A ceremony in Qufu, birthplace of Confucius, marks the 2,577th anniversary of his birth with traditional rituals, music and dance.
“After a thousand years, ritual and music return to eastern Lu; through the ages, people pay homage to the Sage King.”
A ceremony commemorating Confucius’ 2,577th birth anniversary was held on Sept. 28th in Qufu, in east China’s Shandong Province, the birthplace of the ancient Chinese philosopher.
People from China and abroad gathered at the Confucius Temple to pay tribute to Confucius, who was born in the State of Lu during the Spring and Autumn Period.
Confucius, whose given name was Kong Qiu and courtesy name Zhongni, was a thinker, educator and the founder of the Confucian school of thought. Ceremonies in his honour date back centuries and traditionally feature music, dance and formal rituals.
On the morning of the ceremony, autumn rain fell over the Confucius Temple. Evergreen cypresses and pines stood alongside yellow ribbons as guests prepared themselves for the ceremony.
Guided by ceremonial officials, participants adjusted their clothing and composed themselves before walking along the stone-paved path towards Dacheng Hall, the main hall of the temple.
There, they paid tribute to Confucius, revered as the “Great Sage and First Teacher.” Dancers in the ritual, known as yisheng, held bamboo flutes in their left hands and pheasant feathers in their right. They moved to the rhythm of traditional ceremonial music.
A Dialogue Across Languages
For Marian Rosenberg, an American translator who has translated the ceremony’s memorial text for several years, the event also offers a way to explore connections between Chinese and Western thought.
Classical Chinese can be challenging to translate, she said, because a single character may carry several layers of meaning.
Yet, she added, translating the texts has allowed her to see similarities between Confucius and Western thinkers such as Socrates and Aristotle.
“They all advocate respecting others as we respect ourselves,” Rosenberg said.
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