From sacred to secular: A study of the transformation in spatial functions of modern Confucian temples (1906–1937)

Abstract

In traditional China, Confucian temples (孔廟 Kongmiao) were sacred spaces with the main functions of offering sacrifices. In the late Qing and early Republican era, even though the sacrificial functions of Confucian temples were extended through the changing regimes and systems, their sacred nature was weakened. During the mid- to late-period of the Beijing government, as the degree to which those in power venerated and worshiped Confucius weakened and modernization advanced, the tendency toward the functional secularization of Confucian temples became increasingly apparent. This was centrally manifested as the formalization of sacrificial functions and assumption of social and education functions. After the establishment of the national government in Nanjing, out of the need for nation-state building, Confucian temples took on multiple functions of modern commemoration, political propaganda, school building, and cultural and historical site building. As different entities had different expectations for the roles that Confucian temples would play during different periods, their actual functions clearly deviated from and missed those stipulated by official documents. Many difficult to reconcile appeals for reform or continuation, for development or conservation joined together in the space of Confucian temples, making it so their spaces could not develop along a linear mode of “traditional-modern.” The course of Confucian temples “turning from sacred to secular” reflects not only the difficulty of transforming Confucianism but also the complex political-cultural ecology of modern China.