Chiefly about QuFu, cont'd.

In my last post about Qufu, I wrote about the damage, both physical and spiritual, of the Cultural Revolution and so this guided blog tour of Qufu has not even arrived at the main shrine.  So, step through a few more gates and over a few more thesholds, (men step through with the left leg first, ladies with the right leg first) to arrive finally at the main temple. Smoky incense (which smells just like smoke, not incense) is ascending as a constant stream of people purchase their incense sticks, light them in an iron cauldron, offer them before the shrine, and bow.

The children are praying for success in their studies. Chinese children are under crushing pressure to excel at school. Middle-schoolers must do well in their graduation exams to go to the best senior high school. Their exam scores when they leave high school determine which university they go to, so from the time they are fourteen years old their entire existence is about the upcoming exams. They are competing against hundreds of millions of other kids. And of course with the "one child policy" most families have only one child on which to pin all their aspirations for the future. Parents will leave no stone unturned to help their children, and that includes enrolling them in after-school lessons of all sorts. Of course there are exceptions -- there are indifferent parents here as everywhere -- but this is overwhelmingly the cultural norm in China.

Visitors can purchase these red tags, write a wish or prayer on them, and leave them at the shrine. I didn't participate in the incensing or bowing or red tag purchasing because I don't believe in intercessory prayer, although I do knock on wood every time I catch myself saying, "Ross and I haven't had food poisoning once since we've been here."  Presumably this homage is more efficacious if performed at the shrine itself. But you could always try visiting your nearest Confucius institute if you want to leave no stone unturned in your drive for academic success.

Although Mao wanted Confucius' shrine to be demolished, his statues smashed to rubble and his influence erased, the Chinese government is now using Confucius as its calling card around the world. Thirteen Confucius Institutes operate in Canada alone, with the stated aim of providing information about Chinese language and culture. Several of my colleagues have mentioned that getting selected to go abroad to work at a Confucius Institute is a much-coveted position.

Above right, one of the dragon pillars of the shrine. Our guide told us that one of the heavy standing stone tablets for the temple area was transported to Qufu at wintertime over roads doused with water to create a sheet of ice.  Hunh!! I wonder if that explains Stonehenge. I'd always pictured log rollers or something, but.... ice!  This obvious expedient had never occurred to me, to tell the truth. 

You'll notice umbrellas in the picture above left. Women often use umbrellas as parasols here on a sunny day. 

Ross and I have never been to the cathedrals of Europe, but we imagine that a hushed atmosphere prevails. Here, the mood was festive and bustling and noisy, with lots of cameras clicking and groups posing, including ours. But that's not a judgement, just an observation. Different strokes for different folks. During our visit we spotted only one other foreigner, incidentally. As we descended the main steps, our guide grouped us together for a picture and we noticed that lots of tourists were stopping to take pictures of us, the foreigners, as we posed. In fact we stood there, facing a bank of flashing cell phones, like a couple of very unlikely starlets. 

As I came down the steps, I saw an elderly man gesticulating excitedly -- he really wanted to talk with us. He showed me his passport and proudly pointed to the stamp that said he'd been to Thailand. I believe he wanted to let us know that he, too, was an international traveler. 

Then it was back out of the complex to the nearby Confucius residence, via a gallery of souvenir stalls. The merchants are friendly but not really aggressive. I bought a cloth satchel for 26 yuan; my companion felt I should I haggled the price down lower but my feeling is that I'm lucky enough to have flown across the Pacific, I'm not going to beat down the price with a woman who hasn't had my opportunities in life over what amounts to a handful of Canadian change.

Confucius descendants lived at this spot for hundreds of years until Japanese kicked them out of their home when they invaded and later, the head of the clan decamped to Taiwan when the Communists won the civil war.  The home is a typical traditional dwelling with rooms arranged around a central courtyard, with further courtyards and buildings behind the main courtyard. 

We were lucky to be touring these sites during the time that everything was covered with spring blossoms. This tree is in the courtyard of the residence. 

Following our guide through the different courtyards and alleys, I lost all sense of direction. We ended up in a beautiful serene garden which we were told was reserved for the ladies of the house. It must have been a welcome place to repair to on a hot summer's day.

By then we were more than ready for a lunch break, so we were taken to a nearby restaurant for a quick meal. The final leg of the Qufu tour was, for me, the most moving. To be continued....