We’re now in Qufu, the hometown of Confucius. I have my personal reservations when it comes to Confucian thought – knowing one’s place in society and always deferring to authority doesn’t sound that great to me – but visiting the hometown of one of the world’s most famous philosophers is still very cool. We thought that coming during the May holiday would mean the town would be overrun with tourists, but it’s surprisingly calm and laid-back. And Zoucheng, the nearby hometown of Mencius (the most famous disciple of Confucius, and the student of Confucius’ grandson’s student), which we visited on a whim, is a hidden gem – the temple and Mencius family mansion was beautiful and almost deserted.
Incense burning at the Confucian temple
At lunch on our first day in Qufu, the restaurant owners sat down to chat with us while we ate. The wife asked if we were Christian, and seemed disappointed when I said I wasn’t. It turned out that their daughter had been converted to Christianity when she went to university, and had in turn converted her father – his wife claimed not to be Christian, but still peppered her speech with phrases like “the Lord’s children” (when she tried to convince us to book a guide for the Confucian temple and mansions through her, and insisted that she could get us a better price than the official ticket price, she tried to reassure us by saying, “You’re the Lord’s children, I wouldn’t trick you”). They attend church in Qufu, and told me that there are a fair number of Christians in the town.
Confucianism is a more of a system of morals than a religion per se, and has existed alongside Buddhism and Daoism for thousands of years – so it only seems appropriate to throw Christianity into the mix. Before we left, he gave us a souvenir: a long red strip of paper with the words 人能弘道, a quote from the Analects, written in his calligraphy. From what I’ve heard, the Analects seems to be a lot like the Bible in that it’s filled with statements that are vague and open to interpretation, and provide fodder for a lifetime of contemplation. I’ve also been told that Confucianism, which is all about going out into society and being a good citizen, is a philosophy appropriate for guiding one’s life while young, while Buddhism, which is all about withdrawing from society in the search for inner peace, is a philosophy for the old. I’m not quite sure what 人能弘道 means (or the full phrase, which I happened to spot written on a lamppost in the center of the town: 人能弘道，非道弘人). But given that learning enough Chinese to be able to tackle the Analects will probably take the next 60 years, contemplating the deeper meaning of Confucian thought will probably have to be put on hold for my rocking chair days after all.
Until then, my favourite Confucian line seems fairly straightforward: 有朋自远方来，不亦乐乎？: “Is it not a joy to have friends come from afar?”
Mythical animals stand guard on the roof tiles of the Confucian temple