Confucianism as an“Organized Rel

Na Chen and Lizhu Fan

ABSTRACT: This is an ethnographic study of the Confucian Cong- regation—an emerging religious group in Fujian Province, southeast China—with an account of the Congregation’s origin, belief and rituals, organization, and development strategy. The Congregation started with one person providing supernatural healings, and it developed into an “organized religion” with hundreds of members in seven franchised branches. Furthermore, by taking advantage of the contemporary trend of the revival of Confucianism in China, Congregation leaders were even able to achieve a seemingly impossible feat—a legitimate status for their “superstitious” group.

KEYWORDS: Chinese religion, Confucianism, Confucian Congregation, folk religion

    In this study, we take Confucianism as a term that covers three related concepts in Chinese—Ruxue (儒学), Rujia (儒家), and Rujiao (儒教). Roughly speaking, Ruxue (lit., “Confucian studies”) is chiefly used to refer to Confucianism as a philosophy or scholarship; Rujia (lit., “Confucian school of thought”) often refers to the sociopolitical theory that supports the traditional imperial system, also known as “institutional Confucianism;” and Rujiao (lit., “Confucian teachings”) is often used to identify the folk religion (or “diffused religion”2 as identified by C. K. YANG) based on the Confucian tradition. To date, most studies of the revival of Confucianism in China focus on Ruxue and Rujia. In the research literature on Rujiao, case studies on a range of topics include examinations of the revival of folk religion, often tracking the overlap of Confucian tradition with Daoism.3 Others trace the revival of family-clan tradition and ancestor worship; in these stud- ies, the literature most often considers Confucianism to be an expres- sion of culture rather than religion.4 There are also studies focusing on ritual aspects of Confucianism, such as those practiced at the Temple of Confucius.5

      Our current study is unique in its focus on the metamorphosis of Confucianism in an officially registered incarnation of organized reli- gion known as the “Confucian Congregation.” From its beginning, the Confucian Congregation was rooted in folk religion, providing shaman- istic healing services that might understandably be identified as mixin (迷信) or “superstition”6 by government authorities. Over time, this folk religious tradition merged with the Confucian philosophical and ethical tradition, thus functioning as a system of both healing and moral cultivation. Gradually this movement adopted popular Confucian classics as its divine texts and designed its own rituals of worship of Confucius. In time, this popular tradition developed into an “organized religion”7 with its own House of Dao (道坛).8 In 2013, the Confucian Congregation achieved legal status as the “practice base” of the Research Council of Confucianism, officially registered by the county government as a civil organization.

Since 2010, we have made three field trips and conducted extensive interviews with Congregation leaders on two occasions away from the field site. Our research methodology includes participant observation, personal interviews, and archival studies. In this report, we describe how the Confucian Congregation, an initially “illegitimate” group, has struggled against the odds in its negotiation for survival, development, and legalization. The history of the Confucian Congregation illustrates that some important concepts in Chinese society, such as religion, “superstition,” and cultural tradition, have undergone de facto redefini- tion in ongoing state-society interactions in the People’s Republic of China.

THE CONFUCIAN CONGREGATION

Origin and Early Development

Mintong is a coastal county in northeast Fujian Province in southeast China. Traditionally, a large percentage of the population has made a living directly or indirectly from fishing and other businesses related to the sea. According to the Mintong County Gazetteer (《民同县志》),9 Mintong was established as a county in the third year of the Taikang Era of the Jin Dynasty (282 C.E.). A local legend suggests that the famous Daoist master GE Hong (葛洪, 284–364 C.E.) once practiced alchemy in the local mountains, initiating the local tradition of Daoism. By the 1990s, there were 22 professional Daoist priests in Mintong. During the Jianyuan years of the Southern Qi Dynasty (480–482 C.E.), Buddhism started to spread in Mintong. In the 1990s, there were 109 Buddhist temples with 161 ordained monks and nuns. Since the Northern Song Dynasty (960–1127 C.E.), Mazu (妈祖) worship10 has been popular in Mintong, which today is the proud seat of the second largest Mazu temple in Fujian Province.

In addition to officially recorded religions, Mintong has a rich tradi- tion of folk religions and other local belief systems, with Confucianism the most widespread belief system at the grassroots level. The reconstruc- tion of ancestral halls and recompilation of lineage books are now very common in this area.11 In many rural communities, belief in folk-healers and miracle workers is an institutionalized tradition, allowing for smooth transfer of mysterious spiritual power between generations through es- tablished rituals and ceremonies. Despite decades of government effort to wipe out “superstition,” most local people resort to deities and super- natural power, as a normal practice, to solve a wide range of personal problems, from cure of disease to avoidance of threatening events. Compared with many other areas in China, Mintong appears to possess unusually fertile soil for religion.

At the time of our first visit to Mintong in 2010, the Confucian Congregation had already developed into a systematically organized religious group. The head of the Congregation, LI Yusheng (李玉生), known as Master Li, was not only the leading organizer but also wor- shiped by the members as a deity with supernatural power. After we had earned his confidence, Master Li was ready to answer our questions about the Congregation’s history and plans for future development.

Tracing the origin of the Confucian Congregation takes us back to 1976, when the Cultural Revolution was moving toward its end. That year, a 45-year-old man named HAI experienced a serious mental dis- turbance that local people believed to be a kind of “bewitched illness” and for which he initially could find no cure. Later that year, he met a folk-healer named TAO, who observed that Hai was not an ordinary person but a possessed man with supernatural potential. Tao conferred upon him the divine title “True Man of Linshanshui” (林山水真君). Hai soon recovered and was even able to treat others suffering from illness. As a man with supernatural power, “Master Linshanshui” started to recruit apprentices. Since the late 1970s, Hai has been preaching and practicing his “Dao” (道) of “Xindejiao” (心德教，“Teaching of Heart and Morality”), which he claimed to be founded by the God of Shennong (神农), a mythological emperor, culture hero, and reputed founder of agriculture and Chinese medicine.12 Xindejiao emphasizes family ethics and aims to teach and cultivate the masses. Hai himself was illiterate; his oral preaching was considered divinely inspired, a “Heavenly Book without Written Words” (《无字天书》). Xindejiao has spread to more than ten counties, guided by Master Hai and his followers. Some early followers later became independent practitioners themselves, with their own followers. Among these in a later generation was a man named LI Yusheng, who subsequently became the founder of the Confucian Congregation.

Li Yusheng (b. 1965) was born into a peasant family in Geling Village of Mintong. With only a junior middle school education in the countryside, he moved at age 26 to the county seat for better life opportunities. For a while, he drove a three-wheeled pedicab, but this work exhausted him, leaving him in serious ill-health by age 31. After many medical interventions failed to achieve a cure, Li returned to his home village, where he was treated by Master Han, a disciple of True Man of Linshanshui. Over the course of five months, Li experienced miraculous healing and recovered totally. During this same period, a woman named WAN Aiping (万爱平), who suffered severe mental and physical problems, also came to Master Han for treatment. But she left in less than a month without being cured.

After being cured by Master Han, Li became his disciple and learned to practice the Teaching of Heart and Morality, then soon felt called to this work himself. In 1998, he rented a house in the suburb of Mintong, made a pledge to the God of Shennong, and started his own business as a master of the Teaching of Heart and Morality. By this time, Wan Aiping’s condition had worsened and she had made several sui- cide attempts. In a desperate move, her family carried her to Master Li for treatment. After 24 days, she was able to make her first step out of bed. In seven months, she was cured from all conditions. On the day she felt fully recovered, Wan made seven vows to the God of Shennong and the local earth god and goddess to give up family life and follow Master Li wholeheartedly to serve the Dao. Thus Wan became Master Li’s first follower. One day in October, Wan suddenly said to herself, “I am Pan Yu (潘雨). I am Lan Xiang (岚香).”13 This revelation was con- sidered by both Master Li and Wan as a divine omen. Wan later took these as her divine titles and became empowered with the “supernatural” capacity of being unusually energetic and eloquent. Pan Yu and Master Li thus formed a close relationship dedicated to the further development of the Dao.

In 2003, Pan Yu helped raise 40,000 yuan and purchased a house in the Mintong county seat. This became the first establishment, and later the headquarters, of the forthcoming Confucian Congregation. At the same time, Master Li started to refocus the mission of the Dao. When he was a follower of Master Han, Li had learned about the doctrines of Three Principles and Eight Moral Issues and Twelve Rules for Observing the Teaching of Heart and Morality—commandment-like statements for moral discipline and self-cultivation established and passed down by Master True Man of Linshanshui. Having adopted these doctrines in his earlier practice, Li now added some popular Confucian classics, including the Three-Character Classic (《三字经》), Rules of the Disciple (《弟子规》), and The Classic of Filial Piety (《孝经》). This assemblage of texts, which was much more directly related to the Confucian tradi- tion than before, laid a foundation for the development of the Confucian Congregation. Compared with the earlier practice of the Dao, which emphasized both supernatural healing and ethical teach- ing, the new practice seemed to pay more attention to self-cultivation and Confucian values as a whole, even as supernatural healing power remained an inseparable part of the practice.

Another important person in the development of the Confucian Congregation was CH A N G Shibiao (常世标). When, in 2004, Chang’s wife suffered severe back pain, they went for medical treatment in the local hospital, but the symptoms did not seem to improve. One day, a relative suggested they try the Confucian Congregation.14 They went to the Congregation for treatment and in about a month Chang’s wife totally recovered. The efficaciousness of the treatment gave Chang en- ough reason to be interested in the Confucian Congregation, and in time he became an active member working together with Master Li and Pan Yu. In the Congregation, Chang was considered well-educated with his high school education. He had returned to his home village after graduating high school and for quite a few years was the village Secretary of the Communist Party Branch. With his experience in local administration, Chang was familiar with the bureaucratic system and knew well how to deal with authorities and cut through red tape.

A “triumvirate” was thus formed as the core leadership in the Confucian Congregation. Master Li, calm and composed, is a man with a charismatic personality. In a controlled and unhurried manner, he talks with persuasive eloquence, seldom pausing to search for words or expressions. He does not pretend to be sophisticated, and his simple style gives people an impression of his sincerity and trustworthiness. Pan Yu, in her early forties, has shining eyes and an energetic presence, and at times bursts into laughter. She speaks more often than the other two at Congregation gatherings and tends to do so emotionally and passionately. And, there is no doubt she is an experienced organizer. Chang is a this-worldly person among the three leaders and in fact has never claimed to possess any supernatural capacity. But in handling external affairs, especially dealing with local officials and government bureaucracy, he definitely is competent. His knowledge of the social structure and his pious belief in the Dao make him a valuable diplomat for the Congregation.

In learning the development of the Congregation, we were told that it was the will of the divine and their own Yuanfen (缘分),15 or fateful coincidence, which led the three to meet each other and form such a competent team. They appear to be a close-knit leadership team based both on religious devotion and complementary personalities. Over the last ten years, they have managed to develop the Confucian Congregation into a systematically organized religious entity.

Beliefs and Rituals

When we first visited the Dadao Branch of Confucian Congregation in the fall of 2010, we entered the building through a front gate, on top of which was a signboard reading “Confucian Congregation” (儒家道 坛).16 Once inside, we saw evidence that the title “Confucian Congregation” was only about two years old. On one of the award banners hanging on the wall were the words:

Awarded to Brothers and Sisters of the Dadao Shennong Temple For Outstanding Performance in the Competition of Chanting The Rules of the dicipline.

The Mintong County Headquarters Spring of 2008

As late as the spring of 2008, then, members of the Dadao Branch were still addressed as “Brothers and Sisters of the Dadao Shennong Temple” (大岛神农观众兄弟姐妹). Here the Chinese word for “Temple”—观—usually refers to Daoist temples.

Although the group has changed its name to Confucian Congregation and the major god from Shennong to Confucius, the figure of Shennong nevertheless remains important, both for his his- torical impact in the development of the group and as a major god for worship. In fact, the group’s organizational development has included many gods. When the group changed from the Teaching of Heart and Morality to the Shennong Temple, it carried the beliefs and doctrines from the former to the latter; and when it further changed to the Confucian Congregation, it carried the old beliefs and rituals into the new establishment. As a result, there is a long list of gods and deities the group reveres.

Confucianism as an“Organized Religion”                  An Ethnographic Study of the Confucian Congregation

Table 1 provides a good example of syncretism, with a list including sacred figures of Daoism, Buddhism, Confucianism, and folk religion, as well as deified persons of this group. Master Li’s divine title “Lord of Southern Mountain” (南山老君) sounds very Daoist. In that tradition, laojun (老君) [lit., “old lord”] is often used to entitle a deity; for instance, Laozi (老子) is entitled “Supreme Lord” or “Supreme God” (太上老君). Some other Daoist deities or immortals also bear this title. Congregation members treat the divine beings listed above as having supernatural power, paying tribute to and celebrating them on partic- ular occasions, and praying to them for blessings and protection.

Meanwhile, the Confucian Congregation has adopted various texts (listed in Table 2) that are printed in large characters and posted on the walls in the main hall of the House of Dao. Although the literature is highly syncretistic, it is not a mixture from the “three teachings”17— Confucianism, Buddhism, and Daoism—as is the case with the gods and deities in Table 1. Rather, it consists mainly of pieces drawn from popular Confucian classics, in addition to dozens of lines set up by the group’s masters or drawn from folk tradition and government docu- ments. For example, the Eight Glories and Eight Shames first appeared in a 2006 speech by HU Jintao, China’s “paramount leader” from 2003– 2013, and was then established by the government as the principle for moral development in the program of “socialist cultural construction.” On the whole, the theme of the list in Table 2 is Confucian, with an emphasis on ethics and values. This is also the basic theme of preaching in the Congregation, such as how to honor the Confucian values or how to be a decent person through self-cultivation and self-discipline.

These texts have a relatively simple style. Some of them, such as Three Principles and Eight Moral Issues and Twelve Rules for Observing the Teaching of Heart and Morality, are each fewer than twenty lines. Others, such as the Three-Character Classic and Rules of the Disciple, are traditional Confucian texts of about three to five printed pages each, without annotations. But these popular versions of Confucian classics are writ- ten in such a way that they are rhymed and very musical, easy to chant and memorize. Traditionally they were used for beginning readers to develop literacy. In the Confucian Congregation, members are required to learn these popular classics. In fact, group chanting of these classics (and listed literature) is a very important collective ritual in the Congregation. When some thirty uniformed people chant the classics in chorus, it is impressively musical and highly ritualistic.

Such chanting rituals, much like the practice in Buddhist temples, and other collective activities distinguish the Confucian Congregation from many other traditional folk religion gatherings. Folk religions are typically localized within one village or a few neighboring villages, and visits to temples tend to be individual and instrumental. In contrast, the Confucian Congregation has franchised its branches in different vil- lages and even different counties. It forms a highly organized religious group with a much wider network. Collective activities (with their uni- fied dress code), a common divinity, shared literature, chanting in chorus, and interactions between branches all contribute to the forma- tion of a common identity. Such an identity emphasizes collective wor- ship and moral cultivation, providing a strong sense of belonging and thus promoting solidarity among the members. Although many Congregation members may not fully understand all the lines in these classics, they experience the mysterious power in such chanting. Some members told us that collective chanting made them more relaxed and energetic.

On the other hand, the Confucian Congregation also provides a sacred space for traditional individual rituals. The Huishan Branch provides a good example. The House of Dao in Huishan is a three- storied building. The first floor is a big hall containing a shrine with a life-sized statue of Confucius sitting on a chair with two disciples standing next to him, one on each side. This is where the Congregation meetings and rituals such as collective chanting take place. On the second floor are a meeting room, an office, and a storeroom. The third floor is a temple where statues of gods and deities (see Table 1) plus other Daoist immortals are situated on a platform. For Master Li and Pan Yu there are no statues, but their respective sacred titles and birth times are inscribed on two tablets. For example, on the tablet of Master Li is written “Lord of Southern Mountain,” “The Second Date of the Second Month” and “Sacred Birthday.” People with specific issues visit the third-floor temple behaving just as people would in any other Chinese temple—burning incense sticks and kneeling to the gods and deities to pray for blessings.

Often, people come to Master Li or Pan Yu for personal services, most frequently for relief from emotional, mental or physical miseries. A com- plicated ritual process is involved. First, Master Li checks with the person about their birth time, lineage, and personal sufferings. Then, after calling upon the gods for help, he functions as the Lord of Southern Mountain, and healing takes place through the Lord’s interaction with the treated person. Master Li may make certain mysterious revelations, raise moral challenges, and preach Confucian moral teachings, while the person being treated undertakes personal self-examination of moral behavior and confesses any wrong-doing. This interaction seems similar to a session of psychoanalysis or psychiatric treatment. Master Li acknowl- edges that many who come for help are suffering from emotional and mental disorders, but he emphasizes the importance of supernatural power and Confucian ethics in his treatment.

In addition to personal counseling sessions, there are two rituals in the treatment. One is the magic (or talisman) drawing. Master Li com- pletes a drawing on a slip of paper to be kept by the client or burned and put in a cup of water to be drunk by the client. In some cases, Master Li simply blesses the water without providing any visible talis- man, and the client drinks it. This practice can be traced to Daoist traditions. The other ritual is a physical exercise which seems to be a kind of Qigong (气功).18 The client is asked to sit straight on a chair and repeat two simple movements in turn—using the palms to clap on the lap and then raising the feet and stepping back down on the floor. These exercises are said to promote and regulate the circulation of Qi, fundamental for a healthy body. Any misery is understood to be accom- panied by an irregularity of Qi.

In many ways, the beliefs and rituals of Confucian Congregation are similar to those of other Chinese traditional folk religions. What distin- guishes Confucian Congregation from others is its emphasis on the Dao of Confucianism and its collective rituals; this makes the Congregation more of a group for moral cultivation than for instrumental worship.