The Journal of Asian Studieshttp://journals.cambridge.org/JAS

Additional services for The Journal of Asian Studies:

Email alerts: Click hereSubscriptions: Click hereCommercial reprints: Click hereTerms of use : Click here

Idols in the Temple: Icons and the Cult of Confucius

Julia K. Murray

The Journal of Asian Studies / Volume 68 / Issue 02 / May 2009, pp 371 - 411DOI: 10.1017/S0021911809000643, Published online: 12 May 2009

Link to this article: http://journals.cambridge.org/abstract_S0021911809000643

How to cite this article:Julia K. Murray (2009). Idols in the Temple: Icons and the Cult of Confucius. The Journal ofAsian Studies, 68, pp 371-411 doi:10.1017/S0021911809000643

Request Permissions : Click here

Downloaded from http://journals.cambridge.org/JAS, IP address: 88.10.178.99 on 28 Feb 2014

Idols in the Temple: Icons and the Cultof Confucius

JULIA K. MURRAY

Until 1530, sculptural images of Confucius and varying numbers of disciples andlater followers received semiannual sacrifices in state-supported temples all overChina. The icons visual features were greatly influenced by the posthumoustitles and ranks that emperors conferred on Confucius and his followers, thesame as for deities in the Daoist and Buddhist pantheons. This convergenceled to visual conflation and aroused objections from Neo-Confucian ritualists,culminating in the ritual reform of 1530, which replaced images with inscribedtablets and Confuciuss kingly title with the designation Ultimate Sage and FirstTeacher. However, the ban on icons did not apply to the primordial temple ofConfucius in Qufu, Shandong. Post-1530 gazetteers publicized the distinctionby reproducing a line drawing of this temples sculptural icon, and persistentreplications of this image helped to popularize his cult. The same period saw aproliferation of non-godlike representations of Confucius, including his por-trayal as a teacher, whose iconographic origins can be traced to a painted por-trait handed down through generations of his descendants. In recent years,variations of this teacher image have become the basis for new sculptural rep-resentations, first in Taiwan, then in Hong Kong and the Chinese diaspora,and finally on the mainland. Now installed at sites around the world, statuesof Confucius have become a contested symbol of Chinese civilization.

RECENT SCHOLARSHIP ON RELIGIOUS elements in the ideas, institutions, andpractices associated with Confucius (Kongzi ) and his later interpretershas done much to correct long-standing representations of Confucianism as aform of secular humanism (Chen 1999; Clart 2003; Csikszentmihalyi 2001;Goossaert 2006; Jensen 1997; Wilson 2002a).1 Revisionist inquiry has alsobrought attention to the recurrent debates over the propriety of using icons in

Julia K. Murray (jmurray@wisc.edu) is Professor of Art History, East Asian Studies, and Religious Studies at theUniversity of Wisconsin, Madison.1The convenient though problematic terms Confucian and Confucianism are used here to referto Confuciuss teachings and their later interpretations, as well as to certain aspects of ideology,institutions, and rituals of governance in dynastic times. It seems particularly appropriate to usethe terms in referring to teachings for which Confucius was considered the progenitor andwhose differences from Buddhism and Daoism are articulated in Han Yus (768824)famous diatribe Source of the Way (Yuan dao ). For a fuller discussion of terms, see MarkCsikszentmihalyi (2001, 24344, 29297).

The Journal of Asian Studies Vol. 68, No. 2 (May) 2009: 371411. 2009 The Association for Asian Studies, Inc. doi:10.1017/S0021911809000643

rituals for venerating Confucius (Sommer 1994, 2002). However, the significanceof the physical and visual qualities of these icons has not been addressed. Nomatter whether Confucianism is viewed as primarily a moral-ethical system oras a sacrificial cult mandated and supported by the state, it clearly differs fromBuddhism, Daoism, and other forms of religious expression in China. Accord-ingly, a discussion of the materiality, visuality, and efficacy of its icons mightseem unnecessary, irrelevant, or perhaps even offensive. Nonetheless, iconicimages played a role in sacrifices to Confucius at least as early as the sixthcentury, and from 630 to 1530, sculptural icons were a standard feature of state-supported temples throughout China (Murray 2001; Wilson 1995). When influ-ential opponents of icons finally prevailed and temples in the state cult removedthe sculptural figures (Sommer 1994, 2002), alternative representations of Con-fucius rose in significance and took on new functions (Murray 2001, 2002).Recently, one of these has become the standard image of Confucius, ineffect the icon for our age.

CONFUCIAN RELIGIOSITY

Various efforts in recent centuries to foreground the moral dimension ofConfuciuss legacy have obscured practices and beliefs involving icons, alongwith other religious aspects of Confucianism. During the sixteenth and seven-teenth centuries, Jesuit missionaries tried to convince papal authorities inRome that Confucianism was an ethical philosophy (Jensen 1997, 6370, 129),so that efforts to spread Christianity in China would not be stymied by requiringconverts to give up rituals for worshiping Confucius Similarly, in the nineteenthcentury, the Protestant missionary-translator James Legge argued that theancient Confucian classics merely needed to be supplemented with Christianity,just as the Bibles Old Testament was completed by the New Testament(Mungello 2003, 590). Moreover, from the sixteenth century onward, Confuciantemples were austere buildings where inscribed tablets were displayed, unlikeBuddhist temples and popular-cult shrines with sculptural icons in sensuous pro-fusion.2 Although Kang Youwei (18581927) sought to establish Confu-cianism as Chinas official religion (zongjiao ) at the end of the nineteenthcentury, on the model of Christianity in Western nations, he made littleheadway before falling from power in the coup that reversed his 1898 reforms(Chen 1999; Goossaert 2005, 2006). Because regular worship of Confucius wason the official Register of Sacrifices (Sidian), and thus was closely identified

2Henri Dor, a nineteenth-century French Jesuit missionary, suggested that Buddhism and Daoismintroduced superstitious beliefs and practices into Chinese religion (Yu 1973, 384). Dors ency-clopedic compendium also included a lengthy presentation on annotated illustrations of the life ofConfucius, which he considered a major means of disseminating Confucian morality among thebroad populace (Dor 191138, vol. 13).

372 Julia K. Murray

with the imperial system, the collapse of the Qing dynasty (16441911) undercutsubsequent efforts to create a religion based on Confucianism. In the earlydecades of the twentieth century, some nationalist modernizers wanted todiscard Confucius altogether, while others found it expedient to present him asChinas counterpart to the Wests great rational philosophers. Suppressing whatthey considered to be idolatry and superstition, they emphasized a Confuciuswho did not concern himself with ghosts and spirits. And in recent years,global advocates of New Confucianism have focused on his ideas aboutself-cultivation and morality.3 To some, Confucian concepts of reciprocal respon-sibility in a hierarchical society suggest an Asian alternative to Western-styledemocracy. These different efforts have created a widespread conception of Con-fucianism that is defined by a set of ancient texts, the civil service examinationsystem based on their mastery, and the promotion of social virtues such as ben-evolence (ren ), filial piety (xiao ), propriety (li ), and righteousness (yi ).

In addition to revisiting the arguments in favor of establishing Confucianismas the official religion for modern China (Chen 1999; Goossaert 2005, 2006),recent scholarship has begun to examine some of the important religiouselements within traditional Confucianism. These include ideas about Confuciushimself, as well as the rituals for venerating the man and his legacy. Lionel M.Jensen (1997, 2002), Mark Csikszentmihalyi (2001, 2002), and Thomas A.Wilson (2002a, 2002b) have explored ancient and persistent beliefs in Confuciusas a heaven-sent being with superhuman powers. Huang Chin-hsing (1994) andWilson (1995, 1996, 2002b, 2002c) have traced the evolution of an official cult forvenerating Confucius and Confucian learning within the ritual institutions of thestate, which constituted Chinas official religion (Taylor 1997). Ron Guey Chu(1998) and Huang Chin-hsing (2002) have evaluated recurrent debates over thedetails of these ritual provisions and the appropriate status to attribute to Confu-cius, interpreting the disputes as symptoms of an ongoing struggle betweenemperors and scholar-officials to define and control Confucius and his legacy.Philip Clart (2003) has analyzed popular religious cults that identify themselvesas Confucian (Ru ) and use simplified forms of Confucian sacrificial liturgy.Deborah A. Sommer (1994, 2002) has examined different ways of representingConfucius in ancestral and state sacrifices, focusing particularly on the argumentsraised against depicting him in sculptural icons, which were adopted into officialpolicy in the ritual reform of 1530.

In the present article, I describe the process by which sculptural iconsbecame part of the cult of Confucius and examine reasons for their godlikevisual features. Exploring the beliefs concerning agency, efficacy, and appropri-ateness that gradually accrued to these icons, I suggest that the representationsshared conceptual premises and interpretative connotations with the potent

3I use the term New Confucianism in its loosest sense; John Makeham (2003, 2554) decon-structs the movements diverse strands.

Idols in the Temple: Icons and the Cult of Confucius 373

images associated with Buddhism, Daoism, and popular-deity cults. Finally,I argue that the removal of icons frommost state temples in 1530 had unintendedeffects that demonstrate the limits of official control over image-based practicesinvolving Confucius. One result was that the icon of Confucius uniquely retainedby the temple in his hometown of Qufu , Shandong, gained renown throughwoodblock-printed illustrations that circulated widely, even reaching Europe.The iconography of his seated figure dressed in imperial regalia was eventuallyappropriated into popular religion, representing Confucius as a deity whocould be worshiped by the common people. Another consequence of removingicons from Confucian temples was to bring increased veneration to a radicallydifferent depiction, showing Confucius as a dignified standing figure who wasmerely human. Ultimately based on a small painting owned by his descendants,this conception circulated in hanging scroll paintings, woodblock prints, and rub-bings from incised stone tablets. Local gazetteers often recorded versions of theportrayal in government schools and private academies. When the 1970s broughtnew demands for freestanding representations of Confucius outside mainlandChina, the image was translated into three-dimensional sculptural form fordisplay at selected sites around the world. In the late twentieth century, suchstatues also began appearing at mainland temples and schools, prompting theChina Confucius Foundation (Zhongguo Kongzi jijinhui ) toidentify a need for a standard portrait (biaozhun xiang ). In 2006, thefoundation unveiled a large new statue of Confucius in Qufu itself, sparking anew controversy over the validity of visual representations of Confucius andtheir uses.

BACKGROUND TO THE EMERGENCE OF ICONS

Early Han texts sometimes characterize Confucius as a godlike sage, theheaven-sent uncrowned king (Su wang ) (Csikszentmihalyi 2001, 2002;Elman 1990, xxvii, 20513, 24041; Jensen 1997; Wilson 1995, 2932).4 Theydescribe supernatural elements in his nativity and his extraordinary physicalappearance as signs of his destiny to order the world. He was conceived whenhis mother received a visit from a qilin , a fabulous beast believed toherald the arrival of a sage-king. The creature carried a jade tablet inscribedwith a proclamation: The child of the essence of water will succeed the decliningZhou and become an uncrowned king (shui jing zi ji shuai Zhou er wei su wang

4This conception of Confucius was particularly associated with the so-called modern texts ( jin wen), whose most prominent advocate was Dong Zhongshu (ca. 179ca. 104 BCE). Advo-cates paid great attention to portents and read heavenly correlations even into seemingly mundaneevents mentioned in the classics, while believing that only a sage could have a true understanding ofthe workings of the cosmos.

374 Julia K. Murray

).5 On the night before Confucius was born, two dragonsappeared above the roof; deities hovered in the sky and celestial musicians cele-brated on the day of his birth. In addition to forty-nine distinguishing marks (biao) on the newborns body, his chest bore five characters that announced, Talis-man of the one created to stabilize the world (zhi zuo ding shi fu ).6

As an adult, Confucius displayed an uncanny expertise in identifying obscureancient relics and interpreting mysterious portents. His ability to communicatewith heaven enabled him to transmit the Way of the Ruler, in coded language,when he composed the Spring and Autumn Annals (Chunqiu ), a chronicleof events in his home state of Lu .

Other conceptions of Confucius emphasized his roles as a teacher and as anexpert on ancient ritual, instead of as a preternaturally insightful and prescientleader who communed with heaven. In some parts of the Analects (Lun yu ),Confucius is portrayed as a human being who enduredmuch travail and disappoint-ment, especiallywhile traveling the ancient states in search of a rulerwhowould takehis advice (Csikszentmihalyi 2002).7 By the late Eastern Han period, this moremundane Confucius had largely overshadowed the superhuman figure. Nonethe-less, the messianic sage was featured in the so-called apocryphal texts (weishu) of the lateHan and post-Han periods (e.g.,Wang Jia 1966, 3:45). In addition,the modern text traditions retained their vitality in South China well into thePeriod of Disunion (Wilson 1995, 32). Furthermore, the Kong lineage perpetuatedand embellished the legends in oral traditions andwritten genealogies, evendown tothe present day.8 Claiming descent from Confucius, lineage members had a vitalinterest in preserving a heroic conception of their ancestor and in maintainingtheir own cohesion (Wilson 1996).Emperors from theHan through theQing dynas-ties awarded noble titles, tax exemptions, official positions, and lands to the descen-dants who maintained sacrifices to Confucius in Qufu.

Although the earliest forms of veneration and sacrifice to Confucius occurredin funerary and memorial contexts, the observances themselves increasingly

5According to Five Phases (wu xing ) theory, the Shang dynasty was associated with water andthe Zhou with wood, which overcomes water. However, Confuciuss forebears were related to theShang royal house, and water cannot overcome wood, so Confucius was destined not to rule.6Texts written by members of the Kong lineage (e.g., Kong Chuan ([1134] 1967, xia: 3b; KongYuancuo [1242] 1967, 8:4a) record six characters, adding yun to the end of the inscription,without changing its meaning.7Confucius seems to have multiple personalities in the Analects, which records diverse traditionstransmitted by his disciples and their lineages of students; Makeham (1996) provides a convincingreconstruction of its emergence as a book in the second century BCE.8All Kong-clan genealogies of the last thousand years include the hagiographical legends. For earlyexamples, see Kong Chuan ([1134] 1967, xia: 3b) and Kong Yuancuo ([1242] 1967, 8:3b4a). Con-temporary Kongs maintain the stories (Kong Demao 1982, 1034; Jing 1996, 30). Literati officialsdid not necessarily believe in the supernatural manifestations, but they respected the long history ofthe accounts too much to discard them. Chen Gao (or Hao; jinshi 1487) , education intendantin the Shandong Provincial Surveillance office, made explicit comments to this effect in the firstedition of the Qufu temple gazetteer (Queli zhi 1505, fanli, 1b).

Idols in the Temple: Icons and the Cult of Confucius 375

displayed the features of a deity cult. Confucius continued to receive sacrifices athis grave long past the normal period for commemorative worship (Jensen 2002,18086; Sima 1982, 47:1945). Moreover, persons with no blood relation to himmade these offerings, contrary to the customs of familial worship, which prescribedthat a son should lead funerary ritesbut Confuciuss son had predeceased him.After Confucius died in 479 BCE, his disciples carried out the rites of mourning,and the especially devoted Zi Gong kept a six-year vigil in a hut beside theburial mound (Sima 1982, 47:1945). Local authorities maintained offerings atthis site for generations afterward. The place where Confucius had gatheredwith his disciples became a memorial hall, and his personal effects were displayedthere. The Grand Historian Sima Qian (14586 BCE) reported seeing themasters clothes, cap, zither (qin), books, sacrificial vessels, and carriage in thememorial hall when he visited Qufu. In 195 BCE, the Han founding emperorGaozu (r. 206195 BCE) performed a grand sacrifice (tailao ) to Confuciusin Qufu, offering an ox, sheep, and pig, along with wine and other foodstuffs(Sima 1982, 47:194546). In 136 BCE, Han Wudi (r. 14187 BCE) canonizedthe textual tradition of Confucius and his followers by abolishing the posts ofErudite (boshi ) held by court scholars who were experts in texts belongingto other traditions (Wilson 1995, 29). Other Han emperors awarded posthumoustitles of nobility to Confucius and gave material support to his descendants andcult, providing for semiannual sacrifices in Qufu after 169 CE (Wilson 2002c, 261).

By the third century, sacrifices to Confucius were also being performedelsewhere, typically in academic settings. The first sacrifice documentedoutside Qufu took place in 241 CE at the imperial university (Biyong ) inLuoyang, the capital of the kingdom of Wei (22065), and several more were per-formed there under the Western Jin dynasty (265316) (Wilson 2002b, 74).9

During the centuries of disunion, various northern and southern regimes estab-lished state-sponsored temples in their capitals for conducting sacrifices to Con-fucius and his legacy.10 The Sui (581618) and Tang (618907) dynastiescontinued this practice in a reunified empire. The Tang founding emperorGaozu (r. 61826) established a temple at the National University (Guozi xue ) in Changan (modern Xian, Shaanxi) and personally sacrificed there in624 (Ouyang 1975, 1:9, 17). The Tang eastern capital at Luoyang also had an

9A reference to images of Confucius and his disciples painted on the walls of the Hongdu Gate school in the Eastern Han capital in 178 may indicate that sacrifices were already beingoffered in Luoyang by the late second century, but the fifth-century source does not specify this(Fan 1965, 60 xia: 1998).10Thomas A. Wilson (2002b, 51) notes that in 454, the Liu-Song ruler Xiaowudi (r. 45264) built thefirst temple to Confucius south of the Yangzi River, modeled on that in Qufu (see also Li 1975, 2:47,58). Wilson speculates that the temple stood in Kuaiji, home of several prominent Kongs, but Ithink it was more likely to have been in Jiankang (Nanjing.). In 489, the Northern Wei rulerXiaowendi (r. 47199) founded a temple to Confucius in the capital at Pingcheng [modernDatong , Shanxi] (Li 1974, 3:104).

376 Julia K. Murray

imperially sponsored temple. Initially, it was the Duke of Zhou , the wiseregent to the young heir of the Zhou dynasty founder, who was honored asFirst Sage (Xian sheng ), and Confucius received sacrifice as Correlate(Pei ) and First Teacher (Xian shi ). In 628, a memorial submitted byFang Xuanling (579648) convinced the Tang emperor Taizong(r. 62649) that sacrifices offered in a school should be directed to a teacher.Accordingly, Taizong ended sacrifices to the Duke of Zhou and designated Con-fucius as First Sage, with the disciple Yan Hui as Correlate and First Teacher(Ouyang 1975, 15:373, 375).11 Taizong extended the cult to lower levels ofadministration in 630 by requiring every prefectural and county school to builda temple to Confucius, thus creating a systematic network of state-sponsoredtemples (Ouyang 1975, 15:373). Located inside or adjacent to the governmentschools, these temples carried out regular sacrifices to Confucius twice a year,in spring and autumn.

Tang ritual codes ranked the sacrifice to Confucius as one of several mid-levelrites (zhong si), prescribing specific implements, offerings, music, and partici-pants.12 The liturgy imitated that of another mid-level state cult, the worship of theGods of Soils and Grains (She ji ), which had existed in classical antiquity andwhose rituals were prescribed in the Record of Rites (Li ji ). Because the cer-emony for sacrifice to Confucius had no fixed classical formof its own, it was suscep-tible to innovations, and procedural details often changed. Most significantly,portrait icons were introduced into the ceremony, probably inspired by theimages of the Buddha and bodhisattvas in Buddhist temples. Starting in the Tangperiod, the Chan Buddhist practice of using portrait effigies in memorial ritualsfor deceased abbots and monks (Foulk and Sharf 199394) provided an additionalmodel that encouraged the use of icons in Confucian temples.

THE EARLIEST ICONS OF CONFUCIUS AND THEIR VISUAL FEATURES

Sculptural images had appeared in the Qufu temple by the sixth century, if notearlier, when Li Daoyuan (d. 527) reported that it displayed statues of Con-fucius flanked by two unnamed disciples holding scrolls (Li Daoyuan [527] 1984,25:807).13 Such a triad shares the conceptual logic of a figure of the Buddhaaccompanied by bodhisattvas, a familiar composition in sixth-century Buddhist

11Fangs memorial also pointed out that Confucius had previously been recognized as First Sageand Yan Hui as First Teacher, until the Daye era (60516) of the Sui dynasty.12There were three levels of state rituals; for details of the liturgy for Confucius, see Wilson (2002b,7277). Howard J. Wechsler (1985) discusses Tang debates on ritual and the various codifications.13The triad is mentioned in a note in the River Si (Si shui ) section of Shuijing zhu; in citing it,the compilers of Qufu Kongmiao jianzhu (1987, 54) speculate that the flanking figures were thedisciples Yan Hui and Zi Gong. Another mid-sixth-century source explicitly mentions that thesetwo disciples accompanied Confucius in images displayed in Luoyangs National Universitybefore 534 (Yang Xuanzhi 1978, 1:1) .

Idols in the Temple: Icons and the Cult of Confucius 377

icons, as well as in Daoist imitations.14 By 541, the figures of ten disciples attendedConfucius in the Qufu temple (Kong Yuancuo [1242] 1967, 10:8a11b).15 Again,the tableau suggests a conceptual counterpart in Buddhist iconography, the tenmajor disciples of Sakyamuni, which may have inspired the increase.

The temple toConfucius in theTang capital also housed sculptural images, prob-ably from its inception in 619, and certainly by the eighth century. Officials whomemorialized the throne on matters of ritual procedure and nomenclature rarelymentioned icons explicitly, but one episode is suggestive. In 720, Li Yuanguan pointed out to Emperor Xuanzong (or Ming Huang, r. 71256) that theten disciples (called Ten Savants, Shi zhe ) who received sacrifices along withConfucius should be represented as seated images (zuo xiang), not as standingattendants (li shi). Furthermore, Li requested that seventy other disciples andfollowers of Confucius be portrayed in paintings on the walls of the temple, so thatthey, too, could receive sacrifices. Accepting Lis arguments, Xuanzong immediatelyissued a decree adopting these changes (Ouyang 1975, 15:375).

Although no early temple icons of Confucius survive today and documentarysources rarely mention them, some of their attributes can be inferred from hisposthumous status. In 1 CE, the Han emperor Pingdi (r. 1 BCE5 CE)honored Confucius by awarding him the rank of duke (gong ). From thattime onward, various emperors conferred noble ranks and honorific titles onConfucius, his disciples, and the canonized later scholars who were periodicallyadded to the temple (Wilson 1995, 2371, 25459).16 In 739, Tang Xuanzongelevated Confucius to King of Propagating Culture (Wenxuan wang )and gave the disciples and later followers various titles, such as duke, marquess(hou ), or earl (bo ) (Ouyang 1975, 15:37576). These posthumous rankshad considerable bearing on the visual features of the temple images. Sumptuaryregulations specified the kinds of clothing, headgear, and ornamentation appro-priate for each rank, as well as the number and kinds of vessels, music, anddancers to be used in sacrifices. As king, Confucius was to be portrayedwearing a robe embroidered with nine emblems and a crown with nine stringsof jade beads hanging at the front and back (Kong Zhaoxi [1897] 1990, 8a [623]).

Some later rulers sought to exalt Confucius beyond the rank of king, but min-isterial opposition prevented them from doing so. For example, in 1008, the Song

14An important cache of early Buddhist images was recently found in Shandong not far from Qufu(Nikel 2002). Stanley K. Abe (2002, chap. 5) reproduces early Daoist votive images that also wereinspired by Buddhist models.15Kong Yuancuo excerpted this information from a stele inscription, dated 541 (Eastern Wei), by LiTing (zi Zhongxuan or), who restored the temple while serving as regional inspector ofYanzhou. Kong Yuqi ([1689] 1983, 7:1a8b [652-76652-79]) transcribes more of the stele anddescribes the evolution of iconic representations in detail, in response to the questions posed by theKangxi emperor (r. 16621722) during his 1684 visit to Qufu.16Valerie Hansen (1990, chap. 4) discusses the principles involved in imperial awards of titles andhonors to various gods during the Song period, when the practice was greatly expanded.

378 Julia K. Murray

emperor Zhenzong (r. 9971022) wanted to confer the title of emperor (di) onConfucius. Senior officials were able to dissuade him by arguing that no such des-ignation had existed during Confuciuss lifetime (Zhang Tingyu et al. [1739] 1974,50:1299). Left unstated but surely significant is the fact that scholar-officialswould no longer be allowed to worship Confucius if he were promoted toemperor, because he would have to receive the highest level of state sacrifice,which only the ruler could offer (Wilson 2002c, 268). Although Zhenzong wasunable to raise Confuciuss posthumous rank, he added the words Dark Sage(Xuan sheng ) to the kingly title. The epithet alludes to apocryphallegends about Confuciuss supernatural nature and powers, and in 1013, Zhen-zong changed it to Ultimate Sage (Zhi sheng ).17 A black-faced, ferocious-looking sculptural icon preserved in the Confucian temple in Pingyao ,Shanxi, may reflect iconography specific to the Dark Sage.18

Even without elevating Confuciuss rank, some emperors conferred higherhonors on him by enhancing his visual representation or aggrandizing his sacrifi-cial ceremony. In 1009, Zhenzong ordered a jade scepter to replace the woodentablet held by the sculptural effigy in the Qufu temple (Kong Chuan [1134] 1967,shang: 20a). A century later, the Song emperor Huizong (r. 11001125) had thenine strings of jade on the crown increased to twelve, and the Jin emperorShizong (r. 116189) augmented the emblems on the robe from nine to twelve(Kong Zhaoxi [1897] 1990, 8b [624]).19 These changes in the icons attributesvisually upgraded the uncrowned king to an emperor. In the late fifteenthcentury, two Ming rulers also expanded the number of vessels and dancers inthe semiannual sacrificial ceremonies to an imperial level, again without alteringConfuciuss kingly title.20

17Wilson (2002b, 4748, 5152) discusses legends about Confucius related to the term Xuan shengand the possibility that it was changed because the character Xuan became taboo (as part of thepersonal name of an ancestor of the Song royal house).18Partially reproduced and briefly discussed in Da zai Kongzi (1991, 33334). Attributed to theYuan period, the sculpture stands in a hall built during the Jin dynasty in 1163, but the conditionof the icon suggests a much more recent date. Another black-faced statue of Confucius wasreported by John Henry Gray, a late nineteenth-century Western visitor to the famous WhiteDeer Grotto Academy (Bailudong shuyuan ) in Nanchang , Jiangxi (Meskill1982, 49, 176 n. 25).19A contemporary account by a forty-seventh-generation descendant active at the time places Hui-zongs edict requiring images to have twelve strings and nine emblems in 1107 (Kong Chuan [1134]1967, shang: 27b28a). According to the gazetteerQueli zhi (1505, 6:2b), which dates the change to1105, images incorporating proper regalia were subsequently depicted, carved, and distributed toall the prefectural (zhou ) and county (xian ) schools. Writing in the mid-eighteenth century,sixty-ninth-generation descendant Kong Jifen ([1762] 1966, 12:2ab [211212]) affirmed thatthe sculptural icon of Confucius had a crown with twelve strings of jade, a garment with thetwelve emblems, a zhen gui jade tablet, and faced south (like an emperor), while the subsidiaryfigures had lesser emblems and faced east or west.20In 1476, the Chenghua emperor (r. 146587) increased the vessels from ten to twelve, and therows of dancers from six to eight; in 1496, the Hongzhi emperor (r. 14871505) raised the totalnumber of dancers to seventy-two, making them consistent with the procedures for a Son

Idols in the Temple: Icons and the Cult of Confucius 379

CONVERGENCE WITH OTHER CULT IMAGES AND OPPOSITION TO ICONS

Confucius was by no means the only recipient of imperial recognition.Emperors also bestowed noble ranks and titles on deities in the Daoist andpopular-cult pantheons.21 Some of these figures gained imperial designations,and many others were kings. Accordingly, the highest-ranking Daoist and cultimages were also portrayed with imperial regalia, such as the Jade Emperordepicted in figure 1. Although the icon of Confucius resembled these otheremperors and kings, the visual similarities masked great differences in signifi-cance and function. Ordinary men and women could worship Daoist, Buddhist,and popular-cult deities, seeking benefits for themselves and their families. Bycontrast, Confucius and his canonized followers were not efficacious gods whodid things for individual supplicants, but conferred benefit to society at large;moreover, only a restricted male elite could perform the sacrifices.22 These cer-emonies were intended to provide sustenance to the spirits of the men enshrinedin the temple, as well as to enable participants to express their reverence for theentire canon of learning and ritual represented by Confucius, his disciples, laterscholars, and statesmen. During the sacrifice, icons might help the celebrantvisualize the spirits coming and accepting the offerings. A successful performancebrought blessings to the entire realm.

However, it was hard to prevent Confucian temple icons from triggeringbeliefs and expectations associated with representational images belonging toother religious contexts. The convergences in visual culture gave rise to beliefsthat were not grounded in ancient sources, as well as to embellishments of Con-fuciuss life. One idea undoubtedly inspired by Buddhism is that Confucius wasborn with forty-nine unusual bodily features, echoing and outdoing the thirty-twomarks that distinguished the Buddha Sakyamunis body from those of ordinarymortals.23 Another is that Confuciuss spirit was constrained by the physical

of Heaven (ru tianzi zhi zhi ) (Zhang Tingyu et al. [1739] 1974, 50:129798; see alsoStandaert 2006, 8485, 163 n. 38).21Romeyn Taylor (1990) provides a useful overview of the late imperial form of the relationshipsamong state sacrifices, institutional religions, and popular cults; Hansen (1990, chap. 4) discussesimperial awards of titles and honors to the various gods; and Liu Yang (2001) details the conflationof imperial imagery into Daoist iconography.22Wilson (2002b, 44 n. 3) cites edicts of 1438 and 1836, outlawing statues of Confucius in Daoistand Buddhist temples, as evidence that he was occasionally worshiped by other social groups. Bythe late Qing, popular votive woodblock prints indicate that a godlike Confucius had developedsome popular following; cf. figures 7 and 8. In the twentieth century, students in Japan as wellas in China sought aid from Confucius for success on examinations. This practice has burgeonedon the mainland in recent years.23See, e.g., Kong Chuan ([1134] 1967, xia: 3b) and Kong Yuancuo ([1242] 1967, 1:1); Kong Yuqi([1689] 1983, 7:5b [652-78]) claims that a portrait made by Confuciuss disciple Zi Gong recordedthe forty-nine bodily marks. They are listed and explained by Dor (191138, 13:26) with refer-ence to a nineteenth-century manual on physiognomy. The idea that Confuciuss body was

380 Julia K. Murray

Figure 1. The Jade Emperor, detail of painting on theeast wall of the Hall of Three Purities (Sanqing dian), in the Palace of Eternal Joy (Yongle gong )Daoist temple, Yuan dynasty, dated 1325. Source:Shanxi siguan bihua [Murals in Shanxitemples], comp. Chai Zejun (Beijing: Wenwuchubanshe, 1997), 198:121.

Idols in the Temple: Icons and the Cult of Confucius 381

features of his sculptural icon. Once enlivened by a consecration ritual, aBuddhist image literally became the deity and could wield his powers (Kieschnick2003, 5663; Sharf 1996, 26167). The gods of popular cults were also believedto inhabit their images (Hansen 1990, 5354). The infiltration of such conceptsand the danger that they would debase the cult of Confucius prompted Songand Ming Neo-Confucian ritualists to formulate objections to the presence ofanthropomorphic images in the temple.

The first signs of opposition to icons of Confucius in the state cult emerged aspart of a larger argument against using images in sacrifices that had originated inantiquity (Ebrey 1991; Sommer 1993, 1994, 2002). Authoritative classical textson ritual, most notably the Etiquette and Rites (Yi li ) and Record of Rites,did not mention portraits in the procedures for making offerings to ancestralspirits, heavenly forces, or worthy men of ancient times. Major Song thinkerssuch as Cheng Yi (10331107) and Zhu Xi (11301200), as well asordinary officials, were eager to separate these kinds of rituals from the practicesthey associated with Buddhism, Daoism, and popular cults (Ebrey 1989, 3012;Neskar 1996, 293300). Zhu also argued explicitly against sacrificing to images ofConfucius (Chan 1989, 400401; Sommer 2002, 108).

An additional concern was whether sculptures or paintings could everprovide a sufficiently faithful likeness of any deceased person for celebrants toexperience the presence of his spirit and enter into communion with him(Sommer 2002). Classical texts indicated that in antiquity, a lineal descendantof the deceased played the role of personator of the dead (shi ) during theceremony, using his blood connection and physical resemblance to evoke thedeparted ancestor. In order for a portrait to serve as an effective substitute, ithad to be accurate, or else the offering would go astray. As Cheng Yi famouslyproclaimed, perhaps hyperbolically, a mistake in depicting even a single hairwould cause the wrong spirit to come down to receive the sacrifice.24 Becauseimages of Confucius were made so long after his lifetime, they could hardly befaithful representations, and no two looked exactly alike. The portrayals wereinvented by later artisans and not based on direct observation. The visual featuresof the sculptural icons of Confucius also contradicted the details of his life anddisplayed elements anachronistic to the material culture of his day. Not onlywere there no chairs in the late Eastern Zhou period, even the most reliablydocumented portraits showed him wearing the clothing of the Han and later

physically distinctive predated Buddhism, but the specification of forty-nine marks reflects Bud-dhist influence. The attribution of a larger number to Confucius implied that he was superior tothe Buddha.24Cheng Yi, Yi shu [Surviving Writings], 22A:7a; quoted by Deborah A. Sommer (2002, 113),who considers Chengs statement a literal prescription for accurate ancestral portraits. I believeinstead that he was making an extreme statement in order to emphasize his point that it was imposs-ible for a fabricated image ever to be adequate for ritual use.

382 Julia K. Murray

periods (Queli zhi seventeenth-century ed., 1:6a; Kong Yuqi [1689] 1983,7:11ab [652-81]). And, of course, Confucius had never been a king, much lessan emperor. Icons that represented him in the regalia appropriate to thehonors that had been posthumously bestowed on him conflicted egregiouslywith well-known biographical details.

Another line of argument reveals that even very sophisticated men subcon-sciously equated the sculptural icons in the Confucian temple with the spiritsthat descended to receive sacrifice during the ceremony. In accord with classicalritual procedures, offerings of food and wine were placed on a mat on the ground.Because the icon of Confucius depicted a figure seated on a chair, both Zhu Xiand Song Na (131090) worried that his spirit would have to crawl toreach the nourishment (Sommer 2002, 1067).25 Underlying this fear wastheir presumption that his spirit took on the properties of its anthropomorphicrepresentation. The notion that Confuciuss spirit entered and became theseated figure reflects the influence of Buddhism. Although the sculpturalimages of Confucius were not supposed to be considered embodiments of thesage, but merely representations to help evoke his spirit, this distinction wasblurred by their visual and material similarities to Buddhist icons.

At the most fundamental level, however, Neo-Confucian ritualists wereopposed to icons in the Confucian temple simply on principle: Classical textsdid not prescribe a role for images in the performance of sacrificial rites. Eventhe authors of a treatise on the Qufu temple and its rituals acknowledged thaticons had been incorporated only in recent centuries: Setting up images toserve the spirits was not [done in] antiquity. It must postdate the end of thepersonator ritual (Queli zhi 1505, 9:50a). Neo-Confucian ritual experts didnot necessarily object to representations of Confucius in other contexts; Zhu Xihimself reportedly bowed daily to a sculptural portrait of Confucius, presumablyan image kept in his home.26 Rather, they believed that the presence of anthro-pomorphic images altered the character of the formal sacrifice, obstructing itsevocation of the grandeur of the Way that Confucius had transmitted from theancient sages. Indeed, Qiu Jun (142195) argued that the object of thesacrifice was the Way itself, not the flesh-and-blood Confucius (Sommer 1993;Wilson 1996, 566). Figural icons threatened to reduce a profound spiritualencounter to a mundane, sensual experience that would have no transformativepower. As Song Na observed, anthropomorphic images profaned the ineffablerealm of invisible spirits and could not convey their virtues (Sommer 2002,

25This argument drew upon Su Shis (10361101) observation concerning sacrifices in general,that it was incongruous to place offerings on the floor for images over an altar.26Sommer (2002, 109), quoting Zhu Xis son-in-law Huang Gan (11511221). Zhu Xis ambiva-lence about icons of Confucius comes out in a text for his White Deer Grotto Academy, quoted byKong Yuqi ([1689] 1983, 7:5b [652-78]).

Idols in the Temple: Icons and the Cult of Confucius 383

11011). Because literati officials repeatedly revived the charge that the use oficons had come to China with Buddhism, the issue continued to rankle.Perhaps finding this view threatening to their special status, Kong writers care-fully maintained accounts of the lineages various images of Confucius. Inaddition, Kong Yuqi ([1689] 1983, 7:5a7b [652-78652-79]) and Kong Jifen([1762] 1966, 12:10b11a [228229]) presented forceful arguments in defenseof icons, citing cases from the late Zhou to early Han in which representationalimages were created or used in sacrificial rituals, before the purported introduc-tion of Buddhism in the reign of Han Mingdi (5775).

STAGES IN THE REMOVAL OF ICONS

In 1382, theMing founding emperor, Taizu (r. 136898), built a newConfuciantemple for the imperial university in his capital at Nanjing. At the urging of hisadvisor, Song Lian (131081), he ordered that the temple be furnished notwith portrait icons but only with wooden tablets inscribed with the names andtitles of Confucius, his disciples, and later followers and scholars (Sommer 2002,106).27 However, Taizu did not require other Confucian temples to get rid oftheir images, nor did he remove the posthumously conferred noble ranks and hon-orific designations. By contrast, when he reformed anothermid-level state cult, theworship of city gods (Cheng huang), Taizu abolished noble titles and anthro-pomorphic representations from all city-god temples (Taylor 1990, 10910). Aspersonifications of natural forces, the city gods did not have well-established indi-vidual identities.28 But Confucius and his followers had been men who walked theearth in historical times, and the desire for images of them remained strong.Whenthe Yongle emperor (r. 140124) refurbished theNanjing temple in 1410, he aban-doned his fathers principled aniconism and allowed representational images to beadded. After he shifted the Ming capital to Beijing in the 1420s, he permitted therefurbishing of the icons in the imperial universitys Confucian temple, which hadbeen built under Mongol rule (Sommer 2002, 11718).

Starting in the middle Ming period, opponents of icons in the Confuciantemple began to characterize them explicitly as a Buddhist influence. Duringthe Tianshun era (145764), the Suzhou prefect Lin E (142376) refusedto repair the dilapidated clay statues in the prefectural schools temple of Confu-cius, stating,

27Song Lian had presented his recommendation in a 1371 memorial, On the Confucian Temple(Kongzi miaotang yi ), which is discussed by Huang Chin-hsing (2002, 276). Kong Yuqi([1689] 1983, 7:6ab [652-78]) strongly rebuts Songs arguments.28Taylor (1990, 14849) suggests that certain official-cult nature gods had developed personifica-tions with a popular following, such as the God of Taishan , whose local temples were runby Daoist priests.

384 Julia K. Murray

Clay images are not an ancient practice They are nothing but earth.How are they the sages and worthies? Confucius was born before Bud-dhism entered China. Who knew of these so-called images then? (Gu[1658] 1963, 535; Taylor 1990, 141).

Following the precedent set by Ming Taizu in the Nanjing Confucian temple, Lininstalled inscribed wooden tablets instead.

A few years later, Qiu Jun appealed to anti-Mongol sentiment in his polemicagainst icons in the Confucian temple at the Beijing imperial university (Sommer1993; 2002, 11825). He claimed not only that Buddhist influence had interp-olated images into classical rituals but also that Mongol patronage during theYuan dynasty had caused alien religious practices to become entrenched. ToQiu, the presence of icons in the Confucian temple signified a foreign debase-ment of the native practice, which was to use a tablet to represent the recipientof a sacrifice. However, Qiu did not press to remove images from temples associ-ated with schools at the lower levels of government. His main concern was withthe temple in the capital, where the emperor himself sometimes performed thesacrifice (Sommer 2002, 123).

As Sommer has pointed out (2002, 12324), Qiu Jun evidently attributed aform of embodiment and agency to anthropomorphic representations that hedid not associate with inscribed tablets. He believed that it violated protocolfor the emperor to bow before sculptural images of Confucius and his followersbecause these men had all been of lower ranks. However, Qiu did not object tothe emperors veneration of tablets inscribed with the names of those same com-moners. Although Qiu disparaged sculptural icons as inanimate and worthlessobjects of clay, arbitrarily fashioned by artisans, he must have sensed that suchimages made their referents present more effectively than inscribed tabletsdid. If only at an unconscious level, Qiu equated the icons with the men they rep-resented, which suggests that even an arch foe of Buddhism could not avoidbeing influenced by the Buddhist idea that the image embodied the deity.Accordingly, Qiu was less concerned about removing icons from prefecturaland county temples because only ordinary officials and scholars sacrificedthere; the emperor did not.

Although Qiu Juns arguments went nowhere during his lifetime, they wererevived and finally adopted in 1530, when the Jiajing emperor (r. 152266) issueda decree requiring that images be removed from all Confucian temples, whichhenceforth were to display only the inscribed tablets. At the same time, theemperor abolished the noble titles held by Confucius, his disciples, and later fol-lowers, replacing them with designations that shifted emphasis to the teachingand transmission of the Way. Confucius was now titled Ultimate Sage and FirstTeacher (Zhisheng xianshi ), and the others were variously Correlates,Savants (Zhe), Former Worthies (Xian xian ), and Former Scholars (Xianru ). Even if a few state temples dodged the order to destroy their images

Idols in the Temple: Icons and the Cult of Confucius 385

by constructing a false wall in front of them, the shift to reliance solely oninscribed wooden tablets was remarkably thorough.29 At the same time, thenumber of vessels was reduced from twelve to ten, and the rows of dancersfrom eight to six (Zhang Tingyu et al. [1739] 1974, 50:1298). Huang Chin-hsing(2002) has argued that the Jiajing emperor used the issue of appropriate rites forConfucius as an opportunity to consolidate his dominance over capital officials,who had opposed his desire to incorporate his natural parents into the ritualsvenerating his imperial ancestors.

THE SURVIVAL AND RENEWAL OF THE QUFU TEMPLE ICON

Significantly, the imperial order to remove icons made an exception for thetemple of Confucius in his hometown of Qufu (Kong Yuqi [1689] 1983, 7:7b[652-79]). This temple not only participated in the state cult but also was associ-ated with Confuciuss flesh-and-blood descendants (Wilson 1996, 2002b), andritualists had come to accept the use of portraits in familial worship (Stuartand Rawski 2001, 3549). Nonetheless, government officials performed semi-annual sacrifices at the Qufu temple, which also enshrined more than 150 menunrelated to the Kongs. The main sacrificial hall (Dacheng dian) displayedsculptural images of Confucius, the Four Correlates, and the Ten Savants, whilethe Former Worthies and Former Scholars were depicted in paintings in the twolong corridors along the east and west sides of the forecourt. The icon of Confu-cius continued to display imperial attributes, despite the apparent contradictionwith his changed title, perhaps to ensure that visually, at least, he outrankedhis ennobled descendants. Since 739, the most senior Kong in each generationhad been a duke, initially titled Duke of Propagating Culture (Wenxuan gong), and after 1055, Duke of Perpetuating the Sage (Yansheng gong )(Wilson 2002b, 63, 67). Whatever the reason, the Qufu image preserved thevisual similarity between Confucius and the high gods of the Daoist and popularpantheons.

The continued presence of icons after 1530 made the Qufu temple unique,even though the temple at the imperial university in Beijing was ritually moreimportant because the emperor regularly sacrificed there.30 Post-1530 editionsof the Qufu temple gazetteer, Queli zhi , called attention to this new

29Sommer (2002, 12627) quotes a widely repeated assertion by Gu Yanwu (161382) thatsome temples hid their images after 1530 rather than demolishing them. John Meskill (1982, 49)suggests that private academies might have kept images. The Japanese Confucian scholar HayashiRazan (15831657) installed icons of Confucius and the Four Correlates in his academystemple in 1632; and sculptural icons of Confucius and Ten Savants were displayed in theYushima Seido , the Tokugawa shoguns temple in Edo, founded in 1690 and depictedin a contemporary painting (Yushima Seido to Edo jidai 1990, cat. B7).30On very rare occasions, an emperor journeyed to Qufu to offer sacrifice, usually in conjunctionwith a visit to Taishan to perform the even more important feng and shan sacrifices; but

386 Julia K. Murray

distinction by reproducing a line drawing of the sculptural icon of Confucius atthe beginning of the book (figure 2).31 Portrayed as a frontal and symmetricalfigure with a heavy beard, Confucius sits regally on a curved-back throne withan ornate footrest. Solemn in expression, he holds a pointed tablet in front of

Figure 2. Line drawing of the Qufu temple icon ofConfucius, titled Portrait of the Great-CompletionUltimate Sage and Culture-Propagating FirstTeacher, Master Kong (Dacheng zhisheng wenxuanxianshi Kongzi zhi xiang ), early Qing, c. 1647, woodblock print. Queli zhi , expanded edition of Kong Yinzhi ,juan shou. Source: Regenstein Library, University ofChicago.

none of the Ming emperors made the effort. By contrast, most of them managed to make the shortexcursion to the Confucian temple at the imperial university at least once during their reigns.31The line drawing of the icon, which does not record the size, medium, or color, appears in KongZhencongs twelve-juan edition of Queli zhi, completed in 1599 and printed in 1609, and inKong Yinzhis (15921647) mid-seventeenth-century edition in twenty-four juan. Althoughthese later editions preserved core material from the original 1505 compilation by the high officialChen Gao, the Kong lineages vested interest in the Qufu temple is evident from the fact thatthe compilers of later editions were eminent Kong clansmen; Kong Yinzhi was thesixty-fifth-generations Duke of Perpetuating the Sage.

Idols in the Temple: Icons and the Cult of Confucius 387

his chest. His robe displays imperial emblems, such as the sun, moon, and BigDipper on the shoulders, and dragons and mountains on the voluminoussleeves. Twelve strings of beads hang from both ends of his mortarboard-shapedcrown, which is foreshortened so that the back is not visible. Except for theinscribed title that identifies the figure as Confucius, the image could easily betaken for one of the high gods of religious Daoism (cf. figure 1).

In 1724, a fire in the Qufu temple devastated the main hall and destroyed thesculptural icons. To assist with the repairs, the Yongzheng emperor (r. 172335)sent a team of palace artisans to create replacements for the images of Confuciusand the Four Correlates, which were completed in 1730 (Kong Jifen [1762] 1966,12:10ab [222228]; Xichao xinyu [1824] 1984, 9:1b [366]). The similaritybetween figures 2 and 3, as well as a late Ming description (Bi Ziyan 1983,3:26a [1293-447]), suggest that the 1730 replacements faithfully preserved icono-graphic details. The illustration in Queli zhi (i.e., figure 2) probably served as thespecific model for the replacement (figure 3). Rather than simply modeling clayfigures over a wooden armature, the sculptors used the unsupported method(tuo tai fa , literally discarded-embryo technique), which created ahollow space inside the sculptures.32 Silver organs, bronze mirrors, and old edi-tions of the Confucian classic books were placed there, suggesting yet anotherway in which Confucian icons were affected by Buddhist practices. Such depositswere often placed inside an interior cavity of a Buddhist sculptural image to helpempower the image or make offerings to the deity (Kieschnick 2003, 6263; Shen2000). Qufu temple documents do not mention the concealed objects, and it isunclear whether the previous set of icons had also contained them. Thehidden deposits briefly came to light only in November 1966, during the CulturalRevolution, when Red Guards smashed the Qing sculptures and discovered theobjects inside. Unfortunately, the deposited objects were almost immediatelydestroyed (Wang Liang 2002, 391; Yazi 1991, 13839, 168).

WOODBLOCK PRINTS AND THE POPULARIZATION OF CONFUCIUS

Although the Jiajing emperor intended his 1530 reform to put an end to inap-propriately godlike representations of Confucius, the continued existence of thesculptural icon in the Qufu temple prevented this iconography from disappear-ing. Coinciding with the sixteenth-century boom in woodblock printing andbook publishing, the ban on representational images in all other Confucian

32The translation of tuo tai fa (literally, embryo-removal technique) as unsupported method wassuggested by an anonymous reviewer for the JAS. The technique was used most often to makehollow dry-lacquer images, in which raw lacquer is applied to a cloth over an unfired clay modelof the desired figure; after the lacquer has dried and hardened, the clay is chipped out. Theterm could also be used to describe a technique for modeling an image in clay and removingsome of the interior material when the form has dried.

388 Julia K. Murray

temples made the Qufu image unique, and thus interesting. Versions of the line-drawn illustration in Queli zhi reproducing the icons visual features circulatedwidely during the late Ming and Qing periods, even reaching Europe, wherethe image was copied and given more naturalistic rendering, shading, andcontour to make it look more like a seated human being (figure 4). Pictures inwoodblock printed books and on single sheets also spread awareness of thegodlike icon to broader segments of Chinese society, facilitating Confuciuss

Figure 3. Sculptural icon of Confucius (now destroyed) in the mainsacrificial hall (Dacheng dian ), Temple of Confucius, Qufu,Shandong. Qing, 1730. Photo by Stphane Passat, 1913. Source:Chine, 19091934, comp. Muse Albert Kahn (Boulogne-Billancourt:Le Muse, 2001), 1:622.

Idols in the Temple: Icons and the Cult of Confucius 389

incorporation into popular religious practices that differed from the rarified sacri-ficial rituals enacted in Confucian temples.

Besides appearing prominently in various reprints and expansions of theQufu temple gazetteer Queli zhi, the illustration of the sculptural icon also was

Figure 4. Engraving of Confucius inscribed with praise by Voltaire(16941778), by Isidore Stanislas Helman (17431806), from Abrghistorique des principaux traits de la vie de Confucius, clbre philo-sophe chinois; orn de 24 estampes in 4, graves par Helman,daprs des dessins originaux de la Chine, envoys Paris par M.Amiot, missionaire Pkin et tirs du cabinet de Mr. Bertin (Paris,1788). Source: Regenstein Library, University of Chicago.

390 Julia K. Murray

copied into later editions of another book, LWeiqis (15871641) Sheng-xian xiangzan (Portraits and Encomia for the Sage and Worthies). Firstpublished in 1632, the work was a compendium of line-drawn images andeulogies for Confucius, the disciples, and canonized later Confucian scholars.The picture of the temple icon (figure 5) was inserted at the beginning ofthe 1832 edition and annotated as copied from the True Visage in Qufu

Figure 5. Line drawing of the Qufu temple icon of Confucius, entitled UltimateSage and First Teacher, Master Kong (Zhisheng xianshi Kongzi ),Qing period, woodblock print. L Weiqi , Shengxian xiangzan ,1837 edition. Source: National Diet Library, Tokyo.

Idols in the Temple: Icons and the Cult of Confucius 391

(lin Qufu zhenrong ), indicating that the book was published else-where.33 This notation was removed in the 1878 edition, which was publishedin Qufu by Kong Xianlan ( juren 1862), a seventy-second-generationmember of the Kong lineage.34 Perhaps he considered it unnecessary toprovide such detailed information about the familiar icon, but he may alsohave thought it did not represent the true visage of his ancestor. As I discussin the next section, Kong family publications since the twelfth century hadrecorded a small painting of Confucius and his disciple Yan Hui as the most faith-ful (zui zhen) depiction of the master (Kong Chuan [1134] 1967, xia: 3b4a;Kong Jifen [1762] 1966, 12:3a [213]; Murray, forthcoming).

The illustration of the Qufu temple icon differed significantly from the otherpictures in Shengxian xiangzan. L Weiqis original compendium reproduced afamous set of stone tablets made in 1156 for the Southern Song imperial univer-sity, which later became the Hangzhou prefectural school.35 Unlike the Qufusculpture, the incised tablets portrayed Confucius seated in three-quarterprofile on a low dais and dressed in unadorned robes (figure 6). Gesturing withone hand and holding a long, curved scepter with the other, he appears to beaddressing the seventy-two disciples, who are arrayed before him in a long lineof lively figures.36 The Hangzhou tablets were not used in temple sacrifices butwere displayed in the school building to inspire the students to cultivate virtue

33The name Hall of the Three Rarities (Sanxi tang ) appears in the lower margin (banxin ) throughout this edition, perhaps indicating that it was published by the Qing palace inBeijing. A hall of that name was the private studio of the Qianlong emperor (r. 173596). Zhen in zhenrong may sometimes mean ideal or perfect rather than realistic in a literalsense (Zeitlin 2005, 406 n. 30).34The title page of the 1878 edition of Shengxian xiangzan has a notation stating that the blockswere stored in the Gathered Culture Hall (Huiwen tang ) in Qufu.35Huang Yongquan (1963) and Beijing tushuguan cang huaxiang taben huibian (1993, 1:876)reproduce rubbings of the extant tablets; I have analyzed their creation and transmission(Murray 1992). Originally commissioned by the Song emperor Gaozong in 1156, the incisedtablets reproduced eulogies (zan ) personally composed by that emperor and idealized portraitsby an unnamed court artist (or artists) for all seventy-three figures. By the mid-fifteenth century, theimages had gained an attribution to a famous literati painter, Li Gonglin (c. 10491106). LWeiqi used other sources for images of the many later men who had been added to the temple cultafter 1156 and composed eulogies for them himself. The most recent figure in the compendium isWang Yangming (14721529; jinshi 1499), who entered the temple in 1584.36Although the depiction of Confucius in the Hangzhou tablets superficially resembles images ofthe learned Buddhist layman Vimalakrti in his debate with the bodhisattva Majusr, the twofigures differ significantly in posture. Confucius sits on the soles of his feet, with both legsfolded beneath him, while Vimalakrti was frequently portrayed sitting cross-legged, sometimeswith one knee up, and displaying his feet (e.g., Barnhart et al. 1997, 73 fig. 67). According toZhu Xi, the cross-legged posture was a Buddhist innovation that went against ancient decorum,which was represented by Confuciuss way of sitting (Kong Yuqi [1689] 1983, 7:5ab [652-78]).In fact, a more likely inspiration for the Hangzhou portrayal was the long-lost stone image of Con-fucius to which Zhu Xi referred, which many believed had been installed by Wen Weng (fl.second century BCE) in his academy at Chengdu . J. Michael Farmer (2000) deconstructsthis and other widespread myths about Wen.

392 Julia K. Murray

and loyalty, as the preface by the Song emperor Gaozong (r. 112762)makes clear.Similarly, LWeiqi prefaced his Shengxian xiangzan by stating that scholars of hisown day needed images to remind them of fundamental values and prevent themfrom straying into Buddhism, Daoism, and even Christianity (L 1632, xu: 3b4b). The animated and engaging figures contrast sharply with the static poseand hieratic frontality of the Qufu temple icon, which suggests a conception ofConfucius as remote and eternal, consistent with its ritual function.37

Figure 6. Portrait of Confucius, from Portraits and Eulogies of Confuciusand Seventy-Two Disciples, Southern Song, 1156, detail of rubbing from anincised stone tablet in the Temple of Confucius, Hangzhou. Source: HuangYongchuan (1963, 2).

37The portrayal of Confucius with his seventy-two disciples focuses attention on his teaching and itstransmission, and these images may be compared with the incised tablets illustrating his life and

Idols in the Temple: Icons and the Cult of Confucius 393

Before photographs of the Qufu temples sculptural icon of Confucius madeit widely known in the twentieth century (e.g., figure 3), woodblock-printedimages were the primary means of spreading knowledge of it (e.g., figures 2and 5). The hieratic frontality and clearly depicted emblems of rank andpotency marked Confucius as a god comparable to the Jade Emperor (figure1), which undoubtedly helped stimulate interest in worshiping him. Moreover,late nineteenth-century efforts to popularize his cult encouraged ordinarypeople to incorporate Confucius into the heterogeneous pantheon of efficaciousdeities (Chen 1999; Clart 2003). Although Confucius never became as importantin this respect as Buddhist, Daoist, and popular-cult gods, votive prints from thelate nineteenth and early twentieth centuries suggest that people did worship himin homes and village schools (Kongzi baitu 1997, 12). Some of these prints, calledNew Year pictures (nian hua), were pasted above altars and on walls at thebeginning of each year, providing a focus for veneration and offerings of incensethroughout the year. Others, sometimes called paper horses (zhi ma), wereintended for use in a single worship ritual and were burned immediately after-ward, to send them to the spirit world.38 Surviving examples show that Confuciuswas sometimes the primary object of worship, while others include him as justone of many deities in a pantheon print.

The first of two popular prints reproduced here, made for one-time use,depicts Confucius with imperial attributes (figure 7) and is clearly based onthe Qufu temple icon. However, the image has been vernacularized withconventions of the popular-print genre and closely resembles votive images ofDaoist and popular gods (see, e.g., Po 1992; Rudova 1988; Wang Shucun1992). The powerful features of Confuciuss outsize face convey crude vigor,not decorous serenity, rendering him remarkably similar to Lord Guan(Guan di ) (Po 1992, nos. 2122; Rudova 1988, nos. 6, 22) or even to thedeified Ox King (Niu wang ) (Po 1992, no. 28; Wang Shucun 1992, 21pl. 6). Smaller standing figures of the Four Correlates flank the seatedConfucius in the same way that other popular prints portray a gods assistants,visually attesting his importance and power. Although iconic sculptures repre-senting the Four Correlates accompany the statue of Confucius in the Qufutemple, and all are reproduced as line drawings in Shengxian xiangzan, thisbook presents each figure in isolation. The popular print not only casts theFour Correlates as Confuciuss assistants, it also gives each of the five men ahalo, a motif originally introduced from Buddhist visual iconography and more

deeds that were carved in 1592 for display in the Hall of the Sages Traces (Shengji dian ),behind the Qufu temples sacrificial hall (Murray 1996). In 1991, incised copies of the Hangzhoutablets were added, installed in the wall of a courtyard east of the main axis.38Po Sung-nien (1992) provides an accessible introduction to the iconography and use of popularprints; James A. Flath (2003) offers a more comprehensive and contextually rigorous discussion.

394 Julia K. Murray

recently reinforced by Christian imagery. The swirl pattern that fills the spaceabove is modeled after the auspicious clouds that often surround Buddhist andDaoist deities.

Another popular print depicting Confucius with the Four Correlates framesthe group under a temple roof and includes an altar with an incense burner, asetting that visually connotes sacrifice and indicates the ritual function of this

Figure 7. Confucius and Four Correlates, entitled Great Completion Ultimate Sageand First Teacher, Master Kong (Dacheng Zhisheng xianshi Kongzi ), early twentieth century, woodblock print from Yangliuqing, Hebei. 42 34.5cm. Source: Kongzi baitu (1997, 18:4).

Idols in the Temple: Icons and the Cult of Confucius 395

image (figure 8).39 These elements, and the carefully printed coloring, suggest thatthis print was intended for veneration and offerings throughout the year. Confucius

Figure 8. Confucius and Four Correlates, entitled Ultimate Sage and Ances-tral Teacher (Zhisheng zongshi ), early twentieth century, color wood-block print from Beijing; 3120 cm. Source: Kongzi baitu (1997, 15:1).

39Similarly, interior settings and the paraphernalia of sacrifice sometimes appear in portrait paint-ings of recently deceased persons that were intended for use in memorial rituals (e.g., Stuart andRawski 2001, pls. 1.8, 2.6, 2.9, 4.10).

396 Julia K. Murray

wears a simplified version of the imperial regalia and has a red face, as other godssometimes do. The books on the altar refer not to temple rituals but to Confuciussidentification with learning. At the center of the roof ridge is a vase sprouting lancesand an inverted V-shaped chime, a common rebus for a lifetime of blessings (pingsheng ji qing) (Po 1992, 160). New Year prints typically incorporate suchauspicious designs and symbolic decorations as a means of attracting good fortuneand worldly success. Taken together, these features suggest that the print was mar-keted to people who aspired to ascend socially through educational accomplishmentand were accustomed to seeking aid from the gods to fulfill their needs. The printvisually represents Confucius as an appropriate god to petition for assistance withschooling and examinations. Such expectations are confirmed by the four-charactertitle abovehis head, Ultimate Sage andAncestral Teacher (Zhisheng zongshi). This designation suggests the reverential conception ofConfucius as the progeni-tor of a lineage of scholars,40 andmay also allude to his role as the purported founderof a national religion of Confucianism, which Kang Youwei and others were attempt-ing to establish from 1898 through the 1910s (Chen 1999; Goossaert 2006).

AN ALTERNATIVE ICON: THE TRAVELING PEDAGOGUE

Another effect of the Jiajing emperors 1530 removal of icons from state templesand change of Confuciuss honorific title was to give amore prominent role to depic-tions that represented Confucius as a man rather than as a god. In addition to morenumerous and varied versions of his pictorial biography, often called Shengji tu (Murray 2002, 25557), the period after 1530 saw a proliferation of portraits ofConfucius as a teacher.41 These images show him wearing a simple cloth cap andundecorated robes, with a sword tucked under his left arm (figure 9). Slightlystooped, he stands in a dignified posture with hands clasped in front of his chest.Some renditions give his face a distinctly homely appearance, even buck teeth,while others replace the simple cloth headgear with a cap shaped like a lotus bud,or even an official cap. In the late Ming and Qing periods, this image was incisedon stone tablets for display in school buildings, and it was also reproduced inwoodblock-printed books and hanging scroll paintings.42 Differing only slightlyfrom one another, these renditions often include a notation attributing the original

40For example, the group of late Ming officials and literati who sponsored the construction of theHall of the Sages Traces in the Qufu temple referred to themselves as the sixtieth generation ofthe Sages disciples (Shengmen liushi chuan ) (Murray 1996, 278).41I reproduce and discuss several depictions of Confucius as a traveling teacher (Murray 2001) andanalyze the origins and evolution of this iconography (Murray, forthcoming); Luo Chenglie (2003)illustrates many examples and provides dimensions for those in Qufu. Some of the images bearlarge-character titles, such as Xingjiao tu / Xingjiao xiang (Picture/Portrait [of Con-fucius] Practicing the Teaching), or Xiansheng yixiang / Zhisheng yixiang / Xuan-sheng yixiang (Legacy Portrait of the First Sage/Ultimate Sage/Propagating Sage).42Rubbings from several Ming and Qing incised portrait stelae are reproduced in Beijing tushuguancang huaxiang taben huibian (1993, vols. 1, 6), Kongzi baitu (1997), and Luo (2003); local

Idols in the Temple: Icons and the Cult of Confucius 397

Figure 9. Portrait of Confucius, rubbing ofincised stone tablet, Ming sixteenth-centuryreplacement of Southern Song twelfth-century tablet erected by Kong Duanyou and Kong Chuan in Quzhou ,Zhejiang. Source: Qufu Kongmiao jianzhu(1988), fig. 1-1-2.

398 Julia K. Murray

depiction toWuDaozi (c. 689after 755), the most renowned figure painterof the eighth century. However, Wus early biographies and lists of paintings do notmention any portrait of Confucius. Although the earliest references date only fromthe late eleventh century (Murray, forthcoming), Wu could conceivably have beeninspired to paint an image of Confucius while serving in office in Xiaqiu, Yanzhou, a short distance from Qufu (Zhang Yanyuan [847] 1963, vol. 1, 9:1089).

Confuciuss three-quarter stance and costume in this portrayal closely resemblethoseof anotherpicture, inwhichhe is accompaniedby his favorite disciple, YanHui(figure 10).43 First documented in the late eleventh century, the two-man compo-sition reproduced a small painting in the Kong family ancestral temple ( jia miao

Figure 10. Confucius and Yan Hui, rubbing of incised stone tableterected by Kong Yu in the Temple of Confucius, Qufu, Shandong,Northern Song period, dated 1118. Source: E. Chavannes, MissionArchologique dans la Chine Septentrionale (Paris: Leroux, 1909),CCCXCVIII:871.

gazetteers and epigraphical compendia preserve inscriptions for numerous stones that no longersurvive. I discuss some of these and other examples (Murray, forthcoming).

Idols in the Temple: Icons and the Cult of Confucius 399

), which was adjacent to but separate from the official temple of Confucius inQufu. Recorded in successiveKong genealogies (e.g., KongChuan [1134] 1967, xia:3b4a; Kong Yuancuo [1242] 1967, 8:4b), the heirloom painting allegedly trans-mitted Confuciuss true likeness more faithfully than other portraits, and it wasrepeatedly copied in stone stelae and woodblock-printed books from the late ele-venth century onward (Murray, forthcoming). The solo portrait was probablycreated by enlarging the figure of Confucius from this two-man composition. Inthe early Southern Song period (11271279), prominent Kongs from Qufuerected a stele depicting just Confucius in Quzhou , Zhejiang, where theysettled after fleeing the Jin invasions of the north in 112627.44 In the following cen-turies, the solo portrait was repeatedly recarved onto new stones, particularly at gov-ernment schools and private academies in the South. Several early examples haveinscriptions referring to a stone incised with the Wu Daozi image of Confuciusthat was miraculously found in 1322 inside a bridge near Jiangling , Hubei,and subsequently put on display there (Kongzi baitu 1997, 107; Zhongguo meishuquanji, huihua bian 1988, 19 no. 70). The apparent preference for the solo portraitin the South and its association with the Southern Kongs contrast with the northernaffiliations of the two-man composition, which was reproduced on stelae in theQufu temple and elsewhere under the Jin dynasty (Murray, forthcoming). Compet-ing with the Southern Song for the allegiance of the Kongs and of learned menin general, the Jin patronized the temple and awarded the ducal title to KongDuanyous younger brother, who had remained behind in Qufu (Wilson 1996,57172).

Although incised tablets depicting Confucius as a simply dressed standingfigure were widespread before 1530, this image gained importance after theJiajing emperor abolished icons from Confucian temples. The representationaccorded well with Confuciuss new official designation as Ultimate Sage andFirst Teacher, and the composition readily circulated in rubbings, from whichadditional tablets could be carved. Normally displayed in school buildingsrather than in sacrificial halls, it played no role in the formal rituals performedtwice a year. Instead, the portrayal was commemorative and inspirational, offer-ing latter-day students and teachers visual rapport with their role model and

43The painting of Confucius and Yan Hui is first mentioned in a now-lost genealogy published in1085 by Kong Zonghan (eleventh century), quoted by Kong Chuan ([1134] 1967,xia: 3b-4a); Kong Yuancuo ([1242] 1967, shou) reproduces the composition in a line drawing.Records by writers outside the Kong lineage associate Wu Daozi with the two-man depiction, aswell as with the solo portrait (Murray, forthcoming).44TheMing recarving of the stele (figure 9) bears an inscription stating that the original was erectedby Kong Duanyou (d. 1132) and Kong Chuan (ca. 1059ca. 1134) (Qufu Kongmiao jianzhu1988, 3 fig. 1-1-2 caption; Luo 2003, 24). Kong Duanyou was the forty-eighth-generations Duke ofPerpetuating the Sage; Kong Chuan was a forty-seventh- generation descendant and genealogistwho brought precious documents to the South. The Southern Song emperor Gaozong soughtthe allegiance of refugee Kongs and gave them official positions, courtesy titles, and a base inQuzhou, where they could resume caring for their ancestors spirit.

400 Julia K. Murray

allowing them to imagine themselves as the latest generation of Confuciuss dis-ciples. In the Qing period, three stelae carved with versions of the solo portrait ofConfucius were added to the Qufu temples Hall of the Sages Traces (Shengjidian ), joining a 112-scene pictorial hagiography displayed on stonetablets there since 159293 (Murray 1996). Modified versions of Confuciuss por-trayal as a teacher also appeared in European publications of the late seventeenthand eighteenth centuries (Dematt 2007, 3738; Jensen 1997, 10, 82).

After the Qing dynasty was overthrown and replaced by the Republican gov-ernment, the basis for the official cult of Confucius became much more tenuous(Wilson 2002b, 8587).45 Although some prominent intellectuals advocatedmaking Confucianism a national religion modeled on Christianity, othersworked strenuously to redefine it as a nonreligious cultural tradition (Goossaert2006, 15). As First Teacher, Confucius became a symbol of respect for learningand an emblem of classical civilization. This conception also found resonancewith the Japanese, who increasingly saw themselves as heirs to the ancientcultural legacy (Fogel 1995, chap. 6).46 In 1935, a small Ming bronze imageof the standing Confucius was installed in the Yushima Seido , theConfucian temple in Tokyo, which had been rebuilt with sturdy modern materialsafter the 1923 earthquake (Yushima Seido to Edo jidai 1990, nempo, B1).

When Confucius was repudiated by Communist authorities in the PeoplesRepublic after 1949, the Nationalist government in Taiwan promoted him asan emblem of its commitment to preserve Chinas ancient heritage. In 1974, atthe height of the Criticize Lin Biao, Criticize Confucius (pi Lin pi Kong ) movement on the mainland, the Taiwan government officially sponsoredand disseminated a carefully chosen portrayal of Confucius (Cai 1976, 115;Murray 2001, 17, 26). Deeming his identity as a teacher most significant forChinese and world culture, the Ministry of Education designated a purportedWu Daozi image to serve as the official portrait of Confucius (figure 11).Based on a rubbing from a Qing stele in Qufu, the depiction gave Confuciusan appropriately dignified yet humane appearance. Moreover, the choice wasvalidated by Kong Decheng (19202008), the senior Kong in the seventy-seventh generation, who had lived in Qufu before fleeing to Taiwan in 1949.Over-life-size bronze statues using this iconography were cast in Taiwan and pre-sented in 197475 to sites of culture and learning around the world, includingthe Yushima Seido (figure 12).

45Official sacrifices briefly stopped with the fall of the Qing but were revived by President YuanShikai (18591916) in 1914, although their observance declined after his failed attempt tofound a new dynasty. In 1935, the Nationalist government withdrew the ducal title from Confuciussdescendants (Jing 1996, 39).46This attitude also encouraged the Japanese to mount extensive photographic, archaeological, andepigraphical surveys of Chinas ancient monuments and sites, including detailed investigations ofQufu in the first several decades of the twentieth century, as well as stimulating Sinologicalstudies and compilations of Chinese texts.

Idols in the Temple: Icons and the Cult of Confucius 401

More recently, mainland China has turned away from iconoclasm, and rep-resentations of Confucius are proliferating once more. The smashed icons inthe Qufu temple were reconstructed in 1984, and Hong Kong and overseasChinese donors have erected large statues of the ancient teacher at manyschools and at former Confucian temples that have been restored as touristattractions (see cover photo in this issue). In 1999, the government-supportedChina Confucius Foundation issued a limited edition of 1,000 gold statuettesof Confucius to honor the 2,500th anniversary of his birth (figure 13). Pro-motional literature claimed that the statue was based on the most faithful tra-ditional portrait, the Wu Daozi image, but was even more authentic. Insteadof imitating the anachronistic clothing inadvertently depicted by Wu, the robesof the new image reflected archaeological evidence from the Warring Statesperiod. This concern for period-appropriate costume perfectly captures the

Figure 11. Portrait of Confucius, tradition-ally attributed to Tang master Wu Daozi (ca. 689after 755), rubbing of a Qing-periodincised stone tablet in the Temple of Confucius,Qufu, Shandong. Source: Baba (1940, 40).

402 Julia K. Murray

modern demand for a scientific recovery of the past; nonetheless, the removal ofConfuciuss sword suggests that modern beliefs also influenced the depictionteacher-philosophers no longer carry weapons.

Since 2004, China has used Confucius to promote the study of Chineselanguage and culture worldwide under the rubric of Confucius Institutes andhas even contributed funds to establish a Confucius Literacy Prize awardedby UNESCO (China View 2006). In order to make Confucius a more recogniz-able and effective symbol of Chinese civilization, the China Confucius Foun-dation pushed to standardize his visual representation and put an end to thediverse portrayals, some of which purportedly even deified and defamed(shenhua he chouhua ) him (Zhongguo xinwen wang 2006). Thus,in January 2006, plans were announced to create a standard portrait, startingwith yet another review of existing images in consultation with scholars ofConfucianism, historians, sculptors and painters, and descendants of Confucius.

Figure 12. Statue of Confucius on the grounds ofthe Yushima Seido (Temple of Confucius),Tokyo, 1975, bronze, cast in Taibei, height 4.58 m.

Idols in the Temple: Icons and the Cult of Confucius 403

Design specifications issued in February called for the new portrait to be basedon the purported Wu Daozi image and to depict Confucius as between sixty andseventy years of age, with a facial expression that was at once genial yet strict,imposing and yet not intimidating, courteous and yet at ease (wen er li, wei erbu meng, gong er an ) (Dahe xinxiang wang 2006,quoting Analects 7.38, trans. Dawson 1993, 27). A prototype was presented atthe Shandong International Cultural Industry Exposition in June 2006, and thefinal version was unveiled in Qufu on September 23, in time for birthday celebra-tions (China View 2006) (figure 14). Inevitably, this effort to standardize the por-trayal of Confucius prompted criticisms (CRIEnglish.com 2006), some of whichrecall the kinds of objections raised against his icons in earlier periods. Obviously,it is impossible to know what Confucius really looked like so long after his life-time, and even the so-called Wu Daozi portrait came from the artists

Figure 13. Statuette of Confucius, 1999, designedfor the China Confucius Foundation by Qian Shaowu (b. 1928), 24-carat gold, height 27 cm.Source: China Confucius Foundation publicity pamph-let, 2001.

404 Julia K. Murray

imagination. Moreover, an emphasis on Confuciuss outward appearance seemswrong and completely unnecessary to people who focus on his teachings andthe values associated with him. The variety of visual representations reflectsthe ways in which Confucius has been understood and appropriated throughouthistory. As scholars debated in 2006 whether it was possible or desirable to decreeany portrayal as correct, one new argument captured a contemporary concern:that creating a standard is the first step toward patenting the image for com-mercial profit (China Daily 2006). In response, Secretary-General ZhangShuhua of the China Confucius Foundation reiterated that a unified stan-dard was intended only to end the confusion caused by multiple images and tofacilitate worldwide recognition of Confucius; in fact, it did not really matterwhether the portrait resembled Confucius (CRIEnglish.com 2006). However,Zhang also mentioned that Taiwan had previously issued its own standard

Figure 14. Standard Portrait of Confucius, 2006,designed for the China Confucius Foundation by HuXijia (b. 1956), bronze, height 255.7 cm.Qufu. Photo by Julia K. Murray.

Idols in the Temple: Icons and the Cult of Confucius 405

image of Confucius, implying that the real confusion has to do with whichregime controls his legacy. Thus, the 2006 branding of Confucius was not pri-marily for commercial motives but for political ones. Establishing an official por-trait of Confucius is an assertion of authority over the heritage of Chinesecivilization.

Acknowledgments

Earlier versions of this paper were presented at the 2003 Annual Meeting of theCollege Art Association; at the University of Wisconsins Center for East Asian Studiesseminar series; and in the 2007 Confucius Seminar Mellon Workshop in the Centerfor Humanities. I thank the participants in these sessions for their insightful questionsand comments. I am also grateful to Thomas Wilson, Mark Csikszentmihalyi, and thetwo anonymous JAS reviewers for their detailed suggestions on the submittedmanuscript.

List of References

ABE, STANLEY K. 2002. Ordinary Images. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.BABA HARUKICHI . 1940. Ko Mo Seiseki zukan [Reflection in pic-

tures of the traces of the sages Confucius and Mencius]. Tokyo: Santo bunkakenkyukai.

BARNHART, RICHARD M., et al. 1997. Three Thousand Years of Chinese Painting. NewHaven, Conn.: Yale University Press; Beijing: Foreign Languages Press.

Beijing tushuguan cang huaxiang taben huibian [Pictorialrubbings in the Beijing Library]. 1993. Vols. 1, 6. Beijing: Shumu wenxianchubanshe.

BI ZIYAN . 1983. Shiyin yuan cang gao [Drafts stored in the StoneHidden Garden]. Repr. Yingyin Wenyuan ge Siku quanshu, di 1293 ce , 1293 . Taipei: Taiwan shang wu yin shu guan.

CAI WENYI. 1976. Kongzi shengxiang tantao [Deliberations on theportrait of the sage Confucius]. Guoli lishi bowuguan guankan8:11418.

CHAN,WING-TSIT. 1989. ChuHsi and the Academies. InNeo-Confucian Education: TheFormative Stage, ed. William T. de Bary and John W. Chaffee, 389413. Berkeleyand Los Angeles: University of California Press.

CHEN, HSI-YUAN. 1999. Confucianism Encounters Religion: The Formation of ReligiousDiscourse and the Confucian Movement in Modern China. PhD diss., HarvardUniversity.

China Daily. 2006. Statue of Confucius Sparks Trademark Dispute in China. Septem-ber 25. http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2006-09/25/content_696234.htm[accessed January 27, 2009].

China View. 2006. China Unveils Standard Portrait of Confucius. September 23. http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2006-09/23/content_5128745.htm [accessed January14, 2009].

406 Julia K. Murray

CHU, RON GUEY. 1998. Rites and Rights in Ming China. In Confucianism and HumanRights, ed. William T. de Bary and Tu Weiming, 16978. New York: ColumbiaUniversity Press.

CLART, PHILIP. 2003. Confucius and the Mediums: Is There a Popular Confucianism?Toung Pao, ser. 2, 89 (13): 138.

CRIENGLISH.COM. 2006. Official Image of Confucius Sparks Debate among Scholars.September 26. http://english.cri.cn/3126/2006/09/26/264@143753.htm [accessedJanuary 27, 2009].

CSIKSZENTMIHALYI, MARK. 2001. Confucius. In The Rivers of Paradise: Moses, Buddha,Confucius, Jesus, and Muhammad as Religious Founders, ed. David Noel Freedmanand Michael J. McClymond, 233308. Grand Rapids, MI: W. B. Eerdsman.

. 2002. Confucius and the Analects in the Han. In Confucius and the Analects, ed.Brian van Norden, 13462. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Da zai Kongzi [Great is Confucius]. 1991. Ed. Zhang Zuoyao . HongKong: Heping tushu youxian gongsi.

Dahe xinxiang wang . 2006. Banben guo duo, Kongzi daodi zhang shayang,Kongzi biaozhun xiang liuyue quanqiu fabu , , 6 [With too many versions, how in fact did the aged Confucius appear: Astandard portrait of Confucius to be announced worldwide in June]. February 17.http://ww.373w.com/category/60300/2006/02/17/2006-02-17_12210_60300.shtml[accessed January 31, 2009].

DAWSON, RAYMOND, trans. 1993. Confucius: The Analects. Oxford: Oxford UniversityPress.

DEMATT, PAOLA. 2007. Christ and Confucius: Accommodating Christian and ChineseBeliefs. In China on Paper: European and Chinese Works from the Late Sixteenthto the Early Nineteenth Century, ed. Marcia Reed and Paola Dematt, 2951. LosAngeles: Getty Research Institute.

DOR, HENRI, S. J. 191138. Recherches sur les Superstitions en Chine. 18 vols. Shanghai:Imprimerie de la Mission catholique. Trans. M. Kennelly et al., Researches intoChinese Superstitions, 13 vols., 191438. Shanghai: Tusewei Press; repr., Taipei:Cheng-wen Pub. Co., 196667.

EBREY, PATRICIA B. 1989. Education through Ritual: Efforts to Formulate Family RitualsDuring the Sung Period. In Neo-Confucian Education: The Formative Stage, ed.William T. de Bary and John W. Chaffee, 277306. Berkeley and Los Angeles:University of California Press.

. 1991. Confucianism and Family Rituals in Imperial China: A Social History ofWriting about Rites. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press.

ELMAN, BENJAMIN A. 1990. Classicism, Politics, and Kinship: The Chang-chou School ofNew Text Confucianism in Late Imperial China. Berkeley and Los Angeles: Univer-sity of California Press.

FAN YE . 1965. Hou Han shu [History of the Latter Han]. Beijing: Zhonghuashuju.

FARMER, J. MICHAEL. 2000. Art, Education, and Power: Illustrations in the StoneChamber of Wen Weng. Toung Pao 86:100135.

FLATH, JAMES A. 2003. The Cult of Happiness: Nianhua, Art, and History in Rural NorthChina. Vancouver: University of British Columbia Press.

FOGEL, JOSHUA A. 1995. The Cultural Dimension of Sino-Japanese Relations: Essays onthe Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries. Armonk, N.Y.: M.E. Sharpe.

FOULK, T. GRIFFITH, and ROBERT H. SHARF 199394. On the Ritual Use of Chan Portrai-ture in Medieval China. Cahiers dExtrme-Asie 7:149219.

Idols in the Temple: Icons and the Cult of Confucius 407

GOOSSAERT, VINCENT. 2005. The Concept of Religion in China and the West. Trans.Jean Burrell. Diogenes 52 (1): 1320.

. 2006. 1898: The Beginning of the End for Chinese Religion? Journal of AsianStudies 65 (2): 30736.

GU YINGTAI. [1658] 1963.Mingshi jishi benmo [Record of the eventsof Ming history from beginning to end]. Taipei: Sanmin shuju.

HANSEN, VALERIE. 1990. Changing Gods in Medieval China, 11271276. Princeton, N.J.:Princeton University Press.

HUANG CHIN-HSING . 1994. Youru shengyu [Entering the Sages realm].Taipei: Yunchen wenhua shiye gufen youxian gongsi.