Leadership Insights | Illustrated Lectures:Breathing New Life into Ancient Confucian Rites

The Confucius memorial ceremony, a representative ritual to venerate Confucianism since ancient times in China, was listed among the first batch of national intangible cultural heritage in 2006. Its history dates back to 478 BC (the year after Confucius’s death), when Duke Ai of Lu first established a temple to worship Confucius. The ceremony was institutionalized during the Han and Tang dynasties, and evolved into a comprehensive ceremonial system by the Ming and Qing dynasties.

With the Confucius Temple in Qufu as the core carrier, the ritual is held biannually in spring and autumn. The grandest part is the Autumn Sacrificial Ceremony held on the 27th day of the eighth lunar month. The ceremony comprises six core sections: Welcoming the Spirit, Initial Offering, Secondary Offering, Final Offering, Clearing the Offerings, and Seeing Off the Spirit. These are accompanied by the Six-Row Dance, the Eight-Tone Music, and recitations from the “Odes” and “Hymns” chapters of The Book of Songs, collectively embodying the Confucian ideal of “harmony between rites and music”. Ritual vessels, ceremonial attire, and the sacrificial texts all strictly conform to ancient regulations, reflecting the traditional ethic of “revering heaven and emulating ancestors”.

A spiritual symbol of Chinese civilization, the Confucius memorial ceremony carries the cultural gene of “honoring virtue and repaying merit”. Its core tenets of “benevolent governance” and “rule by rites” profoundly influence the Confucian cultural sphere across East Asia. While preserving traditions, today’s ceremony incorporates new elements such as public memorials and academic forums, transforming it into a cultural bond connecting Chinese communities worldwide.

The ceremony embodies the fruitful achievements of the millennia-old Confucian culture in contemporary times. Riding the wave of cultural revitalization, its form continuously innovates. The integration of modern cultural and technological elements, such as multimedia and virtual reality, enhances the ceremony’s visual appeal and immersive effect, thereby drawing increased attention from younger generations.

Fine traditional Chinese culture is the spiritual lifeline of the Chinese nation. We need to carry forward Chinese cultural heritage through creative transformation and innovative development, hold high the cultural subjectivity of the Chinese nation, and take good care of, promote and develop the treasures of Chinese civilization that have undergone vicissitudes.

監製:蔚力

策劃:丁素雲

文案:楊俊康