianannounceshisownallegiancetoKongziasanexemplaryhistorian.

4.TheAnalects, typicallyregardednowas themostvaluableentrée intoConfucius’s teachings,waslessesteemedintheearlyempires,asindicatedbythefollowing:WhilebymandatetheFiveClassicsweretobetranscribedonbamboostripstwoHanfeet,fourincheslong(thesamesizeusedforimperialedicts),andtheXiaojingonstripshalfthatlength,theAnalectswastobetranscribedonstripsonlyeightHaninchesinlength,accordingtoZhengXuan(127–200CE),whosestatementtallieswithonebyWangChong(27–97?CE).(OneHanfootcorrespondsto23.1 cm.) The Zuo, once confidently dated to ca. 400 BCE, is now believed to be amultilayeredtextthatmayhavereachedfinalformaslateasWesternHan,beforethetimeofLiuXin(d.23CE).KongzifiguresinsomestoriesintheZuoasabeingwithgodlikeprescienceandvasterudition.

5.Kongziisoneofonlytwoindividualstoappearinthe“HereditaryHouses”section,theotherbeing Chen She, the rebel leader who put into motion the chain of events that eventuallytoppled Qin. Readers of the Shiji have always assumed that Kongzi was included in the“HereditaryHouses” section because hewas regarded inHan times as “uncrowned king,” apersonofenormousinfluenceandauthoritywho,insomesense,“ruled”overtheheartsandmindsofallthosewhofollowedhisexample.Itisworthconsidering,however,whetherSimaQian might not have meant the placement of this biography to convey a hint of Kongzi’srebellious nature. After all, the subtle wording of Kongzi’s compilation of theChunqiu wasdesignedto“criticizeemperors,reprimandfeudallords,andcondemnthehighofficialssothatthe business of a true ruler could be known.” (See chapter3.) An example of the storm ofcriticism that arose from Sima Qian’s decision to place the biography of Kongzi in the

“HereditaryHouses”sectionmaybeseenfromWangAnshi’s(1021–1086CE)“CriticismoftheHereditaryHouseforKongzi,”translatedbyDavidPollard,inTheChineseEssay(HongKong:RenditionsPress,1979),350–52.

6.TheAnnalsdatesMengXizi’sdeathto518BCE,not535.IntheZuo,however,essentiallythesameanecdoteoccursundertheyear535,butitcreditsMengXizi’sadvicetoseventeenyearslater.Meng’sson,namedYizi,diedin481BCE.

7. More often translated as “imaginatively ( ) likening ( ) oneself [to another],” so as toempathizewithanother’splight.

8.ThecomparisonmayhintatKongzi’sroleinguardingthelegacyoftheZhouhouse,sincethedogguardsthehouse.

9.Analects 6/18,which recalls 2/4, “At forty, I no longer suffered from perplexity; at fifty, IheardHeaven’sdictates,”etc.

10.SeethenextchapterforsuchcharacterizationsoftheRuasexpertsinclassicallearning.

CHAPTER21.ThenameofMozi(tradit.470–390BCE)isoftencoupledwiththatofKongziinQinandHantexts,andYangZhu(370–319BCE)isportrayedasamajorrivalandcriticofKongzibybothMencius(fourthcentury)andXunzi(thirdcentury).

2.Tobefair,Mozidoesn’tseemtoobjecttosmall-scalesacrificesinwhichfamilyorcommunitymembersgathertodrinkandeatorlistentomusicalperformances.

3. There the retort is, “Master Yang iswise but he does not understand that some things arefated.Onlysomebodywhotrulyunderstandsfateisnotdeluded.”

4.SeetheHanshiwaizhuanforthisanecdote.

5.Underthebroadrubricof“thelaws,”HanFeiincludesnotonlythepenalcodeandtaxlaws,butalsoadministrative lawsand jobdescriptions for the imperialbureaucracy,whichare tohavetheforceoflaw.

6.ThefocusherewillbeonthefirstsevenchaptersoftheextantZhuangzi, theso-called InnerChapters,whichmostscholarsagreearemostlikelytohavebeenwrittenbyasinglegenius.Therestof thework(theOuterChapters) isgenerallydeemedtobeby later,Hanandevenpost-Han,hands.Aswillbecomeclear,thetoneoftheInnerChaptersisfarlesssectarian.

CHAPTER31.Modernhistoriansbelieve,of course, that theQufuConfucius,whose storieswerecompiledabout four centuries after his death (see chapter1), may be a combinatory figure like theBuddha, Laozi, Moses, David, Jesus, and even the Evangelists. It was common, almost derigueur,toattachanameandcyclesofstoriestogreattexts,oralorwritten,toensuretheirsurvivalthroughtime.

2.TheAnalectsascribedtoKongziandhiscirclenevershowtheMasterwritingtheAnnals.TheclosestthatKongzievercomestobeingahistorianisinAnalects15/25,inwhichheremarks(withasperity),“Icanstillrememberthedayswhenascribeleftablank[ratherthanfillinthegapswithfigmentsofhisimagination].”NotethattheAnalectsenjoyedameasureofinfluenceduringHan,butitwasalwaysregardedas“elementaryeducation”(lower-levelteaching)andnotthemasterworkofKongzihimself.

3.Thecommonwisdomhas it that in thepost-Hanperiodofdisunion,or“SixDynasties,” thereputation ofKongzi plummeted.Neither the extant historical records nor the philosophicalliteraturesupportsthisview,however.

4. OneHan legendmakes thismetaphor literally true, saying that, during the “restoration ofEasternHan,”intheyears23–25CE,thethornbushesthatweregrowinginprofusioninQueli[nowcalledQufu], theoldhomeofKongzi,alldied inoneday, leavinganunimpeded trailmorethanonethousandpaceslongfromthesiteoftheoldlecturehallofKongzitothetowngate.SeetheKongcongziforfurtherdetails.

5.BanGu(22–92CE)probablyinitiatedpartsofthismythhimself,astheworkofaJapanesescholar,FukuiShigemasa,hasshown.Ban,arelativebymarriagetotheHanimperialhouse,was doubtless anxious to please his ruler, andwhat betterway than to imply that theHanhousewaspredestinedtorulethankstoKongzi’spatronage?Ban’swritings,however,showtheHan rulers looking to many sources of legitimacy besides Kongzi. Huang Jinxing(Academia Sinica, Taiwan) correctly believes that it was nearly a century after HanWudi,aroundthetimeofWangMang(r.9–23CE),that“Confucian”classicismbecamethefashionatcourt;healsoshowsthatitwasevenlater,duringtheTang,that“templeschools”(miaoxue)became routine parts of the complexes of the Kongmiao (temples dedicated to Kongzi).AccordingtoHuang, itwas thesemiaoxue that for the first timeestablished inall themajorcities throughoutChinaa tight linkbetween thecult toConfuciusandactivitiesat the localgovernmentschools.

6.Aconcernwithwidowchastity,forexample,firstappearsinLegalisttexts.

7.Notuntil theSongperiodwereKongdescendantsenfeoffedinperpetuity, thoughtheywere

grantedhereditarytitleslongbefore.

8.JuliaMurray’sworkontheShengjitu (seeSuggestedReadings) shows thatvisualaswellasliteraryportraitsofKongziremainedpopulardownthroughtheages.

9.Noteveryoneagreedwiththisassessment,however.WangAnshi,thegreateleventh-centuryreformist,wentsofarastocriticizetheAnnalsas“disjointedandfragmentaryreportage.”

10.NearlysixtyyearsagothescholarHomerH.Dubsfoundthattherewasnogengzidayintheeleventhmonth,twenty-firstyearofthereignofXiangGong,sothesecondeclipserecordedintheGuliangcommentarytotheAnnalsistheresultofscribalerrorordeliberateinterpolation.Notealsothatonthegengziday,ineachofthefourseasons,couplesaretomate,accordingtotheChunqiufanlu,onecommentarytotheAnnals.

11. First, it is not certain that Kongzi actually edited or authored the text (sincemany earlysources, such as the Analects, do not mention it), and second, it is not certain what hismotivationmighthavebeen.

12. For example, theAnnals contained at least fourmutually contradictory statements on thesinglesubjectofgovernmentservice:onesayingthatanofficermustnotdoashepleasesorinstigateaffairsonhisowninitiative;onesayingthatifanofficercanfindawaytoenhancethesecurityofhisstate’saltars,andotherwisebringadvantagetoit,hemaydecidemattersonhisown;one saying thatgoing forwardor retreating isup toanofficer;andanother sayingthatwhenanofficer receiveswordofaparent’sdeathwhileonamission,hemayslowhisadvancesothathecanmoreeasilyberecalled.

13.FortheConstantMean,seechapter4.ThepropensitytoinsertKongziintotheRitescanons,towhichtheZhongyongbelongs,fallsshortoffullyendorsinganofficialorthodoxy,butitdoesshowthatKongzi’sfollowersinHanwereinapositiontotrytocanonizeKongzitheman.

14.Onestorycompareshismouthpouringforthdivinelessonstoadeepandfertilemarsh(Yuanshenqi,firstcitedin25CE).Healsohadjoinedteeth,intheformoftheplanetMercury.ForXunzi,Kongzi’s“hollowedout”foreheadresembledthemaskofanexorcist.

15.ThisconnectionmaybeyetanotherreasonwhySimaQianputsChenSheandKongziinthe“HereditaryHouses”sectionofhismonumentalShiji.

16.Had the Kong family stories any foundation in truth, it is difficult to seewhy (a) Kongziwouldnothaveknownhisfather’sidentity,and(b)Kongziwasnearlybarredadmissiontoaminister’shouseonthegroundsthathisforebearswereundistinguished.

CHAPTER41. SimaQian, Zheng Xuan, and Zhu Xi concur that Confucius’s grandson, Kong Ji (aka Zisi),authored theZhongyong. Zheng states that Kong Ji “compiled it to illuminate his ancestor’svirtue.”Mostmodern readers remainunconvinced of this attribution, but since this chapteraimstosituatethetextinwaysthatChinesecommentatorshistoricallyunderstoodit,weshallletpassthequestionofthetext’sactualauthor.

2.TheThirteenClassicscomprise theChanges,Documents,andMao’sOdes; three ritual canons,i.e.,theRitesofZhou,CeremonialRites,andRecordofRites;threecommentariesontheSpringandAutumnAnnals, i.e.,Zuozhuan,Guliangzhuan, andGongyang zhuan; theAnalects; Filiality;theEryadictionary;andMencius.

3ZhengXuanalsointerpretszhongyonginthetextasthe“constantmean.”

4.ZhengXuansaysthislineproclaimstheMeanassublime(zhimei ),whereasZhuXisaysitisinnateandpossessedbyeveryone(rensuotongde ).

5.Numbers inparentheses correspond toZhuXi’s divisionof theConstantMean used inmostEnglishtranslationsofthetext.

6. Shun was chosen to accede to the throne for his extraordinary filiality and exemplarymatrimonialdevotionshowntohistwowives,bothdaughtersoftheking.Uponascendingthethrone,ShunbroughtordertothecosmosbyregulatingthestarsandperformingproperritestoHighGod(Shangdi )andtheothergodsthatinhabitedthemountainsandstreams.Asthetrueking,Shunperformedhissacreddutiesofsettingthecalendarandstandardizingritesandmusic,whichestablishedthefoundationforpeacethroughouthisdomain.

7.ZhengXuanglossesthetransitiveverbti,whichtypicallymeans“togivebodyto”or“togivesubstance to,” as “to give birth to.” Given that ancestors are the subject of ti and theirdescendantsitsobject,tishouldbeconstruedas“procreation.”Thewordshioftenmeanstobedispatchedbyasuperior,butthecontextleavesopenacertaindegreeofvolitiononthepartofthosewhofastandpurifythemselves,soitistranslatedas“toinduce.”

8. Compare thiswith a similar and parallel passage in the “Fundamentals of Sacrifice” in theRecordofRites:“Thepiousman’ssacrificecertainlyreceivestheblessing.”

9.InclassicalChinese,thewordcheng(Integrity)alsofunctionsasatransitiveverb,meaningtoactivelymakesomethingattainIntegrity.

10.ZhuXireadsthispassagedifferently:“Anciently,thereweregoodrulers,butnoevidenceoftheirritesremainstoday,sothepeoplewillnotfollowthem.Presently,thegoodmanisnotrevered as a king and so the people will not follow.” Who might such a good man be?

“Anciently,”saysZhuXi,“referstothekingsoftheXiaandShangdynastieswhoseritesweregoodbutcouldnolongerbefollowed.PresentlyreferstosageslikeMasterKong,who,thoughaccomplishedintherites,wasnotreveredasthesovereign.”

11.Thispassageappearsinthe“DocumentsofYu”oftheModernScriptTextversionoftheBookofDocuments.Xunziusesthissameformulationtoexplainhowthemindbecomesdeludedin“DispellingDelusions.”

12.Inlivingthings,qiisaforcethatanimatesthebody.Thetermdefieseasytranslationbecausethesourcesuseitdifferently.Inearlysourcesitisanessencethatanimatesthebodyinheritedfromone’sancestorsandisthussharedwithinacommondescentline.ZhengXuansaid,“Allthings are born by the qi of the spirits.” Zhu Xi further identifies qi as the fundamentalcharacterofthemind,whichisindividuatedandthusnotstrictlyfamilial.

13.InInstructionsforPracticalLiving(NewYork:ColumbiaUniversityPress,1963),16–17,WangYangmingrefutesZhuXi’sreadingascreatingtwominds.

14ZhengXuanmentionsonlyfivesagesinhiscommentary:sage-kingsYaoandShun;theZhoudynasticfounderskingsWenandWu;andConfucius.

CHAPTER51.Thewordsacrificemeanstoconsecrateortorendersomethingsacredbyofferingittogod(s)and,assuch,appropriatelyconveystheclassicalChinesewordji,whichgraphicallyrepresentstwohandsheldupbeforeaspirit.InConfuciansacrifice,animalswerepreparedinakitcheninadvanceoftheceremonyandpresentedtothespiritsaspartofalargerfeast.Confucianritesstressedpresentationofacompletefeast,nottheritualkillingofanimals.

2.ThereigningHanemperorhadgrantedConfuciustheposthumoustitleofExaltedNi,DukeofConsummatePerfection,in1CE,whensacrificeswereonlyperformedinQufu.Thesourcesdonotmakeclearifthememorialist,PeiSongzhi(372–451),soughttoextendtheHanprecedenttocourtregulationsorifhewasrespondingtoapracticethatcontravenedtheHanprecedent,either overtly or in ignorance of the precedent. TheWei capital was located in Pingcheng,roughly200kilometerswestofmodern-dayBeijing,in489.

3.Thefourdisciplinesincludevirtuousconduct,speech,government,andcultureandlearning,describedinAnalects11.2.

4.Thispassagefromthe“WhenKingWenWasHeirApparent”(Wenwangshizi)chapteroftheRecord of Rites was first adduced to authorize the cult in 550. CE under the Northern Qidynasty(550–577CE).

5. Xuanzang founded the Consciousness-Only (Weishi; Sanskrit: Vijnaptimatra) school ofBuddhism.

6.“WhenKingWenwasHeirApparent”(Wenwangshizi),RecordofRites.Seenote4above.

7.XunziandYangXiongwouldberemovedongroundsofheresyinthefifteenthcentury,whenthecourtembracedarestrictiveconceptionofConfuciantruth.

8. Chapter 4 discusses an example of this criticism in Zhu Xi’s critique of Han and TangcommentariesontheConstantMean.

9.ZhuXipromotedanarrowversionoftheChengbrothers’Yi-LuoSchoolcalledtheDaoSchool,orLearningoftheDao.Thecourtlatercanonizedthisschool,whichisreferredtoasCheng-Zhuorthodoxy.

10.DuringtheMing,threecelebratedeventsatcourtincitedpersecutionoftheircritics,butnoneof the three was doctrine-related: the Yongle emperor’s (r. 1402–1424) usurpation of thethronein1402,theJiajingemperor’s(r.1521–1566)posthumousenthronementofhisfather,andeunuchusurpationinthelateWanlireign(r.1572–1620).

CHAPTER61.Analects3.12.FollowingtheLunyuzhengyicommentary(LiuBaonan,Lunyuzhengyi,3:53–54),thefullpassagemayberendered,“Sacrifice[intheancestraltemple]justas[one’skin]werealive.Sacrificetospiritsasliving[i.e.,servethedeadthesamewaythatoneservestheliving].TheMaster said, ‘If I do not offer the sacrificemyself, it is like not sacrificing at all’ [thismeans that if Kongzi leaves home or is sick and cannot offer sacrifices to his ancestorspersonallyandsendsasurrogate,thensolemnreverencehasnotbeenrealizedintheheart].”

2.FifteenthdayoftheeleventhlunarmonthoftheQianlongemperor’seleventhyear.

3.HeQingxiao(1713–1779).

4. The sacrifice here includes a goat and a pig—prepared in advance of the ceremony—fivebasketsofgrains,andfivebowlsofsaucesandceleriesoneachofthefivealtartables.

5.Alwaysonthefirstdingday—thefourthdayoftheten-daycycle—ofthesecondmonthofeachseason.

6.ThecourtattachedthelandandthepeasantfamiliesthatlivedonittotheKongestateonahereditarybasis.

7. Kong Sihui’s record of this genealogy’s compilation, dated August 25, 1329, is the earliestextant account of the Kong Mo episode. Sihui was himself embroiled in a dispute with acompetingKonglineoverducalsuccession,duringwhichthecourttransferredthetitleamongthreelines,culminatinginSihui’sappointmentin1316.

8.Thefoundingancestoroftheduke’slineage,KongSihui,occupiestheprimarypositionatthemiddlealtar,followedbyfourgenerationsofthelivingduke’sancestors,whoarearrayedbytwosonthefounder’sleftandright.Thetabletsonthefounder’sleftoccupytheseniorposition(zhao),whilethoseonthefounder’srightoccupythejuniorposition(mu).ThusthetabletsonSihui’sleftbelongtothelivingsacrificer’sgreat-great-grandparentsandgrandparents;thoseonhis right belong to the sacrificer’s great-grandparents and parents. Just as “stage left”corresponds to theviewingaudience’s right, the founder’s left corresponds to the sacrificer’sright.

9. Kong Yuqi (1657–1723); first wife: whose natal surname was Zhang (1654–1679), firstdaughter of Zhang Xuanxi (governor of Zhili, Shandong, Henan); second wife: Ye Canying(1666–1692);thirdwife:surnamedHuang(1677–1764).

10.KongChuanduo(1674–1735);Portraits:DazaiKongzi,p.88,KongzixiangYanshenggongjiqifurenxiaoxiang,p.43.Secondwife:LiYu(1675–1714).

11.Jihuo(1697–1719).

12.SurnameWang(1692–1752).

13.KongZhen(d.1296)wasstrippedofthetitlein1259onthegroundsthathe“didnotservewithlearningandrefinement.”

14Seenote8.

15. Kinship organizations did not conceal genealogical information,which, in the case of theQufu Kongs, was published in book form. Rather, they protected the original, handwrittenversionusedinancestralrituals.

16.Thecommentaryexplains,“ThispassagemeansthattheancestorscorrelatewithHeaven.”

17.KongMo’sdescendantskepttheKongsurname;thusnoteveryonesurnamedKonginQufuwas Kongzi’s descendant. Genealogical sources refer to these families as Kongs of the outercourt, or simply “outerKongs” (waiKong). I use “authenticKong” to convey thedistinctionstressedintheKongfamilysources,whichrefertoKongRenyu’sdescendantsasKongsoftheinnercourt,or“innerKongs”(neiKong).Inconversationsasrecentlyas1995,representativesoftheKongfamilysaidfamilygenealogistsstillkeeptrackofthesedifferences.

18.ThemostvociferousadvocatesofremovalgaveastheirmainreasonthattheuseofimagesbetrayedBuddhistandDaoistinfluences;thattheyconfusedimperialandancestralriteswasalesserconsideration.ThecourtdeclinedtoremovespiritimagesfromtheKongTempleinQufuwhentheywereremovedfromotherKongtemplesinthecapitalandthroughouttheempireintheearlyMing.

19.Thefivephasesarecosmicoperationsthatgovernqualitiesofparticularthings.Eachphasecorrespondstoaseriesofattributes.Wood:blue/green,East,sour,thejuepitch(E).Fire:red,South,bitter,thezhipitch(G).Earth:yellow,Center,sweet,thegongpitch(C).Metal:white,West, spicy, the shang pitch (D).Water: black,North, salty, the yu pitch (A). ChenYingshi,“TheoryandNotationinChina,”inTheGarlandEncyclopediaofWorldMusic,7:115–26.

20.InadditiontotheKongs,theFourSurnamesincludeddescendantsofYanHui,Zengzi,andMengzi.TheYuancourtestablishedaschoolforeducatingsonsoftheKong,Yan,andMengfamiliesin1261.TheMingcourtaddedtheZengsin1587.

21.This riteused six rowsofdancerswhenperformedat local temples, andeight rowswhenperformedinthecapitaltodesignateitasacourt-patronizedceremony.

22.AlthoughtheinsigniaarementionedintheRitesofZhou,royalandimperialcourtsobservedthistraditiononlyinconsistentlybeforetheQing.

23. Originating Sage, DukeMu Jinfu; Abundant/Enriched Sage, Duke Qifu; Bequeathed Sage,DukeFangshu;ProsperousSage,DukeBoxia;AdoringSage,DukeShuliangHe.

24.ComparethiswiththemeatofferingstoKongziofox,goat,andpig,plustenbasketsandtenbowlsofvictuals.

CHAPTER71. The first Asian rendering of “religion”was a Japanese neologism coined in 1869 (zongjiao;shukyo);ittookoffinthe1880s,perhapsundertheimpulseofthefirstacademictreatmentsof“religion”(especially“worldreligions”and“comparativereligion”)asanacademicdisciplineinthe1880sand1890s.Beforethattime,Rulearning,likeBuddhistandDaoistdoctrines,wasregardedasa“teaching”(jiao)or“technique”(shu)resultingina“askilledwayoflife.”ForKang’s more utopian strain, see his posthumously published One World Writings (underSuggestedReadings).ForanewstudyonLegge,seeGirardot,alsounderSuggestedReadings.

2.As the storygoes, theGuangxuemperorwasputunderhousearrest in thepalace; and theDowagerEmpresshadhimmurderedwhenshelayonherdeathbed,fearfullesthe—restoredtopowerafterherdemise—recallKangfromexileandpersistinsuchfollies.

3.In1916,Cai(1867–1940)becamepresidentofPekingUniversity.Then,intheearly1920s,theKuomintangwreakedfurtherdestructiononmanyBuddhistandDaoisttemplesassociatedwith“superstitions.”

4.AwackyspoofofWikipediacalled“Wikiality”(www.wikiality.com)captures thisconfusion:“Theyevennamedareligionafterhim[Confucius],called‘Confusionism’[sic].Nooneknowsa lotabout it,because it’snotconsideredaPath toAcceptingJesusChristasYourPersonalLord and Savior. At the same time, Confusionism isn’t a One-Way Ticket Straight to Hellbecausetheydon’ttechnicallyhaveaChurchoranything.Confusionismjustwantsyouthinkaboutstuffandstufflikethat.SonoAmericanspracticeConfusionism….”

5.Arguments that theCCP is not actively promoting the pro-Kongzi affair inChina today arebeliedbyseveralundeniablefacts:(1)thatYuDan’sTheAnalects: InsightsweregivenfreetohundredsofthousandsofthepoorestpeasantsattheChineseNewYear,inthehopethatthiswouldreducesocialfriction;(2)thesamebookwasforceduponprisonersinChinesejails;(3)ConfuciusTemples (kongmiao) are now conducting classes formiddle-school students in therudimentsof“Confucian”teaching;and(4)theestablishmentofConfuciusInstitutesisamajorpartofChina’sforeign-policyinitiativeswithinthelastfewyears.

6.FromtheconclusiontothemovieTheRiverElegy,oneofthemostinfluential“documentaries”shown(twice) in thePRC in1988.AcompleteEnglish translationof theentirescriptof thethree-part series canbe found in theperiodicalChinese SociologyandAnthropology 24,no.2(Winter1991–92).Twosubsequentissues(24,no.4,and25,no.1)containcommentariesandreviewsofthepersuasionpiece,whichargued,inextremeform,thenegativityandintellectualinertiaofalltradition.

7. Nonetheless, large parts of the Chinese empire became “spheres of influence” under the

Western powers for long decades before Japan invaded the northern provinces in 1935.ThailandandJapanwerenevercolonizedoutright,either,butneitherwasanywherenearaspowerfulasChinaatthedawnofthenineteenthcentury.

8. In 1071 the statesmanWang Anshimade three of the Five Classics, read through his owncommentaries,thebasisofthestate-sponsoredexaminationcurriculum,inplaceofthepoeticcompositionsthathadbeenfavoredearlier.From1313to1904,ZhuXi’scommentariesontheFour Books formed the core curriculum tested by the state qualifying examinations. Seechapter4.

9. Geremie Barmé, “History for the Masses,” inUsing the Past to Serve the Present, edited byJonathanUnger(Armonk,NY:M.E.Sharpe,1993),260.

10. In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, discussions routinely pitted China as“thesickmanofAsia”againstJapan,discountingcrucialdifferencesbetweenthetwostates:China was five times larger than Japan; China’s far greater racial, ethnic, and linguisticdiversity posed serious obstacles to mobilizing the forces for change; and, perhaps mostimportant, China’s economic ideals (influenced byMencius) limited the rate of taxation onfarmland, and so precluded the sorts of massive state expenditure on infrastructure thatoccurred inMeiji Japan. Inaddition,by themid–nineteenthcentury, theTokugawabakufu’spolicieshadforcedlower-andmiddle-rankingsamuraiintosuchseveredebtthattheyhadlittlestakeinsupportingtraditionalpoliticalandculturalinstitutions.

11.IntheUnitedStates,DengXiaopingisusuallyportrayedasLiuShaoqi’sprotégé,thoughtheywere of the same political generation and sometime rivals. As targets in the CulturalRevolution,theyweretreatedasequals,althoughleadersofdifferentpoliticalfactions(Liuasheadof theworkers in “white”areas, andDengas leaderofSichuanandof theHakkaRedArmyleaders).

12.ZhengJiadong,Dangdaixinruxuelunheng(Taipei:Guiguantushugonsi,1995),8.

13. JohnHutchinson, “Re-Interpreting Cultural Nationalism,”Australian Journal of Politics andHistory45,no.3(September1999),394.

14. Twoobvious exceptions to this characterization are (1) JiangQing , formeracademicand(after2001)full-timesocialactivist,whoasaself-proclaimedfollowerofWangYangming(1472–1529)hasbeencriticalofMouZongsanandallproponentsof“abstractpostulatesofafar-removedmetaphysics”butequallyopposedtoWestern-styledemocracy;and(2)LiZehou

whoinsiststhatConfucianismissocentraltoChineseculturethatitneedsnospecialeffortstorevitalizeit.

15. Yu Ying-shih wrote of “traditional” China, “Although Confucian (rujia) culture was in a

degeneratestate[duringtheRepublicanera,1911–49],itneverthelesscontrolledtheactivitiesofdaily life…frommarriageand funeralcustoms to seasonal festivals.”LuXunwouldhavedisputedYu’sassessment,forhewroteinhisessay,“ConfuciusinModernChina,”“ComparedwiththelaterimportedSakyamuni,he[Kongzi]cutaratherpoorfigure.True,everycountyhadaConfucianTemple,butthiswasalwaysalonely,neglectedplacewherethecommonfolkneverworshipped.Iftheywantedtoworship,theylookedforaBuddhisttempleorashrinetosomedeity.”

16.Xuemeans“learning”(noterudition,butlearninghowtooperateinanexemplaryfashionintheworld);itistobedistinguishedfromjiao(doctrine,ideology,cult).

17. John Makeham, Lost Soul: “Confucianism” in Contemporary Chinese Academic Discourse(Cambridge,England:CambridgeUniversityPress,2008),p.55.

18.Theterminologyusedofsuccessivegenerationsisconfusingandunstandardized.Somecallthreepeople—MouZongsan,TangJunyi,andXuFuguan—the“secondgeneration”afterXiongShili, and others speak of Xu and his compatriots as the ThirdWave, counting as the FirstWavetheAxialAgecontributionsofKongzi,Mencius,andXunzi,andcountingtheSong-Mingteachings (said to culminate in the teachings ofWang Yangming) as the SecondWave. ToreviveKarlJaspers’sideaoftheAxialAge(ca.800–200BCE),inwhichmanydifferentculturesmoreorlesssimultaneouslyawakenedtotheneedtorationalizereligionthrougha“humanistturn,”wasthebrightideaofTuWeiming[DuWeiming,inPinyin]ofHarvardUniversity,anidea designed to facilitate dialogue between civilizations.However, Tu’s definition ofRujia-style thought is so vague as to be meaningless: (1) being politically concerned; (2)participatinginsociety;and(3)attachingimportancetoculture.

19.Althoughtheterm“NewConfucian”(XinRujia)wascoinedin1963,ithasneverbeenwelldefined. In general, it refers to those who profess cultural and political conservatism (theChinese version of “family values”) and great nostalgia for the past; some see these as theprimarymethodsbywhich tomorally rearm theChinese for apossible futureArmageddon.Given the parallels between the American neoconservativemovement and the Chinese neo-Confucianistmovement,Ihavechosentohighlightthesimilaritiesthroughtheuseofthe“neo-Con”moniker.

20. This unitary focus on theDoctrine ofMind andNaturemeans to co-opt the philosophicalworksofHegelandAlfredNorthWhitehead,bothofwhomoftenusedthesamephrase.

21.FromatalkbyLiuShuxian,ascitedinUmbertoBresciani,ReinventingConfucianism:TheNewConfucianMovement(Taipei:TaipeiRicciInstituteforChineseStudies,2001),398.

22.ForMou,Heavenisnotananthropomorphicgod,butthenameforthemoralorderitself.

23.Yu,ThePowerofCulture:StudiesinChineseCulturalHistory(HongKong:1994),p.161.

24.Atthe1988“milestone”symposiumattheSingaporeInstituteofEastAsianPhilosophies,themainland scholar Fang Keli announced to the international community that he and themembers of his research team had identified the representative New Confucians; he alsoplannedabookseriestobetitled“KeySelectionsfromNewConfucianStudies.”

25. Yet a fourth Daotong proposal, floated in Taiwan, posits a straight-line, mind-to-mindtransmissionfromtheSagetoChiangKai-shek!

26. In2004,one-partyrule inSingaporebythePAP(People’sActionParty)was“returned”toLee Kuan Yew’s own son. NB: Goh is a very common Hokkien name. The two Gohs areunrelated.

27.Howlittleanyof these fiveattitudeshas todowithConfucianismisshownbythecaseofSingapore’sclosestneighbor,Malaysia.AMuslimcountryledbyaMuslimleader,MohammedMahathir,MalaysiaisruninverymuchthesamewayasSingapore,butjustifiedby“Muslimvalues.”

28.Thecoverofthe“ConEthics”textbookshowsaphoenixrisingfromtheashes,symbolizingtheimmortalteachingsofConfuciusandhisfollowers,risingfromtheashesofthetwentiethcenturytobereborninthenewglobalera.

29.StraitsTimes, February4,1982. In the same interview,Gohcalled theConfucianethic the“directparallel[sic]”(i.e.,counterpart)totheProtestantethicinEuroAmerica.

30. Straits Times, December 31, 1982. See also Beng-Huat Chua, Communitarian Ideology andDemocracyinSingapore(London:Routledge,1995),p.67.Cf.JasonTan,“TheRiseandFallofReligiousKnowledgeinSingapore,”JournalofCurriculumStudies29,no.5(September1997):603–24.

31. Gan Yang (Philosophy Institute, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences) in the 1980scriticized those “vulgar Confucianists”who insisted that themodern value of Confucianismshouldbegaugedaccordingtoitsallegedabilitytopromoteindustry,mercantilespirit,naturalscience, and democracy. See Du Weiming, et al, Ruxue fazhan de hongguan toushi (Tapei:Zhengzhongshuju,1997),pp.595,596,599.

32.Thismessagecertainlyresonates.Itiswhy,inApril2007,theChinesegovernmentsponsoredtwo forums, hosted simultaneously inHongKong and inXi’an (at a reported cost ofUS$1million),dedicatedtotheinterpretationandpromotionoftheDaodejing(WayandItsPower)associatedwiththelegendarysageLaozi(whomHanlegendmakestheoldteacherofKongzi).

33. The seemingly innocuous term “blending together” (ronghe) in reality carries a strongideological charge, since minority ethnic groups are asked to “blend together” with the

manifestlysuperiormajorityor“Han”cultureundertheleadershipoftheCCP.

34.ColinMacKerras,WesternImagesofChina(Oxford:OxfordUniversityPress,1989),p.187.

35. A clear majority of Republican-era entrepreneurs and diplomats received their collegeeducation in institutions under the direction of American church organizations. This goes alongwaytoexplainwhatIsaacscalls“thenaturalhistoryofAmericanimagesoftheChinese”aspaganswithpotentialwhoqualify tobe“wards”ofAmericandemocracy,not tomentiontheConfucian-Christian“dialogue”promotedbythe“BostonConfucians.”Afterall,“Confucianreligion”(Rujiao), as conceived since the Jesuits in the early seventeenth century, is said todifferfrommostotherworldreligionsinits“this-worldlyfocus”thateasesinterfaithdialoguesand ecumenical encounters. With Christian conversions on the rise in today’s PRC, thisdialogue may soon shift its home, however, with unpredictable consequences. However,collusionbetweenmissionariesandearlyWesternimperialism,welldocumentedsinceKennethLatourette’sAHistoryofChristianMissionsinChina(NewYork:Macmillan,1929),nevereasedtensionsbetweenthetwocountriesinthepast.

36.Here,inall likelihood,weseethelingeringeffectofPearlBuck’sTheGoodEarth(boththenovel andmovieversions).Buck,daughterofProtestantmissionaries inChina,undoubtedlyhashadanenormousimpactonAmericanviewsofChina.

37.SeeCarmaHinton,SmallHappiness(1986).

38.ThetitleofChristopherLasch’sbook.

39. Herbert Fingarette and Henry Rosemont, especially, are interested in issues of everydaymorality (notmetaphysical reality), and so I havedubbed them“ethical realists.”This termrecallsIrisMurdoch’sdescriptionofmoralchangeasan“unselfing”process,bywhichshedoesnot mean the replacement of selfish motives with altruistic or self-sacrificing ones, but anevolutiontowarda“selflessrespectforreality”accompaniedbyagrowingdistasteforcheapconsolationsfortheego(self-pity,gluttony,fantasy,etc.).

40.HenryRosemont,“WhoChooses?”inChineseTextsandPhilosophicalContexts:EssaysDedicatedtoAngusC.Graham,editedbyHenryRosemontJr.(Chicago&LaSalle,IL.:OpenCourt,1991),p.26.

41.AsRogerT.AmeswritesinTheDemocracyoftheDead(Chicago&LaSalle,IL:OpenCourt,1999),p.7,“The ironyof this situation is intense:Westernethnocentricity isexpressed inafirmbelief intheuniversalityofour(provincial) ideals.”ThepoliticalscientistArikDirlik isconvincedthatanyrevivalofConfucianisminmodernAsiacanbelittlemorethanAsianself-Orientalismfomentedinaconspiracybetweentheauthoritarianstateandfree-loadingand/orvaingloriousintellectuals.SeeSuggestedReadings.

42. Many Americans see the unfavorable balance of trade with China as a major cause ofAmericaneconomicills.Asforenergy,ifChinakeepsincreasingitsconsumptionofenergyatitspresent rate, thepriceofoilwill soondouble thecurrent (January2008) recordpriceof$100abarrel.Asformilitaryprowess,China’smilitarybuildupoffersthebestexcusethatthePentagonwilleverhavetokeepaskingfornuclearsubmarines,F-16sandthelike,whichoffernorealdefenseagainstayoungzealotwithanIEDstrappedfirmlytohischest.

43.Theterm“newpragmatism”hasbeenusedrathernarrowlyinphilosophicalcirclestorefertothepositionsoutlinedbyRichardRorty(d.2007),whoseworkdrewheavilyuponthatofJohnDewey.OnlyRogerAmeswouldcallhimselfanewpragmatist.BothFingaretteandRosemonteschewthemoralrelativismidentifiedwiththenewpragmatists.

44.Cf.NewYorkTimes,“TheDanceofEvolution:ATheoryofHowArtGot ItsStart”(Sciencesection, F1, F3, November 27, 2007), notes that the “visual, gestural and vocal cues” thatmothers and infants spontaneously develop to communicate with each other “abide by aformalized[i.e.,ritual]code.”Intheviewsofsomeexperts,“Theseaffiliativesignalsbetweenmother and infant are aesthetic operations,” “formalizing, exaggerating, repeating” ways ofmanipulatingexpectationsandresponses.Evolutionaryforcesmayemployritualandaestheticappreciationto insure that“therelativeweaknessof the individualcanbe tradedup for thestrengthofthehive.”

45. Herbert Fingarette, Confucius: The Secular as Sacred (San Francisco: Harper-SanFrancisco,1972),p.vii.FingarettewasthefirstWestern-trainedphilosophertoapproachtheAnalectsasawork of sophisticated philosophy. Fingarette gently pointed out that the early translators ofConfucius into Western languages—learned Catholic and Protestant scholars, priests, andmissionaries—treatedKongzi inmuch the sameway that they treatedSocrates,asa learnedpaganof impeccable saintlinesswhosedoctrines atmanypoints approximated theTruthsofChristian Revelation. (The so-called figurists of the French mission to China during theseventeenth and eighteenth centuries even posited the existence of a complete Ur-textunderlyingtheChineseClassicsthatwouldbeinperfectaccordwithChristiandogma.)Latertranslatorsandinterpretersof theAnalects (includingYuDan)haveoften importedBuddhistandDaoistideasintothetext.

46. Nylan has changed Fingarette’s “man realizes himself” to “humans realize themselves.”(Confucius:TheSecularasSacred,p.16.)

47.SuShi(1037–1101),inhisexaminationessayontheConstantMean.

48.Rosemontmakesasimilarpointinhisessay“WhoseDemocracy?”

49.SeeRosemont’sessayentitled,“OnKnowing(zhi):Praxis-GuidingDiscourseintheConfucianAnalects.”

50.GayatriSpivak,OutsideintheTeachingMachine(NewYork:Routledge,1993),p.171.

51.AsAnalects4/10putsit,thejunzialignshimselfwithwhatisbestandright,whereverthatmaybe.Analects18/8hadConfuciussayingofhimselfthatheisdifferentfromothersinthathehasno“thoushalts”or“thoushaltnots.”Analects19/3enjoinsusto“gowiththosewithwhomitispropertogo.”Cf.17/13;17/24.

52.Rosemont,“HumanRights:ABillofWorries,” inWm.TheodoredeBary,ConfucianismandHumanRights(NewYork:ColumbiaUniversityPress,1998),p.64.

53.ThislistcomesfromRosemont’swritings.

54.Ames,TheDemocracyoftheDead,125.

55.Ibid.,9.

56.Ibid.,162.

57. Jean Pfaelzer, Driven Out: The Forgotten War against the Chinese Americans (New York:RandomHouse,2007).

58.ThisisGeremieBarmé’sterm.

59 Ostensibly modeled upon the German Goethe Institutes, the Confucius Institutes advocateauthoritarianandpaternalisticsentiments in theirChinese-language textbooks.ManyreaderswillbefamiliarwiththeongoingtextbookcontroversiesinJapanandintheUnitedStates;forChina’s own recent banning of the books, see listserve.asia@gmail.com (“Shanghai: newhistory, old politics” by LiDatong). See also JocelynChey, “ConfuciusRedux: Chinese ‘SoftPower’ Cultural Diplomacy and the Confucius Institutes,” unpublished paper. WasedaUniversityopenedthefirstresearch-basedConfuciusInstituteinApril2007.

60. Henry Maspero, Taoism and Chinese Religion, translated by Frank Kierman (Amherst:University of Massachusetts Press, 1981), 136. The plan is to have five hundred ConfuciusInstitutesoperatingby2010.TheironyisthatwhereCIshavetakenroot,thegovernmenthascutbackonsupportforuniversityteachingofChineselanguages.

61.Cheng (here translatedas “integrity”) implies “wholeness” and “oneness” (seeabove); itencompassesasenseofhumanenessandofduty;chengalsodescribesthecentralgoodsaidtoresultfromreliablyhumaneconduct(ren ).TheConstantMeanthereforedescribeschengasaway of acting and a reward for good action. Traditionalists sometimes name the twomainthreads of Kongzi’s teachings as ren and li (ritual decorum), or li and shu(“consideration”),synonymsforthissamedeliberatewayofacting.

62.Analects19/22.

63.OrhanPamuk,citedinPicoIyer,“AViewoftheBosporus,”NewYorkTimes,September30,

2007(bookreview).Pamukwasthe2006NobelPrizewinnerforliterature.

64.JamesKatz,Director,CenterforMobileCommunicationsStudies,RutgersUniversity,quotedintheNewYorkTimes,November6,2007(letterstotheeditor).

Copyright©2010byMichaelNylanandThomasA.WilsonAllrightsreserved.PublishedintheUnitedStatesbyDoubledayReligion,animprintoftheCrownPublishingGroup,

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