The tradition and infiltration of Confucian rituals: Ritual culture of the rural sages and the construction of “new rural sages” in contemporary China

Abstract

Rural sage culture is a cultural phenomenon in traditional China. This article explores the emergence and development of the rural sage shrine and uses the former Henan provincial administrative commissioner Wan Yi’s rituals to the rural sage shrine in 1614 as a case study to illustrate that the Confucian tradition of local rituals permeated and influenced the election culture of local society during the Ming Dynasty. The abolition of the imperial examination system at the end of the Qing Dynasty and the absence of a new bureaucratic system made it difficult for the traditional rural sages to survive as the old and new forces were renewed, which led to the cultural spirit of the traditional village sages becoming increasingly blurred in modern China. After the reform and opening up in 1978, China’s policy of reshaping rural grassroots society was put forward, which provided a good social environment and guaranteed the emergence of “new rural sages”. New rural sages were born in the wave of reform in the new era. From this historical experience, it is concluded that the nomination of rural sages to the shrine was a means of valuing rural talents. In the process of innovation and development of the culture of the rural sage, contemporary China has given a new mission to the “new rural sage”, that is, to transform the folk customs, to build models, and to correctitude value tropism.

Keywords

• confucian rituals
• rural sage
• edification
• identity consciousness
• education value