Memorial Ceremony for Confucius and Its Link with the Image of the Imperial Confucian Orthodoxy of the Early Qing Dynasty

Holding memorial ceremony for Confucius,as the ritualized symbol of Chinese traditional social orthodoxy,has been transformed into the source of legalized political authority since the Western Han Dynasty.The memorial ceremony for Confucius became a particularly spectacular ritual ceremony during the early Qing Dynasty.The ceremonis of the early Qing Emperors,far surpassed the memorial ceremonies for Confucius of the earlier times in terms of scale and significance.The practice of Emperor’s worshipping on bended knees to Confucius especially promoted the belief in holding memorial ceremony for Confucius and imbued the ceremony with the significance of unparalleled unification of Confucius and ruling orthodoxy.This inscribed firmly the image of Confucian orthodoxy in the minds of the people,confirmed the authority’s inheritance of the Confucian orthodoxy,thus justified their rule.