Kong Qiu was a Chinese scholar and political figure who predated many of the famous philosophers of classical Greece, including those venerated patriarchs of ancient Western wisdom known as Socrates, Plato and Aristotle. One of the transformational figures of ancient China, Kong Qiu’s teachings continue to shape Chinese culture and thought even today. In the West, however, he goes by a different name: Confucius.
Kong Qiu was a Chinese scholar and political figure who predated many of the famous philosophers of classical Greece, including those venerated patriarchs of ancient Western wisdom known as Socrates, Plato and Aristotle. One of the transformational figures of ancient China, Kong Qiu’s teachings continue to shape Chinese culture and thought even today. In the West, however, he goes by a different name: Confucius.
A cinematic retelling of the great sage’s story will come to Portland State’s School of Business Building tomorrow evening when the Confucius Institute screens director Mei Hu’s Confucius (2010), a film depicting the life and trials of this impossibly influential figure in China’s history.
“Everybody knows him as one of the greatest, if not the greatest, philosophers, educators and thinkers in Chinese history,” said Meiru Liu, executive director of the Confucius Institute. Liu also teaches Chinese at the PSU School of Business Administration. “He taught ideas that remain very popular.”
Confucius begins in the Chinese kingdom of Lu during a time of upheaval known as the Spring and Autumn Period. Renowned scholar Kong Qiu (Chow Yun-fat) is invited by Duke Ding of Lu (Yao Lu) to serve as minister of law during a time of conflict with the neighboring state of Qi.
Qi’s Duke Jing (Ma Jingwu) orchestrates an attempt to ambush Lu’s forces during a diplomatic mission, only to be outmaneuvered by Kong Qiu’s tactics. As a result, rather than engage in battle, the states enter into a pact, dissolving one of Lu’s greatest threats. Ding celebrates Kong by naming him interior minister.
Kong and Ding strive to unite their fiefdom by bringing down the walls of their cities and thereby stifling the power of the local noble families. A rebellion erupts in one of the cities, but Kong prevails. As they near the end of their mission, Qi appears again with a force of 30,000 men. The duke of Qi approaches Lu with a proposition: remove Kong from power or go to war.
The latter half of the film follows Kong as he escapes into exile at the behest of his former ally. With quiet dignity, he leaves his home and family, but his disciples follow him. Together, they wander throughout the Chinese countryside, teaching and learning as they move from state to state.
Kong and his disciples nearly settle in the state of Wei, where the king’s consort Nanzi (Zhou Xun) influences the ruler to invite Kong to stay as a teacher. He and the disciples determine to leave, however, before the state falls into its own political chaos. They visit the kingdom of Song, where they are chased out by the authorities as Kong gives a lecture about education and civility.
Confucius is a partially fictionalized biography of Kong Qiu’s life told in the form of a sweeping historical epic. Hu weaves elements of period warfare and political drama to depict the life of a man that used the government’s offices and the scholar’s lectern to deliver his radical message. In Hu’s account, Kong viewed himself as a teacher and scholar who wished to avoid politics and instead deliver personal instruction to would-be students.
The film also paints in delicate strokes the intricacies of ancient Chinese culture, especially its rituals and court life. These details, joined with sweeping images of China’s countryside and a soundtrack of traditional Chinese music, offer a glimpse of the world that gave birth to Confucian virtues.
The Confucius Institute is bringing the film to PSU as part of a greater effort to promote understanding of Chinese language and culture. Institutes similar to our own operate throughout the world, according to Liu.
“Recently, the Chinese government has used Confucius as a name brand for promoting Chinese culture all over the world,” she said. “The Confucius Institute is used to help people outside China get a better understanding of Chinese culture and education and to learn the language.”
Liu also emphasized the importance of learning about who Confucius was as a person. That, she explained, is why she hopes many come to see the film.
“People know the name of the institute, but they don’t know a lot about Confucius as a person,” she said. “By showing this movie, we hope people will have a better understanding of this person, not just as a thinker or philosopher, but as an individual in Chinese history.”
