【Chen Yong】Jamaica Seeking AgreementIndonesia Confucianism 28 Days Journey

【Chen Yong】Jamaica Seeking AgreementIndonesia Confucianism 28 Days Journey

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On November 3, 2011, I flew from Hong Kong to Jakarta and began a one-month study visit and research on Confucianism in Indonesia. Starting from Surabaya, I traveled across the entire Java Island in 28 days, arriving at Surabaya (Surabaya), the second largest city in Indonesia at the east end of the island, and finally arrived at the final destination, Bali, where I arrived on November 30 I flew back to Hong Kong from there on the same day and successfully concluded the process.
                                                                                                                                                                                      We visited Confucian auditoriums or Confucian temples in more than 10 villages and towns, including Lanzhou, Gemeili, and Shuangjiaohan, to have cordial meetings and discussions with Confucian and Taoist priests from the above places, and also met with senior officials such as Wu Bingbang, Wang Chunlai, Xu Zaiying, Chen Kexing, and Lin Liangyi. The students of Deshao, Chen Qingming, Huang Yaode and other subsequent and current Indonesian Confucian presidents also visited the Confucian Academy of Confucianism, an Indonesian Confucian university under construction in Lassen City, Central Java Province. I rushed from one city to the next almost non-stop. Confucian and Taoist priests from all over the place provided me with the most sincere help in terms of road conditions and food and accommodation. They escorted me from one place to the next just like a relay race. In one place, hand-deliver it to the Taoist priest in the next place. During this period, I participated in preaching activities and other religious ceremonies in most of the Confucian auditoriums I visited, gave more than 20 formal and informal speeches, and attended 4 monthly meetings organized by various local governments in Indonesia. religious dialogue.

The newly built Confucius Temple in Jakarta Miniature Park

Since I didn’t know much about Indonesia and Indonesian Confucianism before my trip, it was also because I I am not proficient in Indonesian, so my study tour and research plan was all improvised, without fixed rules and regulations. However, my entire activity was basically designed and set by the Indonesian Confucian Federation. Mr. Yao Pingbo, the domestic communication chairman of the Confucian Federation who was responsible for setting my process, took the trouble to modify my schedule six or seven times. Overall, my trip to Confucianism in Indonesia was excellent and colorful.It was an eye-opener, and the harvest far exceeded my previous expectations. Because I have experienced so many people and things and the clues are complicated, I can only briefly introduce my general impression of Confucianism in Indonesia in this preface, and I will describe the specific things I saw and heard in the following chapters. Come, for readers who are interested in Confucianism and Confucianism.
 
 
 The deepest impression on me of Confucianism in Indonesia is its high degree of institutionalization. As early as during President Sukarno’s administration, Confucianism in Indonesia briefly obtained the status of an official religion recognized by law. However, starting in 1965, due to the Suharto regime’s strict anti-Chinese policy, Confucianism in Indonesia lost its official religious status and legal protection. It has been excluded and suppressed and turned into underground activities. It was not until President Wahid stepped down in 2000 and abolished the anti-Chinese policy that Indonesian Confucianism regained the status of an official religion recognized by law, standing side by side with Islam, Catholicism, Protestantism, Buddhism and Hinduism. At present, in addition to the Indonesian Confucian Federation in Jakarta, more than 150 Confucian branches have been established and developed across the country, and this number is still growing rapidly. In addition to the Confucian General Conference and local branches, the Confucian Youth Association and the Confucian Women’s Association have also become the Confucian Youth Association and the Confucian Women’s Association in places with better conditions. They work closely with the existing general conference and branch organizations, and at the same time have relatively independent operating mechanisms and activity settings. The Confucian Church in Indonesia has also formulated complete rules and regulations, and has made detailed discussions and regulations on the organizational structure, religious rituals, preaching activities, etc. of Confucianism, giving it similar internal characteristics in form to other major religions in the world. In addition, the Indonesian Confucian Church is also actively preparing to build the first Confucian university in the full sense, the Confucian Academy, which aims to cultivate and reserve various talents for the healthy development of Confucianism.

The statue of Wahid enshrined in the Surabaya Confucian Temple

The second impression that Indonesian Confucianism gave me was that it has a very friendly relationship with Indonesian Islam, which was completely beyond my expectation. At that time, Huntington proposed the “Clash of Civilizations Theory”, believing that the Confucian civilization represented by China and the Islamic civilization represented by Iran would eventually form an alliance against the Christian civilization in the East. I admired his argument and believed that Confucianism and Islam were almost mutually exclusive. Horses and cows are irrelevant, let alone the rest. But Indonesia’s religious iconography tells an entirely different story. in Jamaicans Sugardaddy When Confucianism in Indonesia was severely suppressed by the Suharto regime, it had already maintained a good and close relationship with Islamic intellectuals. Former President Wahid himself was an Islamic scholar, and Confucianism’s final redress was directly due to the years of friendship between the Confucian leadership and Mr. Wahid. Therefore, Indonesian Confucianism today is extremely ungrateful to Wahid, and some people even regard him as the second saint of Confucianism after Confucius. In both Bogor and Solo, I saw private schools run by Confucian auditoriums, and most of their students were Muslim children. They could learn Confucian ethical values, but were not asked to convert to Confucianism, but insisted on their Islam. Teach faith. At the same time, according to my communication with Islamic scholars, Indonesian Islam also believes that there are many similarities between it and Confucianism, and regards Confucius as one of the prophets. However, neither Confucianism nor Islam pursues radical missionary policies, so they both criticize the rapidly expanding Catholicism and Protestantism in Indonesia. What is interesting is that most of the believers in Indonesian Catholicism and Protestantism come from the Chinese community. In addition, the main followers of Indonesian Buddhism are also Chinese. Therefore, it can be said that Chinese religions occupy four of the six official religions in Indonesia. .

Another raised impression that Indonesia Confucianism gives me is its mixed characteristics, that is, the compatibility and accumulation of many religions with Shi Dao and the recent religious religion. Of course, this is only the general conclusion I reached after my investigation of Confucianism in Java, and among them, West Java and Jamaicans Sugardaddy Central Java, The situation in East Java is again divergent. Confucianism in West Java is centered in Bogor County. There are 30 Confucian auditoriums in the county, most of which are located in towns, but there is only one in Bogor City. Especially in the West Mango Town area, there are only about 3,000 Chinese, but there are a total of 10 Confucian auditoriums scattered around. Almost all local Chinese believe in Confucianism. The most striking feature of Confucianism in West Java is that Confucian auditoriums exist independently and are not connected with Buddhist and Taoist temples. Confucius and his disciples are generally worshiped in the auditoriums, and there are no other gods. In contrast, Confucianism in Central Java and East Java shows a trend of integrating with Buddhism and Taoism. Most of their auditoriums are located in Buddhist or Taoist temples, and in addition to worshiping Confucius, they usually also worship Sakyamuni. Many gods such as Guanyin, Laozi, Fu Zhengshen (Tian Gong), Xuantian God, Mazu, etc. are even widely enshrined in the tiger god. It may be because the tiger disease was very serious in Java in the early years, and people prayed to the tiger god to be charitable. For example, the Confucian Church in Purwokardo City, Central Java Province, is located in the Fude Temple, and the main deity of the Fude Temple is the Lord of the Land. In addition, the temple also worships Confucius, the Three Treasures Lord Zheng He, the Heavenly Mother, Taishang Laojun, Sakyamuni, Guanyin, the God of Fortune, Fortune and Longevity, the Tiger God, etc., a total of 18This god fully embodies the characteristics of the integration of the three religions.
 
 
In addition, compared to other Indonesian Chinese religions, Confucianism best reflects the cultural identity of the local Chinese. Because of this, Confucianism has been severely suppressed by the Suharto government in an attempt to completely obliterate the cultural characteristics of the Chinese and completely integrate them into the indigenous peoples. Buddhism, Catholicism, and Christianity, which are also believed by the Chinese, did not suffer such a fate because they could not reflect the cultural characteristics of the Chinese most directly like Confucianism and did not arouse the wariness of the government. But the perverse actions of the Suharto regime were doomed to be in vain. The history of Confucianism in Indonesia is the history of the Indonesian Chinese’s indomitable struggle to preserve their own civilizational traditions and ethical values. It is the basic values ​​such as propriety, justice, integrity, filial piety, loyalty and trust advocated by Confucianism that enable the Chinese community to take root in any adverse environment. Germinate, grow, and achieve results that attract attention through hard work. In almost all the more than 30 cities that the author has visited, I can inadvertently meet one or several successful Chinese businessmen who are very enthusiastic about the construction of Confucianism. For example, Mr. Huang Yaode, the current chairman of the Confucian Federation of Indonesia, is in his early forties and is a very successful car dealer in Karawang City, West Java Province; Bangbang, the chairman of the Bandung Confucian Church, is 37 years old and his company was established In just three years, it already employs hundreds of people and has an annual output value of tens of millions of dollars. It is one of the only five high-tech geographical information companies in the world; Mr. Yu Changxiu of Purwokerto City owns three factories and is one of the top companies in the world. The largest employer in the city, he also co-founded two Chinese schools; the Confucian Academy in Lassen City was built by the entrepreneur Mr. Chang Yuhou who generously donated one million US dollars, but he did not want his name to be used Appeared on the school board list; Mr. Yao Pingbo, chairman of Indonesian Confucian International Communication, is from Surabaya. He and his wife jointly founded a well-known local private school with four to five hundred students. They also established numerous primary and secondary schools. Confucian teaching materials; Mr. Li, the chairman of the Confucian Association of Bali, is unprepossessing in appearance and humble and gentle in his work, but he owns his own coffee factory and employs more than 100 people. There are many, many more examples like this.

Dr. Chen Yong was warmly welcomed by Confucianism in Indonesia

One month They only have a superficial understanding of Confucianism in Indonesia. But even these foreign ministers’ acquaintance has beenIt shocked me greatly. Unexpectedly, in such a remote and remote country of a thousand islands, there is still a group of persistent and tenacious Peranakans. Although they can hardly speak any Chinese, they devoutly participate in weekly preaching activities and sincerely worship the teachings of Confucius. On the road of life, follow the footsteps of the sages, reflect on yourself, and try your best to move forward. My trip to Confucianism in Indonesia has just begun, and I am determined to come back.

The first day of the 28-day journey of Confucianism in Indonesia: First meeting with Master Wu Bingbang

                                                                                                   When I took off from Hong Kong International Airport, I was very nervous because I didn’t know what kind of Indonesia I was about to face, and I knew almost nothing about the Indonesian language. Although I had started preparing for my trip to Indonesia a few months ago, and I had found two Indonesian language textbooks and was determined to study hard, but due to all kinds of chores, I could only say one sentence before leaving: “Trimaka” Xi (thank you)! “My colleagues were all worried about me and provided me with contacts and emergency measures in Indonesia. After all, the haze of the anti-Chinese riots in Indonesia in 1998 has not yet dissipated. I also bought the 900-page “Lonely Planet” version of the “Indonesia” travel guide and carefully read some important chapters in order to improve my survival and adaptability. During this process, except for Mr. Yao Pingbo from Surabaya and Mr. Liang Wenfeng from Jakarta, who I had email contact with but never met, I didn’t know anyone else in Indonesia. Mr. Yao is the chairman of the Domestic Communications Department of the Indonesian Confucian Federation. I hope to get in touch with the Confucian Federation through him and get support and help. If I don’t meet the person Mr. Yao has arranged to pick me up at the airport, I plan to take a taxi and stay in the hotel area along Jaksa Street in the center of Jakarta, which is a paradise for backpackers, and then start from there. Go visit the surrounding Confucian auditoriums.
 
 

Jakarta, a strange city

More than half of the passengers on the same flightThey were local indigenous people in Indonesia, and there were also many Chinese-looking passengers. I hoped to strike up a conversation with one of them and get some information about Indonesia, but in the end I didn’t have the courage. When the plane landed at Jakarta International Airport four hours later, the hot air and green eyes hit us, this distant and unfamiliar JM EscortsThe tropical country greeted my nervousness and uneasiness with a unique temperament. I read some information about Indonesian visa on arrival online. It is said that Indonesian immigration officers like to ask for bribes, but luckily I did not encounter such trouble. In order to travel lightly, I only brought a backpack and school bag this time Jamaicans Sugardaddy. In the backpack was a change of clothes, and in the school bag was I. Computers, books and other sundries. After picking up my luggage, I rejected the uninvited long-term worker who wanted to carry my luggage for me with the only word “Trimakasi” I knew. At the foreign currency exchange window, I exchanged 300 US dollars for Indonesian rupiah. The exchange rate that day was slightly less than 9,000 dong per US dollar, so I instantly became a millionaire. The strong man who dealt in foreign currency used a calculator to show me that he should give me 2.4 million rupiah. However, because I was not familiar with the currency value of Indonesian rupiah, the figure from the left to the right was only 2.04 million rupiah. I wanted to reason with him, but I had no choice but to open my mouth but became mute. The strong man waved me impatiently and drove me away from the foreign currency window. I didn’t expect to learn my first lesson in Indonesia so quickly. It was like being slapped in the face.

The luggage hall was crowded with people picking up people. I looked up and immediately saw a young man holding a piece of cardboard with my unit and name written on it. I walked straight up, shook hands with the young man, exchanged names, and learned that his Indonesian name was Harry, and his Chinese name was unclear. Only then did I realize that there was a fat, energetic elder and his wife standing next to the young man. The elderly man had a nice smile on his face. When he saw me, he extended his thumb and said, “It’s amazing to travel across the world alone!” I was very surprised that he could speak fluent Chinese. Although Harry does not speak Chinese, he can speak relatively fluent English. I didn’t expect to connect with Confucianism in Indonesia so smoothly! The language problem I was worried about along the way suddenly disappeared, and the unhappiness I had when exchanging Indonesian rupiah was forgotten. The elder was indifferent and even hurried to buy hamburgers to satisfy everyone’s hunger. After a short rest, we got in the car and drove onto the crowded and busy Jakarta Airport Expressway, with Harry as the driver. On both sides of the road, various unknown tropical plants and buildings of different styles were passing by as fast as the wind. What caught my eyes was a completely unfamiliar scene, and my mood changed from the previous nervousness and uneasiness to excitement and peace. Qiaqi. After Harry’s introduction, I learned that the elder’s name was Wu Bingbang, and he was a Confucian teacher in Indonesia. Indonesian Confucian clergyIt is divided into three levels: the highest level is the academic teacher, followed by the literary teacher and the teaching student. The teachers are all virtuous elders who are very familiar with the “Four Books” and “Five Classics”. As two teachers have passed away in recent years, Confucianism in Indonesia now has eight teachers, all aged between 70 and 80 years old.

Harry was my driver and assistant during my stay in Jakarta

Along the way, Master Wu Bingbang was in high spirits and sang his composition Confucian songs, and his wife sang along. Wu Xueshi was one of the few senior Confucian clergy who knew Chinese. He translated and introduced a large number of Confucian doctrines and rituals, and wrote many poems and songs. All Indonesian Confucian documents in the vernacular were written by him. Who would have thought that Mr. Wu’s family was poor and he had a rough background. He originally only had a junior high school diploma. He became a self-taught teacher entirely through faith and perseverance, and was promoted to a Confucian teacher in the 1990s. A song he composed called “Spiritual Enlightenment” sang like this:

“When hesitation disrupts my mind, the most admired Holy One gives me the spiritual fire. You inspire my life and make a difference. Enlightenment, face life; set great aspirations, strive for progress, and avoid making mistakes. Holy sage, sometimes poverty makes me sad. How can I let my heart be shaken? Entanglement and persistence. Only the scriptures can solve confusion and achieve results.”

Another song “Song of Intention to Cultivate Nature” sings:

“When the Holy Spirit stands on the top of Dongshan, the picture of Lu State is gone. In the eyes of wisdom; when the sage is on the top of Mount Tai, the blueprint of the whole world is in the eyes of wisdom. The sage has the ability to observe the waves of the river and the sea. The sun and the moon are shining brightly, and everything is brilliant. Vibrant, Three Cardinal Principles and Five Constant Principles. After seeing the surging sea, I saw only the flowing water in the Shengmen Tianjing Poetry Auditorium, and I realized that the world’s common saying is that the rivers will never stop until the day and night are flat. Yingke is advancing. Learn from the past and the present, strive for perfection, and celebrate the future together. .com/storage/article/2011122917275772.jpg!article_800_auto” border=0>

Master Wu Bingbang meets with Confucian college students

About an hour later, we arrived at Mr. Wu Bingbang’s home in the western suburbs of Jakarta. This is a quiet and peaceful community, which is in sharp contrast to the hustle and bustle of Jakarta’s streets. The small building is nestled in a patch of green, with various tropical trees and flowers planted in the yard and on the street, bringing an annoying freshness to the hot air. Wu Xueshi’s home is simple and warm, and the living room is filled with traditional Chinese furniture. , the foyer houses the portraits of the parents. There are shrines on the second floor dedicated to Confucius, Guan Gong and Tai Sui; above they are dedicated to the God of Land, Guanyin, General White Tiger and other gods. Most Indonesian Confucian homes have such shrines. The shrines also enshrine portraits of Confucius and a different number of gods. Master Wu and his wife raised seven children in total, and now they have grown up, four of whom are studying at the famous Jianguo University in computer science. (Binus University), which made him very proud of having only received a junior high school education. Due to the strict anti-Chinese policy implemented by Suharto for 32 years in power, Chinese Indonesians were not allowed to use Chinese names, nor were they allowed to speak Chinese. The inability to celebrate traditional festivals has created a cultural gap between two generations. Therefore, Wu Xueshi and his wife can speak fluent Chinese, but their children can hardly speak a word of Chinese. The two owners are his distant nephew and his partner, who are from his native Anxi County, Fujian Province, which is the famous hometown of oolong tea in China. Both of them are in their early 50s and make a living by growing tea. They are dark and strong. The traces of time are etched on his face, and you can tell at a glance that he is a mean and simple farmer. “When a fellow villager meets a fellow villager, his eyes well up with tears. “Although my hometown in Sichuan is thousands of miles away from Fujian, meeting each other by chance in Java, far south of the equator, is still an indescribable surprise and kindness. We sat on the balcony outside the door, drinking the fragrant Indonesian food Coffee and cakes, all over the world, ancient and modern, Chinese and foreign, we talk about everything. The languages ​​used are also dazzling. Wu Xueshi talks with his children in Indonesian, and with relatives in Fujian, he uses Minnan. I communicate with them in Mandarin, and with Wu Xueshi. The children use English when talking. Since the 1980s, Mr. Wu Bingbang has returned to his hometown in Fujian many times to visit relatives and see Jamaicans EscortThese two distant relatives from Fujian have never been abroad before, and have never even left the borders of Quanzhou. Now they come to Indonesia to visit relatives and play at the invitation of Wu Xueshi, and they have witnessed the changes in the worldJamaica Sugar Daddy. Mr. Wu and I met each other very late, talked about our experiences in studying Confucianism, and strengthened each other. When the mood struck, he once again sang his own Confucian songs His wife also sang along with the song, which is very admirable. Master Wu is very familiar with the “Four Books” and “Five Classics”, and he can pick up aphorisms and warnings at his fingertipsJM Escorts, a talent with seven steps. But because I haven’t reviewed it for a long time, I feel unfamiliar, forget what I said, and feel ashamed.

 
 
 

Folks from Anxi, Fujian Province who were guests at Wu Xueshi’s home

Unknowingly, it was getting late. , the noisy Jakarta gradually became quiet. Wu Xueshi, who was in his late 70s, worked hard to cook several delicious Indonesian specialties. In the evening, the guests and the host were enjoying themselves on the second floor. Because there is no air conditioning in the room, the temperature in Jakarta is still over 30 degrees, which is hot and stuffy. It reminds me of the summer weather in my hometown in Sichuan when there was no TV. Every day after dinner. They would take a stool and a bamboo fan and sit in the back of the house for several hours, chatting with each other. Sometimes it would be as late as one or two in the morning before going back to the house to go to sleep. The sweltering heat didn’t scare me, but the buzzing mosquitoes all over the room gave me JM Escorts‘s meticulous attention. “Care” made me busy and overwhelmed, and I don’t know when I finally fell asleep. “There are great scholars in talking and laughing, but there are no idle people in communication.” “How can a decent person live in such a bad place? The moment I entered the door, Master Wu had already given me a vaccination. Yan Hui was content with a basket of food and a ladle of drink. Master Wu was indifferent to the heat and mosquitoes, but how could I? Do you feel resentful about this? Before I came to Indonesia, I had already made plans to visit the tropical jungle of West Kalimantan. I wanted to visit a Confucian church in a remote mountain town, and even more, I wanted to explore the mysteries of the primeval jungle. The Dayaks, those legendary lost brothers of the Chinese, I even have medicine to prevent mosquito bites.Didn’t bring it. What harm do mosquitoes do to me in the hot summer?

The second day of the 28-day journey of Indonesian Confucianism



The “Family of Confucian Students” of the Confucian Students of the Guo Guo

The weather in Indonesia is hot, and the career rhythm of life is fast. After getting up in the morning, there were already birds chirping in the trees and grass everywhere. Mr. Huang Yaode, Chairman of the Confucian Federation, and Mr. Yao Pingbo from the Ministry of Domestic Communications called me early and expressed their welcome and support for my research. Mr. Yao began to formulate the route and activity settings for my entire trip to Indonesia. . Soon Harry also drove to Master Wu Bingbang’s home. Tomorrow, Mr. Wu, his wife, and the two Fujian folks will accompany me to participate in activities set by the Confucian Federation. Because I was unfamiliar with the place, I completely allowed the Confucian Federation to set my course. Harry is the full-time driver of the Confucian Association. It seems that he has become my driver and assistant in the past few days. He takes me to various places to participate in various Confucian activities. I don’t even know which places I’m going to today. I only know that the first stop is Jianguo University, where the four children of Master Wu Bingbang went to school.


After sprinting through the narrow and crowded streets of Jakarta for more than an hour, we finally arrived at the campus of Konkuk University. The full name of Jianguo University is Bina Nusantara University, bina means construction, and nusantara means islands and country, so the local Chinese translated it as Jianguo University, which is both honest and elegant. This university only has a history of more than 30 years. It was originally developed on the basis of a computer training college. It is now a comprehensive university with a complete discipline system. Jianguo University has three campuses, six colleges, and more than 24,000 students. It is very powerful in IT and other disciplines in Indonesia and is a famous private university in Indonesia. Its School of Language and Civilization has a Chinese Department with more than 400 students. It is the university in Indonesia that recruits the largest number of Chinese majors. According to the setting of the Confucian Federation, I will meet with the Confucian student association of Jianguo University tomorrow and give a special lecture. The topic I am going to talk about is “Confucianism as a Living Tradition in China in the 21st Century”, which will focus on the following aspects: Bible reading, academy revival and return of traditional etiquette.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    ” The person in charge is a girl with an exquisite figure named Liu Xunlian, who was born in a traditional Confucian family. “Confucian Students’ Home” is activeConfucian student groups on university campuses have organizations at Konkuk University and several other universities in Jakarta. What surprises me is that there are more than a thousand Confucian students at Jianguo University attending the Jamaica Sugar lecture today. There were about thirty people, active members of the Confucian society, and on the surface they were all descendants of Chinese descent. According to Indonesia’s Five Founding Principles Pancasila, everyone must choose a religion. Schools at all levels must also offer various religious courses according to the needs of students, allowing students with different religious beliefs to choose their own religious courses. Therefore, Confucian students also It is required to take courses related to Confucianism. “Confucian Students’ Home” is the first Confucian student organization established in Indonesia. Its purpose is to help Confucian students better understand their own religion by organizing various forms of religious study, group discussions, special lectures and other activities. Because of this, Konkuk University’s “Confucian Students’ Home” has close ties with the Confucian Federation of Indonesia and the Confucian auditoriums in Jakarta. Mr. Lin Kongsheng, the later secretary-general of the Confucian Federation, was the Confucian course director of the school. One of the teachers. Those Confucian students were very interested in the topics I talked about and asked about the development of Confucianism in China. After the lecture, several students even bought lunch boxes and invited us and our group to have a meal and chat with them. From the conversation, we learned that many of the students attending the lecture today are majoring in Chinese, and most of them can speak Chinese with varying levels of proficiency. Interestingly, several of the students are from Bangka Island, which was one of the first places where the Chinese settled in Indonesia. They made a living by mining tin ores and growing pepper. It is now one of the best places for the development of Confucianism in Indonesia. one.

Since the process of tomorrow is very tight, we urged the “Confucian students’ home” of the founding of the founding of the country, and rushed towards Danglan. Tangerang is an important city in Banten Province, the westernmost part of Java Island. It is about an hour’s drive from Jakarta. Its Confucius Temple Auditorium is famous in the surrounding area. It is said that Mr. Chen Qingming, the future chairman of the Confucian Federation, was also here this morning. Sermon. When we drove to Tangerang, we first visited Zhongxiao College, a full-time middle school run by the local Wende Temple. Wende Temple is a three-religion temple, that is, Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism are all inclusive. Followers of each religion can come to the temple to hold their own religious activities without interfering with each other. Such three-religion temples are located in Central Java and East Java. Especially in this area. Mr. Lin Zhenzhi, the chairman of Wende Temple, who is also the principal of Zhongxiao College, warmly entertained us. Mr. Lin is in his forties, capable and straightforward. He is a professional photographer and can speak fluent English, but not Chinese. We saw that on the playground of Zhongxiao College, many students were participating in various sports activities, and most of the students seemed to be of Chinese descent. There is a CMB school bus parked in the school, with the words “Zhongxiao College” printed in bright red Chinese characters on the bus.” in four big characters, and a slogan printed in Indonesian on the back of the car: Educate, don’t discriminate (I suspect it is the Indonesian translation of “education without discrimination”). We had a very informal meeting with the faculty and staff of the college Most of the discussions were about issues related to Confucianism in China and Confucianism in Indonesia. According to President Lin, the students of Zhongxiao College come from the three religions of Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism, but starting from this year, all students are required to take Confucianism. This course is a pioneering work in the local and even the entire Indonesian Chinese community. On the wall of the conference room, there is a children’s version of Confucius traveling around the world. The painting is not very beautiful, but it is lively and interesting.


After coming out of Zhongxiao College, we took the opportunity to visit a nearby Chinese museum that was under renovation. The person in charge happened to be Mr. Lin Zhenzhi’s brother, Mr. Lin Zhenpeng, an Indonesian Chinese living in Australia, and the restoration museum The murals and decorations inside are from another brother of Lin Zhenzhi. Due to the discriminatory and suppressive policies against the Chinese during the Suharto period, like other places in Indonesia, traditional Chinese customs and cultural activities in Tangerang were banned. This was originally a guild hall. The building was almost buried in the ruins of history. Mr. Lin Zhenpeng funded the purchase of this building two years ago and collected lost cultural relics from all over Indonesia. The goal is to use each piece of physical objects to tell the story of the Chinese in Indonesia. The history of Chinese people in Tangerang. When you walk into the museum, you can see a wooden plaque inlaid on the top of the main door, with four strong characters “Houde Zaiwu” engraved on it, and a side door carved with a wooden plaque on both sides. Couplet: The Daishui family has a great reputation in the country, and Fenyang has a prosperous history. The furnishings in the museum are very unique. In addition to the antique mahogany furniture, there are also objects and pictures of Tangerang Chinese from various periods. There is also a model of Zheng He’s treasure ship. The beams on the second floor are engraved with famous stories of the Three Kingdoms such as “The Three Brothers in Taoyuan”. There is also a small statue of Guan Gong in the hall. The museum will open in a few days. There was an opening ceremony to formally entertain visitors, but unfortunately I was too busy to attend. After viewing the museum, we went to the Wende Temple across the street. It was completely dark and a Buddhist chanting ceremony was being held in the temple. During the ceremony, many faithful men and women stood in the small square in front of the temple and chanted scriptures in unison. Most of the Buddhists in Indonesia are Chinese, and they also have good organizations. > The Confucius Temple in Tangerang is not a traditional Chinese building. It is not significantly different from the surrounding houses. It is just that there is a MAKIN sign beside the gate outside the temple, indicating that it is the Tangerang Confucian Church. The wall on the second floor The words “Confucius Temple” are written in Indonesian on it. The Confucius Temple is divided into two floors. The ground floor is a place for ordinary activities, and the second floor is where grand activities such as preaching and memorial ceremonies are held. A portrait of Confucius is hung in the main hall. On the top is the word “Confucius”, and the couplets on both sides are: The most loyal person throughout the ages, the most loyal person throughout the ages. Next to the portrait of Confucius is a picture of a unicorn, and below it are photos of various activities in the Confucius Temple.There is a calendar printed by the Confucian Association hanging on the head. The motto on the head is “A gentleman will make friends with literature, and friends will help benevolence.” When we arrived at the lobby on the second floor, preaching activities had already begun. Three men in traditional Chinese white robes were walking reverently and reverently towards the statue of Confucius in the center of the hall. They were holding an incense ceremony. At the rear left of the hall are two emcees, a man and a woman, who are responsible for the process and musical accompaniment of the preaching activities. There were about a hundred people in the hall, all sitting solemnly and dignified, with their hands clasped in front of their chests. This is the iconic “Eight Heart-Embracing Virtues” ritual of Indonesian Confucians. Only then did I notice that there was also a couplet engraved on both sides of the statue of Confucius: Confucius’s rituals and rituals matched Liuhe’s, and his sacred poems and books crowned ancient and modern times. I was sure that the couplet was written by Wu Bingbang. On the left side of the Confucius statue is the statue of Guan Gong, with a plaque reading “Loyalty, Righteousness and Courage” hanging above its head. On the right side of the Confucius statue is the statue of Fude Zhengshen, which is also the land god.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            <BR 》. It was the first time in my life that I attended a Confucian preaching activity, and I was indescribably excited and shocked. Because of my major in religion, I have visited countless churches, temples, Taoist temples, mosques and other religious venues in the past ten years, but they were all for observation and discussion. The only exception is that I have not been involved in Confucianism or Confucian dojo. Although I dare not falsely call myself a Confucian or a Confucianist, I keep in mind the values ​​and principles of Confucianism in my heart. At this moment, I finally felt the warmth of home and felt that this was an activity that truly belonged to "me". After the hymn, Mr. Chen Qingming, the later chairman of the Confucian Federation, came to the stage to give a sermon. The topic of his lecture today was "We are all brothers in the four seas", probably to welcome my arrival. From 2002 to 2010, Chen Qingming served as the chairman of the Confucian Federation for two terms for a total of eight years. The current organizational structure and system of Confucianism in Indonesia were mainly perfected under Chen Qingming and his successor Huang Huangquan. Chen Qingming made outstanding contributions to fighting for the legal rights that Confucianism deserves. In 2006, the Indonesian authorities finally officially gave Confucianism the status of an official religion, making it the same as the other five major religions. Since 2000, the President of Indonesia has personally participated in the Spring Festival celebrations organized by the Confucian Federation every year, and Chen Qingming has maintained a good personal relationship with successive Indonesian presidents.

After the Xuan Dao event was over, Chairman Chen Qingming took out time to receive my interview because I expressed this willingness to the Confucian Association before arriving in Indonesia. Since Professor Wang Aiping of Huaqiao University had interviewed Mr. Chen Qingming several times a few years ago and discussed it in detail in his monograph “Research on Confucianism in Indonesia”, my interview was more like a casual chat without any prior discussion. Prepare targeted questions. Mr. Chen Qingming is optimistic about the development of Confucianism. He is not worried about the rapid development of various religions in mainland China.worry, because he said he believed in destiny. The return of all strata of the Chinese people to the teachings of Confucius and Mencius, as well as the Chinese government’s large-scale establishment of Confucius Institutes around the world, made him optimistic about the future of Confucius in China. However, he did not know that the current Confucius Institutes had nothing to do with Confucian principles. association. Chen Qingming particularly emphasized the friendly relationship between Confucianism and Islam in Indonesia, saying that it is possible to establish a closer relationship in the future for joint development, which surprised me who knew nothing about the relationship between the two before. But judging from the sincerity on his face and solemn tone, I have no reason to disbelieve that Mr. Chen Qingming is telling the truth. The most basic example is that Mr. Wahid, the later Indonesian president who vindicated Confucianism, was originally an Islamic scholar. The author asked: Why has Confucianism in Indonesia developed a form that is completely different from Confucianism in Hong Kong, Singapore and Malaysia, has the inherent characteristics of other common religions, and is showing a thriving trend in Indonesia? Mr. Chen Qingming smiled lightly, and then said: First of all, Indonesia’s five founding principles “Pancasila” gave religion the highest status, creating political conditions for Confucianism to become a religion; secondly, Indonesian Confucianism gave birth to a very wealthy individual The charismatic spiritual leader is Xu Zaiying, a scholar who lives in Solo, Central Java, and is known as the modern Yan Hui. Furthermore, during the most difficult years for the development of Confucianism in Indonesia, he received sincere help from Islamic scholars and leaders; finally, he received sincere help from Islamic scholars and leaders. , Indonesian Confucianism was actually developed and grown by Chinese Indonesians in the nationalist awakening against Dutch colonial rule. It also best expresses the cultural identity of Chinese Indonesians, so today’s Chinese Indonesians politically identify with it. Indonesia is a country that also maintains its Chinese national identity.

At the end of the interview, just after 11 o’clock, the night was already very deep, and our group had to return overnight. Harry’s car broke down for unknown reasons. He had to stay overnight in order to repair the car the next day, and we had to take a teacher’s car back to the home of Mr. Wu Bingbang in Jakarta. What touched me was that Mr. Wu and his wife always accompanied me in every activity of the day. On the way back, I fell asleep due to fatigue. It’s been a fruitful day, and I don’t know what kind of exciting schedule is waiting for me today.
 
 
 
The third day of the 28-day journey of Confucianism in Indonesia
 
 
 
 The prosperous Bogor Confucianism (1)
 
 
 
 After attending the preaching event at the Confucius Temple Auditorium in Tangerang last night, Harry’s car broke down and could not take us back. In the end, we had to take an old man’s car back to Jakarta Wu Bingbang The teacher’s home. Fortunately, I slept well that morning. I didn’t feel as hot as the first morning. Maybe it was because I turned the fan to a higher volume.Come on, even the mosquitoes didn’t seem to be as rampant as they were the morning before. Harry took a sick leave today. He was probably tired from running around for two consecutive days, so the Confucian Association had to appoint someone else to pick me up. Mr. Yao Pingbo sent me a schedule by fax. There are three main activities today: first, visit the Confucius Temple in the Miniature Park in East Jakarta, then visit a middle school in Bogor County that is jointly built by three Confucian auditoriums, and finally Participated in preaching activities at the Simunga Confucian Church in Bogor County. Master Wu Bingbang is going to host the wedding ceremony of a newlywed Confucian couple tomorrow, so he cannot accompany me to participate in the activities set by the Confucian Federation. The National Marriage Law promulgated by Indonesia in 1974 stipulates that Indonesian citizens must first obtain consent from their own religion, hold religious ceremonies, and obtain a marriage certificate before they can go to the government’s marriage registration agency to complete legal procedures. Therefore, Indonesian Confucianism formulated and promulgated the Confucian Marriage Law in 1975, which is inconsistent with the country’s marriage law. Jamaica Sugar Daddy According to the Confucian Marriage Law, the marriage ceremony of Confucian believers needs to be held at home and in the Confucian auditorium. The ceremony in the auditorium It is presided over by one officiant, the officiant, two attendants and a master of ceremonies. The chairman and vice-chairman of the regional Confucian church usually have to be present to witness the marriage, and there is also a Confucian choir singing accompaniment of vow hymns to add to the fun.



At about half past ten, the people sent by the Confucian Federation to pick me up arrived. They were Mr. Lin Changqi, the vice chairman of the Confucian Hall in West Jakarta, and Xiao Dai, the director of the hall. The person’s age is between thirty and forty years old. Xiao Dai will be driving tomorrow. “The surname Dai is very powerful! Gan De and Dai Sheng, who compiled the Book of Rites, are both from your family!” Wu Xueshi has a cheerful and straightforward temperament, and he started joking with Xiao Dai when they met. Xiao Dai studied at Xiamen University for several years and can speak relatively fluent Chinese. Mr. Lin cannot speak Chinese, but he can express himself in English, so I will have no language problems during my trip today. Since I didn’t know where to stop next, I packed all my luggage, said goodbye to Master Wu Bingbang and his wife, and two fellow villagers from Anxi, Fujian, and then got in the car and rushed to the newly built Confucius Temple in Jakarta Miniature Park. This is my first stop tomorrow. The miniature park houses a large number of museums, cultural centers and religious sites. Originally, there were only five religious sites: Islam, Buddhism, Catholicism, Christianity and Hinduism. Confucianism was rehabilitated after Wahid stepped down in 2000. It was not until December 2010 that the Confucius Temple was finally completed. President Susilo also dedicated He attended the inauguration ceremony and personally planted a pine tree as a commemoration, advocating religious harmony in Indonesian society.
 
 
 
 The Confucius Temple in Jakarta is mainly composed of three buildings, namely the Dacheng Hall, the Temple of Heaven and the Prayer Hall, symbolizing the three human beings in heaven and earth.talent. On the gate are engraved the words “Do not do to others what you do not want others to do to you” in Chinese and Indonesian respectively. The Dacheng Hall is in the center, and there is a statue of Confucius enshrined inside, with the inscription “Teacher of the Eternal World”, the left couplet is “Sun and Moon Two Wheels and Six Eyes”, and the right couplet is “The Heart of a Sage with Ten Thousand Volumes of Poems and Books”. Facing the Dacheng Hall on the left is the Temple of Heaven, which contains dozens of oil lamps, which may be used for praying. A large tripod is placed in the center of the hall. The upper part is engraved with the eight characters “filial piety, loyalty, trust, etiquette, justice and integrity”, and the lower part is engraved with “heaven, earth and man”. The front and upper and lower edges of the tripod are decorated with Indonesian Confucian symbols. Logo: A wooden duo with the word “loyalty and forgiveness” embedded in it. On the right side of the Dacheng Hall is the Prayer Hall, which enshrines traditional Chinese gods such as Fu Zhengshen, Guan Gong, and Sakyamuni. There is also a small pavilion built next to the prayer hall, with the inscription “Zao Jun Cave”, and the Zao Jun Gong is worshiped inside. There is also a small pool at the back of Dacheng Hall, which contains many goldfish. Next to the pool is a statue of Jiang Taigong fishing. Because this Confucius Temple was built with donations from Confucian believers from all over Indonesia, the names of the donors are engraved on the buildings. It is estimated that buildings that are not closely related to Confucianism, such as the Zaojun Cave and the Jiang Taigong Statue, are also at the specific request of the donors. And architectural. The most important thing is that this Confucius Temple does not only exist as a tourist attraction, it is also an Indonesian Confucian ashram. Dacheng Hall is actually an auditorium with dozens of foldable chairs placed for preaching activities. Mr. Lin Changqi told me that in a few days, when the 15th full moon of the 10th lunar month will be held, a preaching event will be held here.
 
 
 
 After seeing the Confucius Temple in Jakarta, we drove to Saigel Secondary School in the West Mangg area of ​​Bogor County. According to Indonesia’s administrative planning, Bogor City and Bogor County are two administrative units of the same level. The former is surrounded by the latter, and both belong to West Java Province and are the outer suburbs of Jakarta. The area is located in a north-south intermountain basin at the northern foot of the lava plateau. To the northeast is the Sala volcano with an altitude of 2,211 meters, and to the southeast are the 3,019-meter-high Panglang’ao volcano and the 2,958-meter-high Gede volcano. The population here is very dense, with many towns dotted here and there. Both the city and the countryside are busy and crowded. Bogor is known as the thunder capital of the world. There are more than 300 days of thunder and lightning a year, of which more than 200 days are filled with heavy rain. I arrived in Indonesia in early November, which is when the dry season begins, but the sky in Bogor tomorrow will be gray and there is no sign of rain. Xiao Dai said that there used to be a lot of rainfall here, but it has become significantly drier in recent years, and the rainfall is not as good as before. I don’t know if it is related to global warming. Driving on the highway from Jakarta to Bogor, there are green countryside on both sides, and in the distance there is a volcano that appears and disappears at high altitude, which is a unique scenery. Jakarta is scorching hot, but Bogor, located in a mountain basin, has its own rare coolness.
 
 
 Segel Middle School was jointly established by three local Confucian auditoriums. It is a school based on the assessment of ConfucianismVery instructive. I noticed that the school’s emblem is exactly the Confucian Muduo, but there is no word “loyalty and forgiveness” in the middle, but a book is added. The school’s equipment is relatively rudimentary, the tables and chairs in the classroom are shabby, and portraits of the current president and vice president hang on the walls. There is a small Confucian auditorium on the second floor of the school’s teaching building, where preaching activities are held every weekend. Mr. Xu Youhui of the auditorium, whose position within Confucianism is Master of Literature, is the level second only to that of Academic Master. He introduced me to the overall situation of the school. The middle school has more than 400 students, the vast majority of whom are non-Chinese Muslims, and the teachers come from various religious backgrounds. This is no different from public middle schools. According to the Indonesian government’s religious and educational policies, all public schools must provide various religious courses as long as students have needs. Private schools are not subject to this restriction. Saigel Middle School is a private school run by a Confucian auditorium, but they only have a large number of Confucian students. When they need to take Confucian classes, they go to the local Confucian auditorium to take electives, and the examination is ultimately set by the auditorium. All Confucian students were required to participate in activities organized in the auditorium, even during Suharto’s reign. In addition to middle school students, Confucian college students in the area also need to participate in the activities of the auditorium. It is said that there are also college students studying in Bandung who return to the local area to take the Confucian exams set by the auditorium. According to Xu Wenshi, Chinese Catholics and Protestants in the area also set up their own schools, and the school conditions and teaching quality are relatively good, but they are relatively exclusive, and all students are required to attend Catholic or Protestant schools. classes, so there are fewer students from Islamic backgrounds. Three months ago, Saigel Middle School just held a charity free clinic event, which provided free medical services and consultation to more than 800 local residents and received excellent social response. All students in the school served as helpers of the free clinic team. , also actively participated in the event and won many praises.
 
 
 After graduating from Saigel Middle School, our team has grown a lot. In addition to Mr. Lin Changqi and Xiao Dai who accompanied me in the morning, there are also Teacher Xu Youhui and several people from the Confucian Auditorium of the middle school. A Taoist relative. In addition to the positions of academic teacher, literary teacher and student teacher, Indonesian Confucianism generally refers to ordinary believers as Taoist relatives, which sounds very friendly. At present, there are about 150 Confucian churches in Indonesia. Among them, Bogor County, West Java Province, has the best development. There are 30 churches in the county. There are about 3,000 Chinese people in the West Mangg area of ​​the county, and there are 10 Confucian churches in total. Most of the auditoriums are located in small towns, so Bogor County is a must-visit place for investigating Confucianism in Indonesia. Our group then went to two hospitals in Bogor County to visit two Taoist relatives who were hospitalized. But unfortunately, both Taoist priests had just completed the discharge procedures, so we missed out. Lin Changqi joked: “Those two patients were lucky, but we were unlucky.”ardaddypeople laughed. What is gratifying is that the relationship between adjacent Confucian halls in Indonesia is very good, and Confucian believers often visit and jointly hold activities. If a Taoist relative has a family member who is old, sick, or is suffering from hardship, other Taoist relatives will make an appointment to visit and express condolences. They are like a big family. I ran around with them to visit the patients. Although I was in vain, I could still feel the warmth and true feelings personally. Since it was still early for the morning preaching activity, we stopped by a Confucian church in the small town of Zhideru. This auditorium is an independent two-story building with a Confucian wooden temple symbol on the outer wall. A plaque hangs above the door with the four characters “Gateway to Virtue” written on it. Two lamps are hung on both sides of the door. The lanterns have words such as “Guangdong Prosperity” and “All the Best” written on them respectively. The interior of the auditorium is very spacious and bright, with roughly fifty chairs arranged. There is a portrait of Confucius enshrined at the front desk, with the inscription “Confucius, the most holy teacher of Dacheng”, the left couplet is “gold, wood, water, fire and earth”, and the right couplet is “benevolence, justice, etiquette, wisdom and trust”. Because it was an unannounced visit, we only had a few casual conversations with Mr. Chen, who was in charge of the auditorium, and then left.


Unknowingly, the weather gradually darkened. After having dinner at a Taoist relative’s home, we hurried to the Ximangger Confucian Auditorium, which was the venue for tonight’s preaching event. This is a very successful local auditorium. Its chairman, whose surname is Liang, is a well-known figure in Indonesian Confucianism. In addition to the auditorium, Mr. Liang also founded a primary school with hundreds of students. The whole school teaches Confucian courses. The name of the textbook is “I am a Gentleman”, which was jointly written by Mr. Yao Pingbo of Surabaya and his wife. When we entered the auditorium hall on the second floor, it was already full of people, mostly young people, waiting quietly. The young men all wore blue short-sleeved shirts, and the ladies wore lavender traditional Indonesian short-sleeved shirts. I looked up and saw that the computer projection screen at the front desk had already written a welcome message to me. I couldn’t help being surprised and Jamaica Sugar DaddyJamaica Sugar DaddyHappy. After everyone was seated, the preaching activity officially began. Mr. Liang took the initiative to translate for me and introduced me to various activities in the auditorium in detail. The first is the incense ceremony. One chief priest and two accompanying priests, dressed in light blue traditional Chinese robes, walked solemnly towards the statue of Confucius, lit incense respectfully, and then the chief priest read out the memorial text. After the incense was given, all the people stood upright, with their hands clasped on their chests in the posture of “Embracing the Eight Virtues”, and sang the Confucian hymn “There Is a Virtue” in unison, accompanied by the solemn music of the piano. Then Mr. Liang, the chairman of the auditorium, came to the stage to give a sermon and extended a warm welcome to me. Next, I stepped down to speak. As a scholar and a pilgrim, I wanted to express my sincerity and fear. Everyone in the audience was disappointed. Finally, all the people sang “There Is a Virtue” together again, and the preaching activity ended. The host tonight is a childish personThe young man who is still angry is mainly responsible for the program and musical accompaniment of the event. Before and after Mr. Liang and I spoke, a choir composed of young people led everyone to sing Confucian hymns. A total of four songs were sung: “The Light Shines”, “The Emperor Goes to Heaven”, “Listen to My Prayer” and Another song called Bunga Tongtee. The Indonesian Confucian standard songbook contains more than 200 songs, all of which were written and composed by Confucian preachers and popular Taoists themselves. Several of these songs can be selected and sung for each preaching activity according to the situation.

After the event, the masters were unwilling to leave immediately, and they took a group photo to commemorate, including the Women’s Association and the Youth League. Mr. Liang, his wife and their three daughters are ardent believers in Confucianism. Then everyone went downstairs to have a group meal. Although the food was simple, the friendly atmosphere of the group could be felt. Mr. Liang also specially presented me with a baseball cap, T-shirt and songbook printed with the logo of the Ximangga Confucian Church Auditorium as a souvenir, which made me feel like a treasure. Since the Confucian Federation has decided that I will continue to participate in activities in the Bogor area today, I will stay at the home of a Taoist priest named Ye Minghong tomorrow morning. Mr. Ye is in his fifties and makes a living by selling cars. He is simple and enthusiastic, and can speak relatively fluent Chinese, while his wife cannot speak a word of Chinese. The couple usually attends activities at the Confucian Auditorium of Segar Middle School. Tomorrow they will accompany me to the Confucian Auditorium of Ximangge together with Literary Master Xu Youhui. On the way to their home, I kept encountering Chinese people who greeted them warmly with the “Eight Virtues of Embracing Heart” style. Xiao Dai’s hometown is in Bogor County. He told me that the Chinese in this area are basically Confucian Christians. Mr. Ye and his wife have two children, a son and a daughter. They both work and go to school in other places, so they have room at home. On the wall of their living room, there are portraits of Confucius and Guan Gong, but there are no other statues of gods. This is a standard decoration for Confucian families in West Java. Before attending the preaching event in the auditorium in the evening, we visited the homes of two Confucian Taoist priests. In their homes, portraits of Confucius and Guan Gong were hung. After washing and taking a shower, I finished taking notes on the day’s work, then said good night to Mr. Ye and his wife, and hurriedly reported to Duke Zhou.
 
 
 
 
The fourth day of the 28-day journey of Confucianism in Indonesia
 
 
 
The prosperous Bogor County Confucianism (2)
 
 
 
After getting up at six in the morning, we drank some coffee and set off. Mr. Ye Minghong and his wife Lin Fenglan are both devout Confucian believers and active members of the Confucian auditorium of Saigel Middle School. We first met Master Xu Youhui at his home, and then went to attend a memorial ceremony for the third anniversary of the death of the mother of a Confucian Taoist priest at a local party.held at a Chinese cemetery. The cemetery is quite large and contains hundreds of tombs, most of which belong to Confucian Christians. Ordinary tombstones are engraved in Indonesian, but a large number of people use Chinese. The format is the same as the traditional tombstones in China. They all have titles such as “Xiankao” and “Xianhe”. Confucian Christians engraved the pattern of Muduo on their tombstones. and the word “loyalty and forgiveness”, which is the symbol of Confucianism in Indonesia. The victim prepared a sumptuous memorial food for his mother, including fish, vegetables, fruits, drinks, etc. No less than twenty cups, plates, and dishes were placed all over the floor. Several sticks of incense were lit in front of the tomb, with green smoke curling up and the atmosphere solemn and solemn. “It rains heavily during the Qingming Festival, and people on the road are dying.” But it is not the Qingming Festival now. It is summer in Java Island in November, and the sun is already shining brightly early in the night. People will be more virtuous if they pursue their goals with caution. This is also true for Indonesia, which is far away from the world. This is very gratifying. There were about 20 people present at the memorial ceremony, many of whom they had seen during the preaching event at the Confucian Church in West Mango last night. Master Xu Youhui is the host of tomorrow’s memorial event. He recited a pre-prepared prayer loudly in Indonesian and then lit it on fire. The masters sang prayer songs in unison all the way, and finally bowed in silence. The only thing I could understand was when Master Xu Wen finished his prayer and announced, “Bow once, bow twice, bow three times.” The host prepared a simple lunch box for the master to eat on the road, because it was Sunday and Confucian believers had very busy activities.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 . There were about thirty children sitting in the huge auditorium, ranging in age from three to five years old. Several young tutors were explaining classics to them, and several other patient parents were sitting with them. The back of the classroom. With the guidance of the tutor, I said a few inspirational words to the children. I couldn’t hold back my passion and sang two folk songs acapella, “The Sun That Rises on the Grassland” and “Kangding Love Song”. I love to sing tunes when I have nothing to do. Perhaps these children had never heard Chinese folk songs before, and the atmosphere suddenly became lively. This Confucian auditorium is a very successful one in the Bogor area, and it left a deep impression on me. The auditorium newly built a few years ago is spacious and bright, with computer projection screens and audio equipment. The Taoist priests in the auditorium all wear Confucian clothes when participating in activities. Even the children have their own formal clothes with the Muduo logo embroidered on their blue T-shirts. Mr. Liang Yeshi, the chairman of the auditorium, is a very active Confucian figure in Indonesia. He made a pilgrimage to Sungkyunkwan University in South Korea and other Confucian monasteries a few years ago. He also made a pilgrimage to the Three Confucius Temples in Qufu last year and is planning to make a pilgrimage to the Three Confucius Temples in Qufu this year. Led some Confucian believers from Ximangge Hall to make another pilgrimage to Qufu. Pilgrimage to the Confucius Temple in Qufu is a lifelong dream for Indian Confucian believers, and it is rare for Mr. Liang to devote himself so wholeheartedly to the construction of Confucianism in Indonesia.

The third stop of the event tomorrow is the Sunday missionary of the Confucian Hall of Confucianism in Siegel Middle School. The auditorium isThe size of an ordinary classroom, there are about sixty or seventy people sitting crowded together, most of them talking warmly and in low voices. There are portraits of Confucius hanging on the wall directly behind the auditorium. On the left is a portrait of the Asian Saint Mencius, and on the right is a picture of a unicorn. In front of the statue of Confucius is a small altar table. There is an incense burner and some fruits on the table. Several incense sticks are lit in the burner, spitting out a curl of green smoke. There is a very festive red tablecloth spread on the altar table, with the pattern of the three stars of fortune, wealth and longevity underneath, and the words “Gold and Jade Mantang” embroidered on the top. On the far left side of the altar table is a wooden podium with the “Eight Honesty Rules” posted on it. On the right is a separate table, where the event host sits. Next to it are electronic keyboards and other audio equipment, with specialized personnel responsible for musical accompaniment. Lin Fenglan, the hostess of my homestay last night, is the master of ceremonies today, and there are three other ladies in blue robes who will serve as the officiant and accompanying priests respectively. The program of the entire evangelistic event was roughly the same as that of the West Munger Auditorium last night. First, the chief priest and the accompanying priests held an incense-burning ceremony, while the rest of the Taoist priests stood in awe, placing their hands on their chests to perform the “Eight Virtues of Embracing the Heart” ceremony. After the incense is put on, the chief priest reads out the “Eight Honesty Rules”, and everyone also reads them in unison. The “Eight Honesty Rules” are the most basic and important teachings and moral standards of Confucianism in Indonesia, which are: Honesty to the Emperor, Honesty to the Supreme Being, Honesty to the Emperor, Honesty to the Ming Ming, Honesty to the Ghosts and Gods, Honesty to Cultivating Filial Piety, Honesty to the Wooden Duo, Honesty to the Lord. Follow the scriptures and follow the great path sincerely. Afterwards, the masters sang “There Is a Virtue” with the accompaniment of the electronic keyboard. This hymn is the opening song of ordinary preaching activities. Then two young people came down from the stage to preach, both in Indonesian. Finally, I took the stage to talk about the goals and plans of my trip to Indonesia, and a young college student acted as my translator. She has studied in China for several years and can speak fluent Chinese. Like the Confucian believers I met at Jianguo University, Tangerang and West Mango, the Taoist priests here are also very happy about my arrival, and at the same time they are full of confidence in the current development of Confucianism in China. Curiosity and attention.


After the two-hour preaching activity was over, it was already noon. Without taking a break, we got on the road again, heading to an unknown small village nearby to attend the wedding of a local Confucian couple. Harry, who had been ill for the whole day yesterday, drove to Segel Middle School and acted as my driver again. I have just gotten acquainted with Ye Minghong and Lin Fenglan, and now I have to say goodbye again, which makes me feel a bit melancholy. “There are not many ways to go to Pengshan, and the bluebirds are diligent in visiting.” I didn’t have a blue bird to explore the way, but I had Master Xu Youhui and several other Confucian and Taoist priests on my journey, so I felt a little relieved. After driving on the dusty country road for about half an hour, we arrived at a small village shaded by banana, coconut and papaya trees. A huge green tent has been set up in an empty space between several neighboring houses. Dozens of wine tables have been set up. Hundreds of people have taken their seats at the food and wine, feasting and chatting animatedly. . The meals have all been prepared in advance and packed in about a dozen large basins. Anyone who wants something can go and serve it themselves, just like a buffet. A middle-aged man with dark skinHands, singing passionate and bold songs to the accompaniment of Indonesian pop music. Since Indonesia is a Muslim-majority country, ordinary people do not drink alcohol, and alcoholic beverages are not seen at banquets. Islam advocates green, and I think this green tent has been influenced to some extent. This food and drink is very similar to the traditional wedding banquet in rural China. It is commonly known as “Nine Big Eve Bowls” in rural areas of Sichuan, but there are obvious differences. China’s rural food and beverages generally focus on eating and drinking. Several chefs are invited to cook on site. The dishes are fresh and delicious on the ground, but there are few other entertainment activities. At the current Confucian wedding banquet, in addition to live performances by amateur singers, the tents, tables, chairs and stages were all decorated in Western style. The hosts attending the wedding banquet were also coming and going in an endless stream, and there was no fixed time.


After a while, the groom and the bride, surrounded by everyone, came to the wedding banquet to thank everyone, but they were drinking instead of wine. The groom wore a standard suit and tie, and the bride wore a white wedding dress and held a bouquet of white roses. Judging from the color alone, it is quite different from the traditional Chinese wedding that favors red. Master Xu Youhui led the Confucian Taoist priests who came in the car to sing a wedding blessing song for the bride and groom, pushing the festive atmosphere to a climax. In two days, I have witnessed with my own eyes Master Xu Wenshi’s sincerity and dedication to Confucianism. Wherever there is activity, his figure, who is over sixty years old but tireless, is left. Unexpectedly, I was reminded of the interpretation of “Confucianism” in traditional literature, which is the priest who was responsible for officiating at weddings and funerals since the Yin and Shang Dynasties, and I couldn’t help but smile. It was a hot afternoon in Indonesia, and even standing under the green papaya tree, I couldn’t help but sweat profusely. Many Chinese in the Bogor area are engaged in agricultural production, and most of them have dark skin. They can no longer tell any difference from other ethnic groups in Indonesia in terms of skin color and physical features. During the banquet, I met a Confucian Taoist priest who came to attend the wedding banquet. He had eyes like giant bells, color like bronze, a huge goat beard, and wore a dark tunic suit. At first glance, he looked like an Islamic imam. There is a sense of authority without anger and persuasion without words. But he was an authentic Confucian, warm and friendly, and a preacher in a nearby Confucian auditorium.

Jamaica Sugar Daddy
Before the wedding banquet was over, we evacuated early and headed to Bogor City to visit Indonesia The three-term former president of the Confucian Church, Mr. Tan Ong Li, served from 1987 to 1993. During his tenure, the Confucian Church in Indonesia began to gain contact with the Confucian Church in Singapore. After Chen Wangli, the leadership of the Confucian Church in Indonesia began to shift to young senior Chinese intellectuals, represented by Huang Huangquan and Chen Qingming. Under their leadership, the Confucian Church in IndonesiaIt has undergone major changes. In a clean and tidy high-end community surrounded by green trees, we knocked on the owner’s door. Mr. Chen and his wife are both over seventy years old, but they are energetic and speak fluent Chinese. They insist on watching CCTV’s current affairs programs every day and are very concerned about everything that happens in China. He showed us a lot of information on Confucianism in Indonesia and photos of traveling to China and other parts of the world with his wife. His joy was beyond words. He also mentioned that a young man from China visited the area four years ago. If I remember correctly, that was Mr. “Nanshan Stone” who was active in the Confucian Revival Forum. The portraits of Guan Gong and Liu, the God of Wealth, hang in Mr. Chen’s living room, but I didn’t see the portrait of Confucius. It should be in another room or corner. After leaving Mr. Chen Wangli’s house, we took the opportunity to visit a Confucian Taoist priest who was sick and hospitalized in a hospital in Bogor City. This time we did not miss the chance. The patient was so moved that he could not speak when he saw a large group of us coming to visit him. From the window on the third floor of the hospital, you can have a panoramic view of the streets of Bogor City, with red tiles and green trees contrasting with each other, and in the distance are the faint green hills. Bogor City, surrounded by three volcanoes, has its own charm as a summer resort for the citizens of Jakarta.

The last stop of the event tomorrow is a Confucian auditorium called “Love” in Nangewei Town, Maowu County. When we arrived, we were already at the palm light. The auditorium is not big, and can only accommodate fifty or sixty people. It is located on the edge of a noisy and crowded street, and the environment is not very good. But what is surprising is that women and children actually play supporting roles, accounting for more than two-thirds of the auditorium. This may be the reason why it is named “Love”. Today’s officiant was a girl, and the accompanying priests were two young girls. The three of them were dressed in white robes, respectfully and devoutly offered incense to the statue of Confucius, and led everyone in reading the “Eight Honesty Rules”. Later, a middle-aged lady gave a sermon speech and also welcomed my arrival. The music accompanists were two young people, a man and a woman, and the emcee was a girl named Monica. She was tall and fair-skinned, and she looked a bit like an authentic southern Chinese girl. Literary scholar Xu Huiyou spoke on the stage for more than an hour on the topic of “loyalty and forgiveness.” When it was my turn to step down to speak, I was exhausted and sleepy. I managed to say a few words and sang a cappella song “Descendants of the Dragon” for fun. The audience in the audience was very interested and even asked Monica to translate the lyrics on the spot. The master heard that I came from Mexico. After the preaching activity, he couldn’t help asking many questions. The most interesting thing they were interested in was whether there were Confucian auditoriums in Mexico. Unfortunately, the Chinese population in Mexico is very small. There is not even a Chinese temple in the country. The second and third generations of Chinese Americans have basically been alienated. In fact, not only in Mexico, Confucian auditoriums with complete religious sanctuaries can be found in Indonesia only in the world. I happened to have some small Mexican-style souvenirs with me and distributed them to them, but apparently the supply exceeded the demand. The weather is already very late, and “love””After the Taoist priests in the auditorium said goodbye, Xu Wenshi and several other Taoist priests in the same industry also got off the bus in the nearby town of Depok and went home. Only Harry and I were left, in the vast night, embarking on the journey to Jakarta. It’s a long road.
 
 
 
The fifth day of the 28-day journey of Confucianism in Indonesia
 
 
 Visit the Confucian Association
 
 
After three days of intense work, the pace of today has finally slowed down. According to the plan, I will go to Tarunaga University in Jakarta to give a lecture to Confucian students in the morning, and go to Indonesia Confucianism in the afternoon. The General Assembly paid a visit to Mr. Huang Yaode, the chairman, and in the morning was invited to have dinner with the later chairman Chen Qingming and Indonesian industrialist Zhang Jinquan. I rushed back to Jakarta from Bogor last night, and it was very difficult to find a reasonably priced hotel. Maybe it was a delay. Rest, Harry came to pick me up nearly an hour later than the scheduled time. Jakarta has a population of nearly 10 million. It is said that there are 9 million motorcycles, plus millions of cars. The city’s road system is in a crazy state, and there can be traffic jams at any time and in any location. Tarunaga University was founded in 1959 and is one of the earliest private universities in Indonesia. It is famous for its expertise in accounting, medicine, engineering and other disciplines. It enjoys a good reputation. There are four campuses in the school, all located in Jakarta and the suburbs. There are currently about 14,000 students on campus. Harry told me that the university is a famous Chinese university, and more than 90% of them are Chinese. Chinese students. This news about the avenue surprised me a lot. Indeed, both the campus construction and teaching facilities are good, and the campus is full of mid- to high-end cars. It can be seen that this is a university for wealthy students. I can’t help but think of the economic differences between Indonesian Chinese and local indigenous peoples, as well as various historical and political reasons, which have caused the Chinese to suffer institutional discrimination and exclusion for a long time after Indonesia’s independence. Fortunately, Jakarta excluded Chinese in 1998. After the riots, the status of the Chinese has improved a lot, and at least at the political level, a good dialogue mechanism has gradually formed. When I rushed to the classroom, there were only twenty minutes left. I simply put aside the computer and talked about the incident in Qufu Church at the end of 2010. Like Jianguo University, Tarunaga University. The school also has its own “Confucian Students’ Home”, but the overall scale is much smaller than the former, because most of the students here are Catholics or Protestants. There are a total of 8 students participating today, but it is not the same from beginning to end. There was not much interaction, far from the student enthusiasm of Konkuk University. They only asked one or two questions, all about the history of Confucianism in Indonesia. When I looked up at the campus, there were students of Chinese appearance everywhere, which confirmed what Harry said. My great news is that “Confucian students””Home” was founded at Konkuk University and is now gradually spreading to other universities in Jakarta. In addition to Tarunaga University, Pamulang University in Jakarta and Urumqi University in Bali A similar organization was also established at Dayana University. A single spark can start a prairie fire. Although the Confucian student organization is still in its infancy and growth stage, I have seen that after the political atmosphere in Indonesia gradually relaxed, the Chinese younger generation began to open up.


After the event at Tarunaga University, it was another hard struggle with the Jakarta road system, and it was very difficult to get there. Go to the Indonesian Confucian Association on Songde Avenue in North Jakarta. This is on the edge of Chinatown. You will often encounter Chinese-looking pedestrians on the street. The office buildings in the commercial district are relatively small and shabby, and there is a Chinese school. , there are also several Chinese-owned shipping companies operating here. The facade of the Confucian Association is as simple as possible. It only has a curtain hanging on the door, with the word MATAKIN printed on it and the address and contact information. At the most basic level, it is impossible to tell that this is the headquarters of Confucianism in Indonesia, which has millions of followers. The space rented by the General Assembly is divided into three floors. The ground floor is the office space. The walls are covered with various pictures about Confucian activities, and the cabinets are piled up. There are all kinds of materials. The middle floor is where the driver Harry lives, and the top floor is a small auditorium with portraits of Confucius, altar tables, incense burners, etc. There are occasional preaching and memorial activities here. There are only two full-time employees. Harry is the driver and does odd jobs. There is also a girl who is responsible for telephone, email and text message processing. Because Confucian churches across Indonesia are financially independent, the preachers of each Confucian church hall. Basically, it is a volunteer work without any salary. The Confucian Federation has no spare source of funds, so it has to live in a crowded and noisy commercial district. However, what I see is its clean and grassroots side. And its tenacious vitality under various adverse conditions.


The origin of Confucianism in Indonesia can be traced back to the Chinese Association established in Batavia (Jakarta) in 1900. It changed its name several times during the period. It was established as the “Supreme Confucian Council of Indonesia” in 2007, and is commonly referred to as the “Indonesian Confucian Federation” in Chinese. The federation now has: Presidium, Preacher Committee, Board of Directors, Honorary Member Committee, Scholars Committee, Funding Committee and Advisory Committee. In addition to the above institutions, there are also relatively independent Confucian Women’s Associations and Confucian Youth Leagues. The local Confucian organization in Indonesia is called the Confucian Council, or the Confucian Association for short, and is directly recognized and led by the Confucian Federation. Although Confucian councils have not yet been established in some places, there are various forms of Confucian organizations such as Confucian missionary associations, Confucian departments affiliated with Chinese temples, and some Confucian student groups. According to statistics from the official website of the Indonesian Confucian Federation, as of the end of 2011. , all printedThere are a total of 134 Confucian councils, missionary associations and Confucian ministries in Nigeria. This data does not include women’s associations, youth leagues and student organizations. If divided by region, there are 74 Java Islands where important cities in Indonesia are gathered, 20 Kalimantan Islands with a large Chinese population, 30 Sumatra and surrounding islands, 4 Sulawesi Islands, and only a few others. Several Confucian organizations are located on the smaller outer islands. To my surprise, there are actually four Confucian organizations in Bali, a tourist destination. There is also a Confucian church in the neighboring Lombok island, and there is also a Confucian church in the remote North Maluku Islands. This is hundreds of people. The Spice Islands, which became world-famous due to the bloody invasion of the Dutch colonists years ago, are rich in cloves and nutmeg. What is even more interesting is that there is a Confucian church on the Natuna Islands, which has been rumored on the Internet and is said to have territorial claims by China. In fact, China has never had territorial claims to this archipelago located on the inner coast of the South China Sea. However, most of the residents on the islands are Chinese. The Indonesian government was wary and moved a large number of immigrants from other islands. , so that the Chinese are now a minority.


Mr. Huang Yaode, the current chairman of the Indonesian Confucian Federation, was elected by the National Congress in 2010. He is in his 40s and comes from Karawang City, an hour’s drive from Jakarta. A car dealer, his career is very successful. Mr. Huang was born into a Confucian family. His deceased father was once a major figure in Confucianism in Indonesia, and his mother is still active in various activities of the Confucian Church in Karawang. Since the important leaders of Confucianism in Indonesia all have their own careers, their tasks within Confucianism are voluntary and do not receive any remuneration. Mr. Huang Yaode usually runs his own business in Karawang, and only comes to the Jakarta Confucian Association to handle matters when something happens. The most important thing the General Assembly does every year is to host the Spring Festival Gala, with thousands of participants. Since 2000, the President of Indonesia has personally participated in this event every year and delivered a major speech advocating the harmonious coexistence of all ethnic groups in Indonesian society. Because we were both busy, my brief conversation with Mr. Huang Yaode took place at the dinner table of an Indonesian restaurant. He introduced to me the current situation and future ideas of Confucianism in Indonesia. It can be seen that he is a very ambitious young leader and is full of optimistic expectations for the development prospects of Confucianism. Mr. Huang also asked me about my plans for my trip to Indonesia and the specific places I wanted to visit, and said that he would fully meet my wishes and settings. On the schedule I drafted a few days ago, I specifically added the Confucian Academy, a Confucian university under construction. This was something I only heard about after arriving in Indonesia. We agreed to meet again in two days, when Mr. Huang drove me from Jakarta to Karawang, which was the next stop of my trip.


The morning dinner with former Chairman Chen Qingming and Mr. Zhang Jinquan was set at the famous “Sun City” high-end club in Jakarta, where Indonesian business giants often hang out.Place. The Chinese only account for about 4% of Indonesia’s total population, but they control more than 70% of the country’s economy. Most of the 40 richest people in Indonesia selected by Forbes magazine in 2011 are of Chinese descent. Therefore, some people say that to understand why anti-Chinese riots often occur among the people at the bottom of Indonesian society, you only need to count how many high-rise buildings in Jakarta belong to Chinese people. In fact, it is very one-sided to attribute the ethnic conflicts against the Chinese in Indonesian society to economic inequality. However, it is an indisputable fact that the Chinese are relatively economically dominant, but we must not forget the systemic discrimination and suppression they have encountered because of this. Therefore, if the Chinese want to prosper and enjoy long-term peace and stability in Indonesia, they must recognize Indonesia as their motherland politically, maintain their own identity culturally, actively participate in politics, use the law to protect their rights and interests, and give back to the best of their ability. society and feed back society.

I am ordinary people who are not restrained and unsatisfactory. The complete costume of this trip to Indonesia is a backpacker who is preparing to walk in the tropical jungle. There is no clothing suitable for formal occasions. Harry was more nervous than me. He dragged me to a nearby mall and bought a shirt and a pair of trousers, and also lent me a pair of leather shoes. He said that the meeting in the evening was very formal and I must pay attention to abstraction. I met Mr. Chen Qingming a few days ago, and Mr. Zhang Jinquan is very affable and speaks fluent Chinese. His title is the Chairman of the Indonesian Chinese Association and a member of the Presidium of the Indonesian Confucian Supreme Council. According to Harry, the Kirin Group owned by his family is medium-sized in Indonesia. The Kirin stone sculpture in front of the Dacheng Hall of the newly built Confucius Temple in Jakarta was donated by his family. In any case, if Confucianism in Indonesia wants to develop and grow, it especially needs the strong support of industrialists like Huang Yaode and Zhang Jinquan. From this, I also thought that there is still a long way to go before Confucianism can take root again at the grassroots level in mainland China. During the conversation, Mr. Zhang expressed his ardent hopes for the development prospects of Confucianism in Indonesia, and also paid special attention to the development of Confucianism in mainland China. Immediately, I had a preliminary idea that vaguely took shape in my mind, that is, to lobby those industrialists who are interested in contributing to Confucianism and Confucianism, to use part of the funds to establish a youth foundation, and to select a number of aspiring young people from China and Indonesia every year. Young people who are committed to the grassroots construction of Confucianism should have good results if they go to Confucianism and Confucianism dojos in China and India to learn from each other and strengthen each other. “If you give up your courtesy and seek help from others,” in fact, this statement is full of arrogance and prejudice. Nowadays, in mainland China, rituals and music have collapsed, Taoism and learning have ceased. How can Jamaicans Sugardaddy still have the right to regard Indonesian Confucian compatriots as “wild”. As Brother Nanshan Shi said, just as New Confucianism spread back to China from overseas in the 1980s and 1990s, now is the time for Indonesia to jamaica Sugar Daddy Confucianism passed back to China from scratch and nurture China.

I decided not to stay in the hotel in the morning, but sleep on the floor of the Confucian Association , firstly, I couldn’t stand Harry’s kind invitation, and secondly, I could save some of my already abundant travel expenses. Harry took some quilts and made a simple bed for me, and lit a few sprays of incense to repel mosquitoes around it. I didn’t expect that there was only one quilt, so he had to sleep on the sofa for the whole night. Maybe it was because he was alone most of the time. Harry was very sad. I was looking forward to chatting with me. But I was tired and sleepy, and under the double attack of the heat and mosquito bites, I still fell into a deep sleep. Remember the sixth day
 
 
 
 
Indonesian Ministry of Religion and Confucian Youth League
 
 
 
Tomorrow’s task is very simple and important. I met Mr. Modi, who is responsible for Confucian affairs at the Ministry of Religion of the Indonesian government. Indonesia is a country with an overwhelming majority of Muslims, but its political system is secular. However, except for Indonesia, the Ministry of Religious Affairs is established in the central government. There is no second example in the world. Religion occupies a supreme position in Indonesia’s political system, thanks to the five founding principles formulated by Indonesia’s founding father Sukarno, which is the first of “Pancasila”. The principle is “worship of the Supreme One God”, which is the main purpose and basis of several other principles. The second principle is “justice and civilized humanism”, the third principle is “Unity of Indonesia”, and the fourth principle is “Unity of Indonesia”. For “democracy under representative system and consultation,” the last principle is to “achieve social justice for all Indonesian people”. After Suharto came to power, he implemented the so-called “new order” and further strengthened “the belief in the supremacy of unity.” The goal of the principle of “One God” was to exclude the Indonesian Communist Party and its sympathizers who were very active at the time from national construction. It can be seen that the principle of “One God” comes from the basic teachings of IslamJamaicans Escort, and is above Indonesia’s political system. From this perspective, Indonesia is not a fully secular country. Religious Hinduism and Buddhism are not suitable for this principle of “one God”. In order to obtain and consolidate the position of official religion, Indonesian Buddhism reconstructed the concept of a “Supreme Buddha”, which is also a unique phenomenon in Indonesia.
 
 
 
 Indonesian Confucianism briefly gained the status of an official religion during the Sukarno administration in the 1950s and 1960s. It was ostracized and suppressed for decades after that. It was not until Wahid stepped down in 2000 that it legally regained official status. Only after 2006 did Confucianism receive official administrative treatment. Indonesian law requires that everyone fill in the religious belief column on their identity card. In the past, Confucians could not fill in their true religious identity, so many people chose to fill in other religions such as Buddhism and Christianity. Yao Ping, who is in charge of Indonesia’s Confucian Ministry of Domestic Communications, and his wife Wei Ailan, took the Si River Civil Affairs Bureau to court because they were refused to register for marriage because they were Confucian. The lawsuit lasted from 1996 to 2000, and finally won the case. Indonesian Confucianism took this as an opportunity to regain its official religious status. This was a famous civil litigation case that caused a sensation in that year, and was also a landmark event in the history of Confucianism in Indonesia. Of course, the collective strength and wisdom of Indonesian Confucianism has always been behind Yao Pingbo and Wei Ailan’s perseverance and resistance to the Indonesian administrative authorities.
 
 
 
Mr. Modi, who is in charge of Confucian affairs, is in his early forties and is enthusiastic and sincere towards people. He himself is a Muslim and holds a PhD in Religious Studies from George Mason University in America. He explained to me in detail Indonesia’s religious policy and the situation of Confucianism in Indonesia. Compared with the other five major religions, Confucianism is a latecomer and is still marginalized in the Ministry of Religious Affairs. The other five major religions have their own bureau-level departments in the administrative structure of the Ministry of Religion. Only Confucianism is only a small office, and Confucianism is not listed on the official website of the Ministry of Religion. Mr. Modi explained to me that this is mainly because the institutional structure of Confucianism cannot compare with the five major religions. For example, there are currently only eight Confucian teachers in Indonesia, all of whom are elderly, and the number of teachers and students is only a few hundred, which is far from being able to meet the needs of so many Confucian communities across Indonesia. Furthermore, official religions require the establishment of their own higher education institutions to train teaching staff, and teachers in higher education institutions must have a master’s degree or above in relevant majors. However, Indonesian Confucianism does not yet have a formal higher education institution. Even the Confucian college under construction in Lassen City, Central Java Province, close to Semarang, may meet the requirements in terms of hardware, but there is a serious shortage of qualified teachers. Therefore, Mr. Modi also asked me in detail about the professional settings of Confucianism and Chinese philosophy in major universities around the world, in preparation for Indonesian Confucianism to send teachers to various parts of the world for academic training in the future. In his words and deeds, it can be seen that Mr. Modi sincerely sympathizes with the situation of Confucianism in Indonesia. He has repeatedly expressed his hope to see Confucianism develop and grow rapidly. Judging from the text and picture information available to the author, Indonesian Confucianism and Mr. Modi have always maintained healthy communication, and his mission should have been recognized within Confucianism. When I came out of Mr. Modi’s office, I happened to meet a young man who worked in the Confucian Affairs Office at the top of the stairs., appears to be of Chinese descent, and it is said that he is the only civil servant in the entire Ministry of Religion with Confucian status, which makes people feel very unique. It’s a pity that we were in a hurry and didn’t have time to chat with him in detail.
 
 
 
 With me at the Ministry of Religion to meet with Mr. Modi were Master Wang Chunlai from the Confucian Council of Indonesia and Chris Chen, Chairman of the Confucian Youth League. Wang Chunlai is already eighty years old, but he still works hard and rushes around. Thinking of the situation of Confucianism in Indonesia, it makes people feel sad. I don’t quite understand Chris’ Chinese name. I only know that his surname is Chen, and his father is the chairman of the Chi Deru Confucian Hall in Bogor County. I just met him a few days ago. Chris looks to be in his twenties, with a tall and thin body, speaks candidly and straightforwardly, and is very passionate and energetic. It happened that his second daughter had just been born, so Chris joked that he would have another daughter, just in time to create another “Three Song Sisters”. The Confucian Youth League was established in Tangerang City, Banten Province in 2000. It has now established branches in places with relatively good development of Confucianism throughout Indonesia, including the far-away West Kalimantan Province. It is a youth organization affiliated with Indonesian Confucianism but relatively independent. Its board of directors establishes positions such as chairman, vice-chairman, secretary-general, and treasurer. The chairman serves a four-year term and can be re-elected once at most. Confucian youth, like all young people, love new things and make full use of the communication method of the Internet. Branches in various places have set up their own web pages on Facebook. The author did a preliminary search on the Facebook website and found a total of 19 web pages of branches of the Confucian Youth League. In addition, they have also established an independent Confucian social network “Confucian Society Network” (www.confucian.me), whose performance settings are somewhat similar to “Facebook”, attracting many young people. According to Chris, there are more than 10,000 members of the Confucian Youth League in Bogor County alone. Bogor County is an important town of Confucianism in Indonesia. Judging from what I saw at the West Manga Auditorium and the Nangwi Auditorium, the majority are young people, so it is not surprising that there are many Confucian young people here.
 
 
 
 After coming out of the Ministry of Religious Affairs, Master Wang Chunlai took us to another government meeting center in Jakarta, where the monthly religious harmony dialogue was being held. This was the original Activities that are temporarily added to the scheduled process. Since 2005, the Indonesian government has begun to promote regular dialogues among various religions in order to reduce religious conflicts and promote harmonious coexistence of all ethnic groups in society. It stipulates that the administrative heads of Indonesia’s provinces and counties have the obligation to help various religious groups jointly establish “religious harmony forums” and actively participate in religious dialogue. At present, most provinces and counties in Indonesia have established such dialogue forums. Leaders, scholars and activists from various religious societies hold religious harmony dialogues on a monthly basis, trying to communicate ideas and reach consensus, with a view to jointly solving various religious and social problems. problem. ameriBoth President Obama and Pope Benedict XVI have praised Indonesia’s religious dialogue mechanism, believing that it has set an outstanding paradigm for religious dialogue around the world. When we arrived at the meeting, the participants were having a heated discussion. They were mainly scholars from Islam, Catholicism, Buddhism, and Chinese Islamic groups. The host of the meeting was an Islamic scholar. I was invited by the host to give an impromptu talk about the current development of religious theory, especially discussions on the definition of religion, as well as some of my understanding of the religious aspects of Confucianism. The masters listened quietly, and there was no violent argument. Several Islamic scholars agreed with my point of view, and representatives of other religions seemed to be silent. There were about ten people in the audience, and representatives of Chinese ethnicity accounted for roughly half. Since I had already been aware of the tacit understanding between Confucianism and Islam in Indonesia, as well as the mysterious and tense relationship between them and Catholicism and Protestant Christianity, I was not surprised at all by the reaction of the participants. The most important thing is that there is such a forum for religious dialogue. No matter how big the conflicts and conflicts between various religions are, they can sit down and negotiate to resolve them, thereby preventing the situation from deteriorating. Since independence, Indonesia has suffered from ethnic and religious conflicts. The authorities have directly taken the lead in religious dialogue. Although it deviates from the principle of separation of church and state advocated in the East, it is still a wise move to find a unique approach. In this sense, Indonesia’s religious dialogue forum has indeed set a good example for resolving religious disputes around the world.
 
 
 
The seventh day of the 28-day journey of Confucianism in Indonesia
 
 
 
From Jakarta to Karawang



After staying in Jakarta for a week, I will set off to other provinces tomorrow. The first stop is Karawang City in West Java Province, which is an hour’s drive from Jakarta. According to the introduction, the city has a population of about one million, five percent of which are Chinese. In recent years, a large number of industries have moved out of overcrowded Jakarta, and Karawang, originally a major rice-producing area, has gradually developed into an industrial city. I was really excited to finally leave the crowded and polluted Jakarta. Although I have met many friends in the past few days and participated in many major Confucian activities, I still want to go abroad to understand the situation and gain a more comprehensive understanding of Confucianism in Indonesia. At the same time, you can also enjoy the tropical scenery of Indonesia along the way, which can be said to kill two birds with one stone.
 
 
 
 A professional girl named Feifei, entrusted by Mr. Huang Yaode, chairman of the Confucian Federation, drove me along the way because she lived in Jakarta but worked in Karawang. Feifei is from Kangasi City (Ujung Pandang) in South Sulawesi Province. She can speak fluent Chinese and has no problem.The accent surprised me. She owns her own notary office in Karawang City, employs six employees, and has a driver who is responsible for driving her to and from work. There is no doubt that she is a successful professional. Yesterday I got in touch with Ms. Lin Shifang, a Chinese-American writer. She is the author of the book “The Storm in West Kalimantan”, which tells the history of the Communist guerrillas in West Kalimantan fighting against the Suharto government forces in the 1960s. She herself was one of the leaders of the guerrillas. Later, the revolution suffered a failure. Like other guerrilla fighters, she was unfortunately arrested and spent eleven years in prison and concentration camps. Be restrained. She promised to give me a copy of her book tomorrow. However, the road conditions in Jakarta are really painful. It took Teacher Lin more than an hour to get to the place we agreed on, which was originally a fifteen-minute drive. Seeing that she took the trouble to deliver the book to me personally, I feel very grateful. Teacher Lin originally wanted to chat with me for a while. She must have been very excited that a younger generation from thousands of miles away was interested in her reactionary story. But since we had to rush on our way, we had to say goodbye and hope to see you again later.



As soon as the car entered the border of Karawang, the lush greenery on both sides of the highway rushed towards our face. At first glance, we saw endless rice fields, and the rice was in season. “The fragrance of rice flowers says a good harvest, and the sound of frogs sounds.” I don’t know how long this rice granary on the tropical fertile soil can stand amid the rumble of industrialization. A quick calculation shows that I have been away from the rice fields of my hometown for twenty years. The deep nostalgia is released in a special way in this distant equatorial country. Ms. Pei Fang, wife of Mr. Huang Yaode, welcomed us. “Hey, what brought you here?” She joked when they first met. I almost couldn’t believe my ears that someone could speak such authentic Chinese. When I saw Feifei and Peifang chatting away, I felt as if I was on the streets of any city in China. Who would have thought that they were native Chinese born and raised here. In a Padang restaurant with a tropical country style, we met Mr. Li, Chairman of the Confucian Church in Karawang City, and Chen Guoyuan, Secretary-General. They had been waiting here for a long time. Padang cuisine originates from Padang, the capital of West Sumatra Province. It is synonymous with Indonesian cuisine in China. The Padang beef was rated as the most delicious dish in the world in a poll conducted by CNN in 2011. . Padang cuisine has a spicy taste and is served quickly. It is mainly deep-fried and served with various spices, such as chili, curry, coconut oil and orange leaves, especially chili, which is indispensable in almost every dish. . When I go out, the most important thing is to have a full stomach. I don’t care about table manners and gobble it up for a while, especially the fried green chili.

After the two Mies explained me to the Galaburo Church, they resigned from get off work. In the afternoon, Mr. Li and Mr. Chen accompanied me to visitThere are two local Chinese temples, Xianmu Temple and Xietian Temple. Another temple, Ci’en Palace, is where Confucian activities are held in the morning. Mr. Li can’t speak a word of Chinese and always has a simple and honest smile on his face. He runs two Western medicine pharmacies in Karawang and the business is doing well. His wife is the president of the Indonesian Confucian Women’s Association, and his two sons are studying at Bandung Institute of Technology. It can be seen that his family is well-off. The three-story western-style house is built of marble. The family employs two servants, a gardener and a full-time driver. Chen Guoyuan is an architect who can speak relatively fluent Chinese, and he designed Xietian Temple on his own initiative. In addition, the newly built Confucius Temple in Jakarta Miniature Park that I saw a few days ago was also made by him and is a volunteer work.

Xianmu Palace is located in a deserted cold alley inside the outskirts of Galayu, but it is magnificent. It is said that the nasal sprayers of Malaysia and Singapore often come to burn nose to pray. This is a temple based on Taoist beliefs, which combines elements of Buddhism and folk religion. It mainly worships the immortal aunt. It is a Hakka belief originating from Meizhou, Guangdong, and also has a great influence on the Chinese community in Southeast Asia. In addition to the immortal aunt, the temple also enshrines statues of Sakyamuni, Guanyin and Fude Zhengshen, but I did not see Guan Gong or Confucius. The walls are painted with folk legends and stories such as the Eight Immortals Crossing the Sea and Journey to the West. There are two temple priests in the temple who have been responsible for taking care of affairs for many years, wearing red short-sleeved temple dresses. Since it was not a religious festival, the temple was empty, with no pilgrims or tourists. There were only a few bored old people sunbathing outside the gate. There are several stalls selling fruits, drinks and snacks in the square outside the temple gate, but few people visit them.
                                                                                                 Emperor Temple, in my impression, many Guandi Temples in Indonesia are called Xietian Temple. Guan Gong rose from a warrior warrior to a god believed in by Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism, which reflects the development of Chinese religious beliefs from a unique perspective. As a god of Confucianism, he is regarded as the embodiment of loyalty, righteousness and courage. He is honored as “Martial Saint”, “Master of Shanxi” and “Wenheng Saint Emperor”. From “Hou” to “Saint”, he has been conferred twenty titles by emperors of all dynasties As many as three times. Buddhism claims that his loyalty is enough to protect the Dharma. It is also said that he appeared in Yuquan Mountain and converted to Buddhism. Therefore, he is respected as the “Ancient Buddha Gaitian” and “Dharma Protector Jialan”. Taoism regards Guan Gong as the attendant of the Jade Emperor and respects him as “Yihan Tianzun”, “Xietian Emperor” or “Wu’an Zunwang”. The name of Xietian Palace is derived from Emperor Xietian. What is amazing is that in addition to the double dragons, there is also a huge crab statue on the top of the gate of Karawang Xietian Temple, and there is also an even bigger statue on the gate of Guan Sheng Temple in Cumin City, East Java Province. Big crab statue. It is said that Chinese Indonesians often go to sea and trust crabs to protect their health.To protect them, they were enshrined in Guandi Temple. This is also a clear example of the localization of Chinese religious beliefs in Indonesia. In addition to Guan Gong, the Xietian Palace also enshrines gods such as Guanyin, Xuantian God, Taishang Laojun, Fude Zhengshen, and Dipan Gong. What is interesting is that the statue of Sakyamuni hanging on the wall seems to be no different from the picture of Guanyin. It has distinct female characteristics and reflects the dignified and quiet feminine beauty.

The Confucian auditorium of Galazheng is located in the palace of Ci En. Ci’en Palace is a temple of three religions, that is, the three religions of Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism are compatible. But unlike many other temples, the three religions have their own independent auditoriums in Ci’en Palace, which are separated from each other and do not interfere with each other. The Confucian auditorium is upstairs and can accommodate about eighty people. When we arrived, the auditorium was almost full. Worship services here are held on the lunar New Year’s Day, that is, twice a month instead of once a week. An elderly lady named Lu Huayuan, who is energetic and speaks fluent Chinese, told me that the auditorium here is seriously lacking in Confucian professionals. There are neither literary teachers nor students, let alone scholars. The Taoist priests in the auditorium have to take turns to come down and give lectures. road. The speaker tonight was the mother of Huang Yaode, chairman of the Confucian Federation. She had silver hair and a cheerful expression, and won cheers from the whole hall. The content and procedures of the Confucian worship activities here are generally similar to those I saw in Bogor County, except that the three ladies who held the incense ceremony wore white short gowns. Although they were also Confucian attires, they lacked the dignity and solemnity of the robes. feel. Then the title of my lecture to everyone was “Confucianism as an endless tradition in 21st century China”, which is what I lectured to the Confucian students at Jianguo University a few days ago, but I will focus on demonstrating some tomorrow. pictures. A college student named Teddy served as my translator. He came from Pontianak City in West Kalimantan and could speak authentic Chinese. There are more Chinese people there, and Chinese teaching is much more popular than in West Java. But Teddy had never been exposed to Confucianism before, so tonight’s experience was also very harmful to him.
 
 
 
 After the Confucian missionary activity, Mr. Huang Yaode and I went to Xietian Temple together to discuss fellowship with the Taoist and Buddhist believers there. People from Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism sit around a table, drinking drinks, tasting snacks, and chatting all over the place. It is indeed a quite interesting scenery. Every time Mr. Huang Yaode enters a temple, he must respectfully lay incense and pray, as do many other Confucian people. Relatively speaking, only Confucian believers in Bogor County mainly worship Confucius and his disciples, and they have the least integration with Buddhism and Taoism. The compatibility of the three religions in the local Chinese community in Karawang is not only reflected in belief, but also in organizational governance. Mr. Li, the chairman of the Confucian Church, and Chen Guoyuan, the secretary-general of the Confucian Church, are both members of the council of Xietian Palace. An oil painting of Guan Gong donated by Mr. Huang Yaode is placed in a conspicuous position in the palace, with a couplet written on it: Aspiration lies in age and merit lies in In Han Dynasty, the heart is the same as the sun and the moon, and the meaning is the same as the sky. Xietian Temple does not have sermons or sermons like the Confucian auditorium.During worship activities, people of various religious beliefs can come here to burn incense and pray to Guan Gong and other gods. Especially on the birthdays of these gods, it is crowded and lively.
 
 
 
 In just one week, from Jakarta to several surrounding cities, I was fortunate enough to see many aspects of the development of Confucianism in Indonesia. Eye-opening and rewarding. The Chinese Indonesians took root locally, while trying their best to preserve their own cultural traditions and clinging to their own identity. They wrote evocative stories and legends with their blood, tears and sweat. Brothers Lin Zhenpeng and Lin Zhenzhi from Tangerang, Liang Yexi from Simangge in Bogor County, Chinese businessman Zhang Jinquan from Jakarta, Huang Yaode, chairman of the Confucian Federation, Feifei, a notary in Karawang, and Mr. Li, chairman of the Confucian Church in Karawang, all seem to be using it. Their different methods confirmed to me the “mythical” status of the Chinese in Indonesian business circles. Hi? Worry? I couldn’t help but ask myself quietly. I hope that the anti-Chinese tragedy of 1998 will never happen again.




Bandung Religious Harmony Gala
This silly child always felt that he was the one who made her sick back then. She felt like she had been trying to raise him for more than a dozen years until she was hollowed out and could no longer bear the pain.


Last night I stayed at the home of Mr. Li, the chairman of the Karawang Confucian Church. I got up early tomorrow morning because I had to go with Mr. Li’s family to attend the memorial ceremony for his mother’s death one and a half months ago. Jamaica Sugar commemoration ceremony, which is commonly known as Qiqi among Chinese people. Mr. Li has four brothers and three sisters, which makes a total of eight brothers and sisters. It reminds me that Mr. Wu Bingbang in Jakarta also raised eight children in total. All five brothers of the Li family, plus one sister, and their families went to participate in the commemoration. The scene was very spectacular. The cemetery is located in a Chinese cemetery on the outskirts of Karawang. It is large and hidden among towering ancient trees. According to Mr. Li, there are currently 6,000 graves in this cemetery, all belonging to Chinese families, but 40% of the graves have not been visited by descendants. Relatively speaking, the Muslim cemetery I saw in Karawang City was much smaller. Numerous graves were densely packed together, making it look crude and crowded. According to Muslim custom, people must be buried within one day after death. I don’t know if this is the reason for the simplicity of funerals.Depend on.
 
 
 
Mr. Li, who can speak fluent Chinese, volunteered to be my commentator. He lost a leg in a car accident thirty-one years ago, but he was in good spirits, cheerful and talkative. Their brothers and sisters are the third generation of Hakka people living in Indonesia. Their ancestors came from Meizhou, Guangdong. It can be said that their family’s struggle history is a microcosm of the history of Chinese Indonesians. Nian Lao runs a local candy store, which he inherited from his father. Now it has grown to a considerable scale, with the warehouse area alone covering several thousand square meters. The second brother of the Li family is engaged in the processing and sales of gold. Indonesia has many gold mines and many people make a living in this industry. The third brother runs an electrical appliance store. He just saw Pei’s mother looking expectant from the Honda car owned by Chairman Huang Yaode of the Confucian Federation. The visitor showed a hesitant and unbearable expression. She was silent for a moment and then slowly spoke: “Mom, I’m sorry, I couldn’t bring enough to buy a new car. The fourth brother of the Li family is engaged in the bird’s nest industry and owns six warehouses. Bird’s nest is commonly known as the soft gold of Indonesia. It is a very hard-working but lucrative industry. China is a huge consumer market for bird’s nests. Mr. Li, the youngest brother, owns two Chinese medicine pharmacies and employs more than ten people. Mr. Li’s brother said that the five brothers chose different careers to avoid brothers. The five brothers started from almost bare hands, and now their careers are flourishing. It seems that the reputation of the Hakka people for being smart, hard-working and hard-working is not deserved. , we went to visit the Nirvana Villa in Karawang Industrial Park. This is a luxury cemetery jointly invested and developed by a Malaysian company and an American company. It has only started construction in 2010, but it has begun to take shape for the first time. I heard that some people are making money by investing in cemeteries, and they are very profitable. The cemetery covers an area of ​​more than one square kilometer, and a large number of Indonesian workers are hired to level the land, trim flowers, decorate buildings, etc. It is a busy scene at the gate. There are also dedicated security guards. Fugui Villa has attracted a large number of customers from Jakarta and other places, and Mr. Li’s elder brother also bought two terraces as the couple’s residence after a hundred years, costing ten thousand dollars. Next door to Nirvana Villa is Santiago Villa, a Western-style cemetery that is about as luxurious as the former. It was also built in 2010. The difference is that Santiago Cemetery buries the deceased directly in the ground without making a pile. The tomb is only a small tombstone embedded in the ground. It is not upright but is flush with the sky, so the green space is more like a golf course. Both cemeteries are artificially constructed in the middle according to the Feng Shui concept. I discovered a small lake, with mountains and water, exquisite and unique.



The activities at the Karawang stop are over, and I have to rush to a small lake.Bandung is an hour’s drive away, where the famous Bandung Conference in 1955 was held. Tomorrow is the 15th full moon day of the 10th month of the lunar calendar. A grand religious harmony party will be held in the morning at the Confucian Auditorium in Bandung, and many people from other religious circles will be invited to participate. Six ladies from the Karawang Confucian Assembly volunteered to escort me to Bandung, including Mr. Lee’s wife, the president of the Indonesian Confucian Women’s Association (unfortunately she did not speak Chinese or English, and I never understood her). name), and an elderly lady named Lu Huayuan who I talked to last night. They specially hired a van, which was packed with six people plus me and the driver. It was noisy and noisy along the way, but it was fun. It seems that the visits and interconnections between neighboring Confucian churches in Indonesia are quite frequent, which invisibly strengthens the spirit of friendship and cooperation within the Confucian church. What I saw in Bogor and Karawang left a deep impression on me.
 
 
 
When we arrived in Bandung, it was raining heavily and the road conditions here were almost as chaotic as in Jakarta. This city that was once known as the “Paris of the East” can no longer find the tranquility and elegance of the past. Modern procedures have enveloped her in the roar of machines and the noise of the crowd. While it was still early for the morning activities, a group of us went to visit a Taoist priest from the Karawang Confucian Assembly Hall. She was temporarily staying at her daughter’s home in Bandung due to illness. It seems that visiting Taoist relatives during their birth, old age, illness and death is a very important activity of Confucianism in Indonesia, and it is also one of the important means to unite Confucian believers and consolidate the sense of community. Mrs. Li also stopped by to visit her two sons who are studying at the Bandung Institute of Technology. The older one studies electronic engineering and the younger son studies medicine. They can speak perfect English but not Chinese. Mrs. Li also has an eldest son who has graduated from college.



The Bandung Confucian Auditorium is located in a prosperous area in the city center. It has its own independent courtyard. It is not a typical temple building, but an ordinary building reform. A hall downstairs is used as a temple, which enshrines the clay statues of Laozi, Confucius and Sakyamuni. Laozi is in the middle, and the statues are larger. There is a banner hanging above, which reads “Saints of the Three Religions”. The couplets on the left and right are: The Three Saints opened the altar to worship Chinese and foreign religions, and taught all living beings to be good regardless of East and West. Due to the dark weather and the crowds, I wonder if there are separate venues for Taoist and Buddhist activities here. The Confucian auditorium where preaching activities are held is upstairs. The plaque at the door reads “Confucius Temple” in Chinese characters instead of “auditorium”. However, within Confucianism in Indonesia, “Confucius Temple” and “auditorium” are interchangeable. In order to welcome the religious harmony party, many chairs were neatly placed in the courtyard, which could accommodate about three to four hundred people. A stage was set up in the center of the courtyard with all sound equipment. The two young hosts, a man and a woman, came from the Bandung Confucian Auditorium. As night fell, two groups of lion dance teams began to perform brilliantly at the gate, preparing to welcome the arrival of the Mayor of Bandung. At the same time, on the stageThe program also started. Two teenage boys, a boy and a girl, sang popular songs with perfect accuracy, followed by a group of girls performing traditional Indonesian dances. The music was dynamic and the dances were graceful and sultry.
 
 
 
 After a long time, the mayor of Bandung and his entourage arrived belatedly. Everyone stood up to greet them in a hurry, and all the programs were performed again. A local Confucian leader delivered a welcome speech, followed by representatives of various religions coming off the stage to speak. Many people from Islam came, and one of their scholars gave a generous and inspiring speech. When I arrived at the venue, I was originally informed that I would step down to speak on behalf of Confucianism. The speech was limited to three minutes and the theme centered on religious pluralism and religious tolerance. Because I was running all the way, I was wearing a very casual T-shirt, so I hurriedly borrowed a traditional Indonesian batik shirt from the host to make up for the appearance. My speech is very brief: the main point is to declare the principles of “do not do to others what you would have others do not want done to you” and “peace but unity”; Indonesia’s past is full of twists and turns and pain, but we have every reason to work together to create a A harmonious situation of religions in which Tao runs in parallel without contradicting each other; all religions need to have enough courage and wisdom to regard Confucius, Sakyamuni, Laozi, Jesus, and Muhammad as their common prophets. Judging from the reaction of the audience, my speech achieved the expected results. People in the Bandung Confucian community were especially satisfied, with happy expressions on their faces.
                                                                                                                                did not go back to the hotel. While the mayor was delivering a lengthy speech, we quietly left the scene. It was exactly eleven o’clock in the morning.
 
 
The ninth day of the 28-day journey of Confucianism in Indonesia
 
 
 
Confucians of Mongolian descent? Indonesian high-tech company?



At eleven o’clock in the morning, Bangbang, chairman of the Confucian Church in Bandung, drove to the hotel where I was staying. He will be responsible for taking me to Taheng City, the next stop of this trip tomorrow. This city also belongs to West Java Province, with a population of nearly 700,000. It is said that there are about 50,000 Chinese, mainly descendants of Fujian immigrants. There is also a Chinese commercial street in the center of the city. Since there is no highway connection between the two places, it looks not far on the map, but the actual drive takes two hours. Bangbang is about forty years old, slightly fat, smiling, and speaks good English, but he can’t speak Chinese. Also coming with him were three young employees of his company. They were taciturn and all indigenous peoples of Indonesia. One of them was a driver. As the chairman of the Bandung Confucian Church, Bangbang is not good at talking and appears to be very low-key. According to him, the Bandung Confucian Auditorium holds preaching activities every week, and last night’s religious harmony party was a special event held on the full moon day. also, the auditorium also offers Tai Chi classes. Due to the large number of students, classes are held every day. They also offer cooking classes on Saturdays and every two weeks for people inside and outside Confucianism to learn and discuss cooking skills.
 
 
 
Before leaving Bandung, we first visited the Xietian Temple, the largest and oldest Chinese temple in the city, which is the Guan Gong Temple. It is true that wherever there are Chinese people, there is Guan Gong Temple. The Xietian Temple in Bandung is also called Tua Pek Kong Temple. It was built in 1885 and has a history of more than 100 years. It still maintains its original appearance and is very popular and has never stopped. In front of the main entrance of the temple stands a bluestone statue of Guan Gong leaping on his horse and raising his whip, with silky eyebrows and sinister eyes, majestic. There is a small porch on both sides of the gate, with the words “Taoyuan” and “Hanshi” respectively engraved on it. This Guan Gong Temple also fully reflects the religious integration characteristics of Indonesian Chinese. In addition to the statue of Guan Gong, the side halls on both sides of the temple also enshrine many gods such as Sakyamuni, Guanyin, Fudezhengshen, Tianhou, etc., and even a portrait of Bodhidharma. A plaque reads: “There is no West in the South, the East in the East, all the ages.” Patriarch Zhulian”. There is also a separate Buddhist temple, Lingshan Temple, built next to Xietian Temple. Since it was not open that day, there was no chance to get a glimpse of its true appearance.
 
 
 
Bangguo himself comes from Manado City, the capital of North Sulawesi Province, which is a world-famous diving resort. But what interests me most is the legend about Manado. It is said that after the Mongolian army failed to attack Indonesia, many stragglers stayed there, forming today’s Minahasa tribe, an important ethnic group in North Sulawesi Province. Different from the main ethnic groups in Indonesia such as Javanese, Sundanese and Malay, the Minahasa do not believe in Islam and are mainly composed of Christians. Judging from the relevant pictures that can be found on the Internet, the skin color of this ethnic group is lighter than other ethnic groups in Indonesia. The legend that they may be descendants of Mongolia undoubtedly adds a mysterious color. In recent years, as Indonesia has become a tourist destination for Chinese tourists, some travel agencies have even used this as a gimmick to directly equate the Minahasa people with those of Mongolian descent, which is a bit inexplicable. Similarly, some people believe that the Dayak people living on the island of Kalimantan are descendants of the Mongols. In addition, their skin color is light, most of them believe in animism, and a small number of them believe in Christianity. Izaya is shrouded in a veil of mystery. These are just rumors. Even if they really have Mongolian ancestry, it only accounts for a very small proportion, and legends are still legends. What’s interesting is that Guangguo himself claims to be of Mongolian descent, but he also has elements from many other ethnic groups mixed in. Therefore, he himself doesn’t know what proportion of Mongolian ancestry there is. However, what shocked me even more was that Bangbang, who originally taught electronic engineering in colleges and universities, founded the company two years ago.He has established a large-scale high-tech company, employing 240 workers, and its operating expenses in 2010 exceeded US$10 million. The company’s business covers military industry, security, geographical information and green energy. It is one of only five companies in the world involved in the geographical information industry. The composition of Bang Bang surprised me, and almost completely unrelated labels were attached to him. A Confucian of Mongolian descent from Manado, North Sulawesi, founded one of the world’s few high-tech companies in Bandung? What a magical combination this is!

From Wantong to the horizontal crossing, it has always been a mountain road. Although the mountains are not steep and dangerous, it is also a high -row loop and bending. Green and golden rice fields are crisscrossed along the way. Due to the climate and altitude, some have just been planted and some are about to be harvested. Some rice fields have already been harvested, but they have been watered and plowed in preparation for planting a new crop of seedlings. The tropical region is fertile and has unique natural conditions. On the high and low slopes, there are mostly coconut trees, palm trees, coffee trees and various other unknown tropical plants. The mountains and plains are lush and green, which is very touching. Driving deep into the mountains, we stopped for a while at a restaurant called “Strawberry Manor Jamaicans Sugardaddy“. This is a place that fully conforms to the concept of ecological protection and low-carbon standards. Small restaurants made of fences and thatch are scattered at the foot of the hillside, beside the paddy fields, and beside the creek. Surrounded by green rice fields, graceful coconut trees, whirling bamboo forests, piles of bananas, flowing water, gentle breeze, the sound of waterwheels, and the chirping of birds, it feels like you are in a hell on earth. Unexpectedly, the densely populated island of Java still has such an independent paradise. Passing guests linger here and are happy to leave. We randomly ordered a few fruit snacks, one of which was sweet potato slices mixed with fresh chili puree. It was refreshing, sweet, crunchy and spicy, which was addictive.
 
 
 
An hour later, we arrived at the Confucian auditorium in Daheng City, and the local Confucian and Taoist priests warmly welcomed us. The leaders were Ms. Chen Hanniang, the financial secretary of the Dahengru Church, her husband Chen Duanxin, and the 78-year-old teacher Chen Miansheng, who can speak Chinese and acted as my translator. What a coincidence. It feels like people with the surname Chen all over the country are suddenly gathered together. After Bangbang finished explaining me, he immediately rushed back to Bandung. The Confucian auditorium in Daheng is also called the Confucius Temple, but instead of using Chinese characters, it uses the Chinese pinyin Kong Miao. When asked why, they said they still had lingering fears about Suharto’s ban on Chinese characters, so it was better to be vigilant and not dare to change back to Chinese characters rashly. Since they held a preaching event at seven o’clock on Sunday morning, I had no chance to attend, so we held an informal impromptu meeting.symposium. According to them, there are more than 600 Confucian believers in Daheng City, and more than 70 people regularly participate in Confucian activities, including many young people and children. The Daheng Confucian Temple was built in 1956, more than half a century ago. Chen Duanxin’s father was the chairman of the Daheng Confucian Church at that time. I asked the master why he chose Confucianism instead of other religions, that is, what makes it special. A teacher named Chen said that he has participated in Confucian activities since he was a child, and there is no problem of choice; for him, Confucianism is more practical and has more guiding significance for daily life, which is what we call Confucianism or Confucianism. The effectiveness of living and working in peace and harmony and daily necessities. Chen Hanniang believes that Tao and morality are important to human society, and what is special about Confucianism is its emphasis on filial piety, which teaches people to contribute to the elderly. Mr. Chen Miansheng tried to talk about the advantages of Confucianism from a theoretical perspective. He believed that Confucianism is a monotheistic religion, Christianity is a polytheistic religion, and Buddhism is an animistic religion.
 
 
 
In addition to the Confucius Temple, there are two Chinese temples in Daheng City, but there are relatively few Buddhists and Taoists. There are many Chinese Christians, especially Catholics, and they have grown rapidly in recent decades. There are now 14 Christian churches in the city, and most of the believers are Chinese. Catholics pay tithes, that is, give one-tenth of their expenditures to the church, so their financial strength is very strong. In addition to holding religious and charitable activities, they also vigorously build schools, and Catholic schools generally have a good reputation. However, church schools often require all students to participate in church activities. Over time, many teenagers who were not originally Catholics also converted to Christianity, which was one of the important conditions for their success. Relatively speaking, the funding sources of Confucian auditoriums are limited, mainly relying on sponsorship from some generous business people, and sometimes donations from Confucian believers and all walks of life. However, the Confucian auditorium in Daheng is one of the newest and most beautiful auditoriums I have ever seen. The wooden benches are arranged neatly in rows, which is pleasing to the eye. Daheng is relatively close to the other two nearby cities, Jamis and Banjar, and the Confucian auditoriums in the three places often hold activities together. Just a few days before I arrived in Taheng, the spiritual leader of Indonesian Confucianism, Master Xu Zaiying, had just visited the local area, and Taoist priests in three auditoriums held a grand preaching activity together.
 
 
 
Chen Duanxin and Chen Hanniang are undoubtedly the most active members of the Daheng Confucian Auditorium. They are in charge of all relevant foreign affairs activities, which is presumably related to their economic strength. A few days ago, Master Xu Zaiying visited the local area and was hosted by the couple. Chen Duanxin used to sell batik, a traditional Indonesian batik shirt. Chen Hanniang is a fashion designer. She designed several sets of dresses in the Confucian auditorium with elegant and beautiful styles. The two men were around sixty years old, well-dressed and generous in manners. They have two daughters and one son, all of whom are married and established. One daughter’s family has settled in Australia, and the son’s family also has Australian residency.They already have six grandchildren. It can be seen that their current focus is not on their careers, but on enjoying family happiness. In addition to having a spacious home and a shop selling fabrics and groceries in Tasheng, the two also have a house in Australia, so they often go there for vacation. There is no doubt that the couple Chen Duanxin and Chen Hanniang are another exemplary example behind the victory story of the Chinese in Indonesia. From Jakarta to Tangerang, from Bogor to Karawang, from Bandung to Tawang, similar stories can be encountered almost everywhere. Although their versions are different, the perseverance, enjoyment and hard work are all the same. The quality is different. However, it should also be noted that behind these many successful people, there are thousands of ordinary Chinese who are less successful and less eye-catching. Like residents of other ethnic groups in Indonesia, they constitute the majority of the Indonesian population. The main body is doing an obscure career and living an ordinary life. All previous anti-Chinese riots in Indonesian society were driven by hatred of the rich. However, equating the Chinese with the poor and regarding them as the culprits of social injustice in Indonesia is not only a directional error, but also a great injustice to the entire Chinese Indonesian society.
 
 
 
 
  The Tenth Day of the 28-Day Confucian Journey in Indonesia
 
 
 
 Muslim Female Translator Maria
 
 
 
 At six-thirty in the morning, I was awakened from my dream by a short knock on the door. When I got up and opened the door, I saw that it was the hotel waiter who had brought breakfast. I feel angry and ridiculous. It’s good that breakfast is included in the hotel fee, but you have to ask the tenant for his opinion and wait until it’s convenient for the tenant to deliver it. Having said that, cheap hotels naturally have their inconveniences. Breakfast consists of two loaves of bread, two cups of sweet tea, and two boiled eggs. I hated boiled eggs in my life, so I only ate bread and drank sweet tea. At eight o’clock, Chen Duanxin, Chen Hanniang and his wife, as well as Mr. Chen Miansheng, came to take me to a Chinese noodle restaurant for breakfast, my second meal. Except for Padang rice, Indonesian food is generally sweet, which I am not used to. But this noodle shop is very authentic, using charcoal to grill and cook food. The noodles, beef meatballs and beef louvers are all spicy and delicious, and I had a full meal without hesitation.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                . As I was in high spirits, my host took me to visit the city of Taheng. The Confucian Auditorium is in the center of the city, surrounded by a Chinese commercial street, and most of the shops on both sides are owned by Chinese. In addition, there are six high-end shopping malls in the city, five of which belong to Chinese businessmen, including the largest one, “Asia Plaza”. During the anti-Chinese riots in Indonesia in 1998, violence also occurredDuring the chaos, the local Chinese suffered a certain blow. The shop of Chen Duanxin and Chen Hanniang is located on the Chinese Commercial Street. It mainly operates daily necessities and employs several employees. Their home is in the backyard of the shop, with a very spacious area of ​​more than 1,000 square meters. The room was elegantly and neatly decorated. In the corner of the living room was a portrait of Confucius. They worshiped Confucius every day. Next door to the shop is their son and daughter-in-law’s shop, which specializes in fabrics and has a very prosperous business. The young Jamaica Sugar couple met while studying in Australia, but after graduation they returned to Indonesia to start their own business.
 
 
 
Mr. Chen Duanxin was born into a Confucian family. His father was one of the founders of Daheng Confucian Auditorium and later served as the chairman of the local Confucian Association. Their home keeps a large number of pictures and materials about Confucian churches and Confucianism in Indonesia, from which we can get a glimpse of the development trajectory of Confucianism in Indonesia. It is said that in 1965, when President Sukarno was still in office, in order to decide whether to give Confucianism the status of an official religion, he specially sent Dr. Mustap, who had many titles such as university professor, dentist and retired general. .Mustopo) went to the field assessment. When he came to the Daheng Confucian Auditorium, Zhengduya saw many Confucian believers holding preaching activities. So he reported the situation truthfully to President Sukarno, and Confucianism was immediately recognized as one of Indonesia’s official religions. How reliable this story is deserves further exploration, but it is an indisputable fact that Confucianism was recognized as Indonesia’s official religion during Sukarno’s term in the 1960s. I saw a picture of Dr. Mustap giving a speech at the Confucian Church at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Chen. It is a very precious document, because even within Confucianism in Indonesia, few people understand this period of history. Dr. Mustap once founded a dental school, which later developed into the famous Mustap University. He passed away in his hometown Bandung in 1987 and was buried there. In 2007, President Yusino awarded Dr. Mustap an Indonesian National Hero.

Near noon, we finally set off to the next stop. The road from Bandung to Daheng is full of rolling hills and beautiful scenery, but there is not much scenery to see from Daheng to Chimiz. Both sides of the kilometer are crowded and full of built houses. The Taoist priests at the Jianmis Hall had been waiting for my visit early. They also paid a special fee to hire a Chinese-speaking Muslim girl Maria to be a translator, because there was no one in the local Confucian church who could speak Chinese or English. people. Maria is fair and quiet, and always has a considerate smile on her face. She was selected by West Java Province to study Chinese in China with excellent results. Six years later, she received a master’s degree from Jinan University. She just returned to her hometown to teach Chinese in a middle school this summer. She speaks very pure and clear languageAs the saying goes, teaching middle school is not considered to be overqualified. Like many Indonesian Muslim girls, Maria wears a hijab. According to her, Muslim girls in Indonesia can choose to wear a hijab or not, but once they choose to wear it, they cannot take it off for the rest of their lives, so this step is a very solemn and sacred decision for them. Maria has been pursuing her studies in China for many years, so she is still unmarried and has no partner when she is almost thirty years old. She is full of hope for her future, but also has some slight sorrow.


Jamaicans Sugardaddy
Jamis is a small city with a population of more than 120,000. There are about 4,000 Chinese among them. The Confucian Auditorium is across the street from Fude Temple. It was built in 1975. There are about 500 believers, but only a few dozen people regularly participate in activities. The chairman of the auditorium is Lin Jiji, a very enthusiastic and down-to-earth person. Mr. Lin runs a pharmacy and his home is near the auditorium. Normally, the term of chairman of the local Confucian Association is four years, and Mr. Lin’s term is coming soon, so he is very serious about everything. The layout of the Jianmis Auditorium is similar to that of Confucian auditoriums in other places. Directly behind is a portrait of Confucius with the four words “Holy Master” written on it. There are two unicorns on the left and right, and the cloth streamers on the incense table are embroidered with ” There are four words “Literary and Faithful”, “Emperor God” is printed on the podium, and two words “Diligence and Thrift” are printed on the inside of the gate. On the walls on both sides of the auditorium are written in Chinese and Indonesian respectively “Don’t do to others what you don’t want others to do to you” and “We are all brothers within the four seas”. Zimmis Hall holds six events a month, usually on every weekend and on the 1st and 15th of the lunar calendar. During traditional festivals, weddings, funerals and vow-making ceremonies, the auditorium also holds preaching and worship activities. In addition, there are Bible reading classes for adults and teenagers every weekend. Currently, there are five primary school students and eight middle school and high school students in the youth class. Starting at six o’clock in the afternoon, there happens to be a youth Bible reading class. I counted a total of eight children coming to class tomorrow. They are studying the “Four Books” under the leadership of the teacher. The youngest in the class is a ten-year-old boy, and the eldest is a college girl wearing glasses. She also has three younger sisters in the same class. The teacher said that these girls came to the Bible reading class because of the school’s request. At the end of the semester, they had to take the exam here, and the teacher in the auditorium set the questions. In addition to learning Confucianism, the history of Confucianism, and the value of Confucian principles, these young people also need to learn Confucian etiquette and behavioral norms.
 
 
 
 At seven o’clock in the morning, the preaching activity in the auditorium officially began. The ceremony and content were roughly the same as what I saw in Tangerang, Bogor and Karawang. Men sit uniformly on the left side of the podium, and women sit uniformly on the right side. Both the host and the musical accompanist have just joinedThe young people who had completed the Bible study class conducted the ceremony in a very orderly manner, which made people look at them with admiration. The three persons holding the incense ceremony, one man and two women, wore white short-sleeved shirts, with patterns of mudo and unicorn embroidered on the chest and back. It is one of the common Confucian attires in Indonesia. Compared with what I saw and heard in Tangerang and Bogor, the nose spraying ceremony felt more solemn and solemn by wearing traditional Chinese robes. Mr. Lin Youyi came to the stage to give a warm welcome speech, and Maria gave a brief translation on the side. Then a young student, Mr. Vidi, came to the stage to deliver today’s keynote speech, as eloquent as a river. Mr. Vidi is a Javanese. He is not tall but has a strong body. He is dressed in black and has a mustache, giving people a capable and decisive impression. He is a full-time teaching student at the nearby Banjar Confucian Auditorium. Tomorrow he will go to the Jamis Auditorium to preach friendship. There are very few followers of Confucianism in Indonesia from other friendly ethnic groups. Bangbang in Bandung and Vidi in Banjar are the only two examples I have seen so far. It seems that Confucianism still has a long way to go before it can transcend the national religion of “the distinction between Chinese and foreigners” and truly become a universal religion that “has religion without distinction”. Fortunately, I was not asked to come off the stage to speak, which was a huge relief. Like other Confucian auditoriums, tonight’s preaching ceremony began with the hymn “Xian Yi De” and ended with the same song.
 
 
 
In Bandung, I encountered the first heavy rain of this trip. Indonesia’s dry season happens to start in November. It rained continuously throughout the afternoon and morning in Zimmis. In the patter of rain, I will have a good and solid sleep.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Day 11 of 28 Days of Confucianism in Indonesia
 
 
 
 Mr. Vidi, a Javanese teacher
 
 
 
 In the morning, I was invited to participate in the Sunday preaching activity organized by the youth organization of Zhimiz Hall. Although the French style and rituals were different from There is no difference between the preaching activities of adults, but it is quite interesting to have them completed entirely independently by a group of teenagers. Yesterday afternoon, I saw a very lively boy in the youth Bible reading class who was the host of today’s preaching activity. He looked about ten years old, naughty and smart. It was a pity that I didn’t have time to ask him his name. Around nine o’clock, the children who came to participate in the activity began to arrive one after another. There were 14 in total, which was a very good attendance rate. Among them is a little girl who is at most two years old. She is also learning Confucian liturgy in a decent manner along with the older children. It is reminiscent of the young saint recorded in “Historical Records: The Family of Confucius”: “Confucius played with his children and oftenZu Dou, set up etiquette. ”
 
 
 
 The little boy in charge of the ceremony announced the official start of the worship service. Side by side, two girls and a boy walked to the portrait of Confucius solemnly, bowed three times respectfully, and lit the fire. Candles were placed on the incense table, and prayers were recited to the statue of Confucius. After the incense ceremony, all the children stood together and sang “Xian Yi De”, which is the opening hymn of Indonesian Confucianism, accompanied by music. After that, another boy came to the podium to read some chapters from the “Four Books”. This should be an important part of today’s preaching activity. After all, children have limited knowledge and cannot preach in unison like adults. Three Confucian hymns, and then a question and answer lecture for me. The children were very interested and asked some questions of this kind. At the end of the preaching activity, the three in charge of the nose ceremony. The child came to the front desk again, bowed to the portrait of Confucius, and extinguished the candles. With three melodious bells, everyone stood up and bowed to the portrait of Confucius, and the entire event was declared over. Just opposite the Confucian auditorium, several of her children regularly participated in preaching activities in the auditorium. In addition, she and her husband were Confucian believers. It can be said that it was a devout Confucian family. It took three moves for Meng’s mother to find an environment suitable for Mencius’ growth. Ms. Zhang’s home can be said to be close to the water, with the Fude Temple on the left and the Confucian auditorium. The family’s life is closely related to Confucianism. Today, Ms. Zhang’s youngest daughter is the music accompanist, and her other daughter. I will go to Bandung to attend university soon, and I often participate in Confucian activities.



After bidding farewell to Mr. Lin Youyou, the chairman of the auditorium, our group headed to the next city Jamaica Sugar Set off for Banjar. Accompanying me were Ms. Zhang Peihua and four other local female Taoist priests, a young man, translator Maria, There were also drivers, a total of nine people, who filled the van to the brim. This van was a special vehicle for the Jammis Auditorium. Although it was a bit old and did not have air conditioning, it was economical and practical. The master laughed and laughed along the way. It felt so hot, even though the temperature that day could be as high as 30 to 40 degrees Celsius. When we drove out of Jamis City, we stopped at a roadside restaurant with Indonesian characteristics for lunch. It had a Padang style, but there were a few more dishes. I have never seen vegetables before. They are so fresh that they make me want to eat. One of the dishes is from a rice field that I saw when I was a child. So, is she still dreaming? Then the lady outside the door – no, it is. The lady who opened the door and entered the room now, could it be that…she suddenly opened her eyes and turned around to look at the wild grass, but here it became a special dish, fried with green chili pepper, refreshing and refreshing, and endless aftertaste. One characteristic of Padang-style restaurants is thatMost of the dishes are ready-made and placed on the table. You take what you eat. When you pay, you only count how much you have eaten, not what you haven’t eaten. I think this also reflects the simple local folk customs. People still have the most basic trust in each other, no matter what race they come from.



Half an hour later, we arrived at the Confucian auditorium in Banjar. A few days ago, Indonesian Confucian Master Xu Zaiying had just visited Daheng (Doukan), Jianmis and Banjal. Evangelistic activities were held in three cities of Jarl and achieved outstanding results. Mr. Huang Yiliang, the chairman of the auditorium who was born in a Confucian family, Mr. Vidi, a Javanese teaching student, and several other Taoist relatives warmly welcomed us. Several women soldiers from the Jianmis auditorium sent me to Banjar and went straight to Went back home. Since there was no preaching activity in the auditorium that day, only a brief symposium was held. Mr. Huang Yiliang gave an overall introduction to the auditorium. There was no one who could speak Chinese or English in the Confucian auditoriums in Jamis and Banjar, so Maria, the translator, always accompanied her. Banjar is also a small city with a population of about 200,000 and 300 Chinese families. Among them, there are about 200 Confucian believers, but 75 people regularly participate in Confucian activities. Similar to the situation in other places, the majority of Confucians here are middle-aged and elderly people over thirty years old, and there are relatively few young people. Fortunately, this auditorium also has its own Sunday Bible reading class for teenagers. Now there are 14 children regularly participating in the activities, ranging in age from kindergarten to junior high school. The Banjal Auditorium was built in 1972. Daily expenses are maintained by donations from believers and local Chinese businessmen. Sometimes the auditorium also holds raffles to raise funds. Since the auditorium is not large in scale, they only hold two events every month, on the first and fifteenth day of each month of the lunar calendar, in addition to some special events such as traditional festivals, national festivals, and weddings and funerals.
 
 
 
 Mr. Vidi, who was born in Javanese, is outspoken and talkative. After giving a passionate speech at the Jamis Auditorium last night, he rushed back to Banjal, where he is from. Teach students. In his early forties, he had already married and raised three children. As a younger generation of Confucian clergy in Indonesia, Vidi’s experience of participating in Confucianism has important reference significance for understanding non-Chinese believers in Confucianism. When he was young, he was a Muslim and often attended worship services in the mosque, but he never found a belief that he fully identified with. Later, he came into contact with Christianity and Buddhism with interest and awareness, but still did not satisfy the thirst of his soul. Finally, he finally found his true identity in Confucianism in Indonesia. Lan Yuhua shook his head gently and said: “The boy’s ambitions are from all directions.” The source of his energy has been Confucianism for fifteen years now. For a Confucian believer who is just starting out, it takes a lot of hard work to achieve the position of teaching students, and Vidi is no exception. He has been learning continuously for more than ten years, and at the same time he has gained many Confucian teachings.Dear help. To obtain a teaching position in Confucianism in Indonesia, after years of hard study, you have to take an exam in Solo City, Central Java. Only after passing the exam will you be awarded the corresponding professional title. In a sense, Thoreau is the Vatican of Indian Jamaicans Escort Confucianism. He not only occupies a major position in the history of Confucianism, but also Three of the eight living teachers live there, including the venerable Xu Zaiying, who are regarded as the highest authorities in interpreting Confucian teachings in Indonesia.
 
 
 
 The next stop after Banjar is Cirebon. Both cities are at the easternmost end of West Java Province, but the former is close to the south coast of Java Island, which is the coast of the Indian Ocean. The latter is on the north coast of the island and belongs to the Java Sea in the Pacific Ocean. Because there is no direct road from Banjal to Cirebon, I have to turn back to Zimiz first, and then go to the destination from there. I need to cross the volcanic group that stretches from east to west, commonly known as the Priyagan Mountains. According to the plan made for me by the Indonesian Confucian Headquarters, I will visit three places today: Cirebon, Adivina and Zolgo. Fortunately, the latter two places are close together. Huang Yiliang, Vidi and two other relatives from Banjar worked tirelessly to take me back to Jamis and stay at the same Priyagam Hotel as last night. Along the way, there were so many enthusiastic Confucian and Taoist relatives who helped each other. I had completely forgotten the loneliness of being in a foreign country. Today’s trip should have the same surprise.
 
 
 
 
 
The Twelfth Day of the 28-Day Journey of Confucianism in Indonesia
 
 
 
 Chen Sancaihe Confucius Church in Cirebon



At nine o’clock in the morning, Chairman Huang Yiliang and two other Taoist priests from the Banjar Auditorium, Ms. Zhang Peihua from the Jamis Auditorium, my translator Maria, the driver and me, a group of seven people set off towards Cirebon. This city is one of the important ports in Indonesia. Because it is close to the coast, it is especially hot and humid in summer. Fortunately, I only stayed here for a short time. It takes more than three hours to drive from Jamis to Cirebon. The road passes through the Priyagan Mountains across Java Island. The scenery along the way is very beautiful, with high and low mountains, undulating rice fields, and mountains full of banana trees, Coconut trees and various other tropical plants. What’s interesting is that along the way, we saw three shrines with statues of tigers. I think in the early years of Java, tigers were tyrannical and the people were suffering so much that they built tiger shrines to pray for the tiger god’s mercy. sad. Most Chinese temples in Indonesia also worship the Tiger God, which is usually placed under the base of the main god, or placed together with the God of Fortune. This can also be seen as the foreignization of Chinese religion in Indonesia.a distinctive feature.

After the Chitimai volcano with more than 3,000 meters above sea level and the cloud steaming Xiawei, Jingliwen, which was hidden in the green busy, gradually became clear in the field of vision. This is a medium-sized city with a permanent population of more than 300,000, and there are about 20,000 to 30,000 Chinese. But during the day, plus people coming from the suburbs to get off work and do business, the total population reaches more than one million, and the restlessness and noise cannot be suppressed. Cirebon is located at the junction of West Java and Central Java. Its geographical location is very important. It has historically been the intersection of Sunda civilization, Javanese civilization and Chinese civilization. In the 16th century, it developed from a small fishing village into a major Islamic sultanate. Chen Yingfa, the ancestor of former Indonesian President Wahid, as an Islamic elder, established a Muslim community in this area and actively promoted Islam in the West. The spread of Java. Therefore, when Wahid was in office as president, he went to Cirebon every year to worship his ancestors to show that he would not forget his contribution to civilization. In recent years, Indonesian academic circles and the Chinese community are trying to re-understand and re-evaluate the contribution of the Chinese to the spread of Islam in Indonesia in order to heal the scars left by ethnic conflicts, especially the chronic conflicts between the original ethnic groups and the Chinese. According to the research of some historians, the Sultanate of Cirebon and the Sultanate of Banten were both established by the Chinese Zoapo. He was even the founder of Jakarta, with a history of 480 years ago.
 
 
 
The history of Chinese immigration to Cirebon can be traced back to six hundred years ago, and the Confucian auditorium here also has an equally long history. Because Dalang Street, located on the edge of the old port of Cirebon, was a village of Dalang where Chinese people lived earlier, it is also commonly known as Dalang Temple. However, the Confucian church here does not call their dojo “auditorium” or “Confucian temple”, but “Confucian church”, but the meaning and effect are exactly the same. According to the “Chronicles of Dalang Sambaogong Temple” written by Dutchman Portman, the auditorium was built in 1450 and was one of the earliest mosques built when Zheng He came to Indonesia on his voyages to the West. Later, with the decline of Islam in the local area, the mosque gradually evolved into the Sanbaogong Temple to commemorate Zheng He, and was used by local Chinese to worship Sanbao Lord and other gods. During this period, the temple also became a righteous shrine for the Chinese community, housing poor Chinese. In 1930, Sanbaogong Temple was renamed Confucius Church, which is still used today. In 2005, the then manager of the auditorium lost his mind and almost sold the entire building to developers. Fortunately, local Confucian believers and the Chinese community protested and successfully lobbied the Cirebon City authorities to list the building as a historical and cultural heritage, so it was preserved. Since three years ago, the auditorium has been maintained and renovated on the basis of private funds, and it has appeared in front of people with a brand new look.



On the red painted door of the auditorium, the four characters “Confucian Church” are engraved on the left and right, which are bright and eye-catching. Enter the giftHall, what comes into view are the four golden characters “Gateway to Virtue” hanging on the lintel of the second entrance door, and the four characters “Li, Wisdom, Benevolence and Righteousness” on the facade. There are two plaques hung on the walls on the left and right respectively. The one on the left reads “Based on kindness and kindness, with frankness and friendship as our mind, speak with reason, treat with courtesy, move with emotion, and act with consequences.” ,” written on the left is “There are two difficulties in the world, it is difficult to climb to heaven, and it is even more difficult to ask for help; there are two hardships in the world, Coptis chinensis is difficult, and poverty is even more painful; there are two dangers in the country, the world is dangerous, and the human heart is even more dangerous; there are two hardships in the world, paper Thin, affection is even thinner.” There is also a wooden plaque placed separately, which lists the traditional festivals of Confucianism in Indonesia, including: Spring Festival, Respecting God (the eighth day of the first lunar month), Shangyuan, Death Day of the Holy Spirit (the eighteenth day of the second lunar month), Tomb Sweeping Day, Dragon Boat Festival, Zhongyuan, Jingzhan (the twenty-ninth day of the seventh lunar month), Mid-Autumn Festival, Christmas (the twenty-seventh day of the eighth lunar month), Xia Yuan, the Winter Solstice Festival, Sheng’an on the 24th (the twenty-fourth day of the twelfth lunar month), and New Year’s Eve.
Jamaicans Escort


The hall of the auditorium is at the end, with Confucius and There are statues of disciples and saints of Confucianism, and on both sides there are statues of Guan Gong and Fu Zheng Shen. What is obviously different from the Confucian auditoriums in other places is that the Cirebon Auditorium also enshrines the spiritual tablet of Sancai Gong. Above the spiritual tablet hangs a plaque with the four characters “Financial Sincerity” written on it. It is said that many people come to worship the spiritual tablet of Sancai Gong every year. Sancai Gong, formerly known as Chen Sancai, was the finance minister of the Cirebon Sultanate. He was a Muslim, but he admired Confucius very much, so he often went to the Confucius Temple (then Sanbaogong Temple, now Confucius Church) to worship Confucius. People even considered him a traitor to Islam. At that time, the first Sultan of Cirebon (someone confirmed that he was of Chinese descent) passed away and was succeeded by his son with the “Chinese Princess”. This “Chinese Princess” is said to be the daughter of Chen Yingfa (the ancestor of President Wahid). And Chen Sancai is the nephew of the princess. Because the little sultan was too young, Chen Sancai actually took control of the Cirebon Sultanate. In 1585, Chen Sancai died of food poisoning in the palace, and his wife buried his body in the backyard of their house in the Islamic way. But everyone knows that he liked to burn incense in the Confucius Temple, so after his burial, the non-Islamic Chinese placed his spiritual tablet next to the shrine of Confucius as a companion. The worship of future generations.



The chairman of the Cirebon Auditorium was away on business, and we were entertained by a young director named Chen Ruizhang and a senior teacher who was respected by everyone as teacher. The host has already cooked mung bean porridge for us, which is especially refreshing and thirst-quenching on a hot summer day. Both Director Chen and “Teacher” can speak fluent Chinese, so Maria, the translator, can take a breather for a while. According to them, Confucian believers here are known for theirMost people are over 40 or 50 years old, and there are very few young people. The auditorium usually holds preaching and worship activities on the first and fifteenth day of the lunar calendar as well as traditional Confucian festivals. At ordinary times, only twenty or thirty people participate in the activities. This auditorium with a spacious courtyard and magnificent architecture is one of the “luxury” dojos in Confucianism in Indonesia. However, it seems that it is not very popular. There are many reasons for this, the most important of which is that a few years ago, a man named Oei came to the auditorium. The leader’s stupidity and corruption (I don’t know if this person is still serving in the auditorium, Director Chen Ruizhang didn’t make it clear). The teacher who was honored as “Teacher” was a second-generation overseas Chinese, and he was not a Confucian believer. He claimed to respect Confucius, but he had not read the Four Books and Five Classics. He often goes to Confucius Church to practice Pangu Divine Kung Fu, a type of traditional Qigong, with the master. In addition, the auditorium also offers a wide range of courses such as martial arts, Tai Chi, lion dance, Chinese, and “Student Rules”.
 
 
 
 After saying goodbye to the marriage ceremony at the Cirebon Auditorium, we went straight to the Confucian Auditorium in Adivina Town, an hour away, and accompanied me from Jamis and Banjar. The friends who came here also went home. The soldiers in the iron-clad camp make new friends every day and send away old friends at the same time. The difference between the old and the new is only a day or two. Adiweina is a large town with a population of 100,000, of which about 2,000 are Chinese. The auditorium here also holds preaching activities twice a month, on the first and fifteenth days of the lunar calendar. More than 60 people, mostly elderly people, regularly participate in the activities. Fortunately, they also run a Sunday youth Bible reading class, with thirty children participating. In addition to studying classics such as “Disciple Rules”, they also learn Confucian reverence etiquette and behavioral norms. In addition, they also have Chinese classes. This auditorium was rebuilt with the help of Chinese businessmen. The four characters “Confucian Auditorium” are engraved on the main door, which is vigorous and simple. What is interesting to think about is that immediately to the left of the auditorium is a Buddhist temple, Wanying Temple, and above the auditorium is a Guanyin Hall. The three monasteries belong to the same building complex and are closely connected. According to the Taoist priests here, in addition to going to the Confucian auditorium to worship Confucius and hold preaching activities, they also went to the Wanying Temple to burn incense and to the Guanyin Hall to pray to Guanyin. In other words, the same group of people participated in the three dojo activities. It can be seen that the characteristics of the unity of the three religions here are more obvious, which is different from the situation in Karahuang. In the Cien Palace in Karawang, although the Confucian auditorium, Buddhist temple and Taoist temple all live in the same huge building, they are relatively separated, and the activities of the three monasteries are attended by different groups of people who are relatively independent. Identify departments with overlap.

There is a major event every year in the Confucian Hall of the Town of Aidvine, that is, the Lantern Festival is on the streets of the Lantern Festival. This is also a serious religious custom in the Chinese community of Indonesia. I saw that in a side hall of the auditorium building, there was a sedan specially used for carrying the gods in processions. It was painted bright red, with golden dragons inlaid on the corners, and also had the words “Wanying Temple” and “Fu Fu” inscribed on it.The golden characters “Zhengshen” are very festive and dazzling. The Indonesian Chinese’s Lantern Festival parades are quite unique, among which the Fuji parade in Sikouang City, West Kalimantan Province is particularly famous. At its peak, there were as many as seven A hundred men and women, mostly Chinese, but also local indigenous Dayaks, dressed in traditional Chinese costumes and other dazzling costumes, stood on the sedans being carried by the crowd, and waited until the gods were invited to get down. After that, they cut their tongues with a blade, danced barefoot on the tip of the knife, penetrated their cheeks with thick steel needles or even branches, or made other horrific actions that were unimaginable to ordinary people, but it is said that the Chinese in the early years were unscathed. When they first immigrated to Borneo, the island of Kalimantan, the place was hot and humid, and the plague was rampant. Many people fell ill or died of the disease immediately, so people used the method of supporting the ji to survive the various plagues, and the Lantern Festival held the qi-supporting parade. The custom of the Chinese Lantern Festival in Adiweina Town is unknown. However, when they carry out the god parade every year, people from the whole town, regardless of Chinese or Javanese, participate in it, and the scale is quite large. night, which also reflects the influence of Chinese civilization and traditions in the local area. Even during the Suharto rule, the Chinese language, civilization and traditional customs were comprehensively suppressed. During the Lantern Festival, the Chinese in Azhen still held an indoor procession to worship the gods. Traditional Chinese civilization is passed down, and it is endless. P>

The lawsuit against the Confucian Hall in Pekalongan

I was picked up at the hotel, and Adiwena Auditorium officially handed me over to Zhiguo Auditorium. In fact, the two places are so close together that they are more like the same city. Zhiguo is a famous historical and cultural city located on the north coast of Java. It was once the center of Indonesia’s sugar industry and was also rich in various Indonesian teas. It is also famous for the tea sheds called “Walong” that line the streets and alleys. According to historical records, the Zhige people were influenced by the Chinese in the 17th century. Influenced by the tea-drinking culture, the local people still have a strong tea-drinking habit. They regard tea drinking as a high degree of food culture. It can be said that Indonesia was the capital of tea culture during the Dutch colonial period. It has become one of the five famous tea-producing countries in the world, especially the Zhige area. Today, Zhige tea has rich and diversified varieties, including tea leaves, tea powder and instant tea. It occupies a decisive position in the Indonesian tea market. Zhige people like to use Zhige tea in exquisite gift boxes to give to guests, which shows that Zhige people are proud of Zhige tea. Ge also became the activity center of the Indonesian Communist Party for a time, but the PKI was quickly suppressed and the activity center was moved to other places.

The city on the north coast of Java Island.There are relatively concentrated Chinese communities in the city, and Zhige is no exception. There is a Zehai Palace in the local area, which is well-known in Indonesia. Zehai Palace was built around 1760 and has a history of more than 250 years. It is dedicated to the great uncle Zehai (it is also said that there are other people or gods of great uncle). It is said that Zehai came from Longchuan, Fujian, and his name was Guo Liuguan. Guan was the honorific title given to him by people. According to the historical records of Semarang Chinese Mansion Jamaicans Escort, Guo Liuguan once led the crowd to resist the atrocities committed by the Dutch rulers against the Chinese, and his deeds It is known as the “sensational history of the Tang Dynasty” in Indonesian history. There are also many stories about Guo Liuguan widely circulated among the people. For example, he used clever tricks to defeat pirates when doing business among the islands; it is also said that he appeared in several places at the same time to teach local people advanced production technology and help solve their daily lives. suffering, etc. In these stories and legends, Guo Liuguan gradually evolved from a hero who was worshiped by everyone to a patron saint flying on the sea, and was worshiped by Indonesian Chinese. Therefore, Zehai Zhenren is a deity with local Indonesian characteristics, and is the second deified figure besides Zheng He. This is also another typical example of the localization of Chinese religious beliefs in Indonesia.

The three elderly ladies who came to pick me up were named Chen Baoying, Chen Shuijin and Jin Yuniang. They were all in their seventies or nearly eighty, but they were all full of energy and looking good. The two elder sisters named Chen can speak standard Chinese, and Sister Jin can also speak some Chinese, but is not very fluent. What particularly surprises me is that Jin Yuniang is of Korean ethnicity, and her father immigrated to Indonesia from Xinjiang when he was 25 years old, so she is a second-generation overseas Chinese. Meeting a Korean Confucian from Xinjiang in Java was an adventure. Bangbang, chairman of the Confucian Church of Mongolian descent in Bandung, Vidi, a Javanese disciple in Banjar, and Jin Yuniang, a Korean Confucian in Zhige, although they are few and far between, they prove the diversity and vitality of Confucianism in Indonesia. , which is surprising and exciting.

There are more than a hundred believers in the Zhige Confucian Hall, which is considered a relatively large scale in Indonesian Confucianism. Today is Tuesday, and a huge karaoke competition is being held at the Zhige Auditorium. There are thirty-six contestants, including young, middle-aged and old, but most of them are middle-aged and elderly contestants. In order to achieve a sensational effect, the organizers specially invited an Indian singer named “Xiao Hei” from Malaysia to help out because he can sing Chinese songs. When we arrived at an exhibition center called “Hell”, we saw Taoist priests at the Zhige Auditorium busy setting up the competition venue. The stage was fully equipped with sound equipment and a huge poster was posted on the wall. Several eager singers are singing loudly on the stage as a final warm-up for the upcoming finals. The projector was playing popular songs from Hong Kong and Taiwan. It seemed that their morning games were all sung in Chinese, which also illustrates the Chinese proficiency of the local Chinese community. Ask for a photo with the Chairman of Zhigeru ChurchAfter the meeting, two elder sisters, Chen Baoying and Chen Shuijin, went on the road with me to Pekalongan, which is fifty kilometers away. It was nine o’clock in the morning. The Confucian auditorium there will go to court tomorrow for a lawsuit over their property rights dispute with the neighboring Buddhist temple Baoan Hall. This is the highlight of my activity tomorrow.

The lawsuit was originally scheduled to start at twelve o’clock, but for some reason it was postponed to two o’clock in the afternoon. Representing the side of the Pekalongan Confucian Assembly Hall is Lawyer Harunai Tei, which is his Indonesian name. Because his surname is Su, the Chinese call him Lawyer Su. He lives in Surabaya (Surabaya). Lawyer Su himself is a staunch Confucian, so he helps the Confucian Auditorium with the litigation as a volunteer and does not receive any compensation. Also working with him is his son, also a lawyer by birth, who serves as his assistant. What makes Lawyer Su proud is that now both father and son have doctorates in law and their careers are flourishing. He said that the family’s fine traditions come from Confucian values. Although his son is not a Confucian, he wants to bring him into contact with Confucian believers and be infected with the traditional ethical values ​​of Confucianism. Lawyer Su speaks standard Mandarin. His father is a Hakka from Yongding, Fujian. The family has a total of eleven brothers and sisters. He has three children, and his assistant is his second son. He has studied in Australia and Japan and can speak fluent English and Japanese, but not Chinese. This seems to be a common phenomenon among the younger generation of Chinese elites in Indonesia. Most of them speak English to varying degrees, but barely speak Chinese. Probably due to the professional requirements of being a lawyer, Lawyer Su and his son both wore suits and leather shoes, were well-groomed, and had the typical characteristics of southern Chinese people.

There is a deep historical background behind the property rights litigation of the Pekalongan Confucian Assembly Hall. It is also a microcosm of the handling of property rights disputes between Confucianism and other brother religions in Indonesia. The reason was Suharto’s anti-Chinese policy. Chinese were not allowed to speak Chinese, write Chinese characters, or celebrate traditional festivals. Confucian auditoriums were also targeted for suppression. As a result, many auditoriums were either combined with Buddhist or Taoist temples and displayed the signs of the three religions, while some independent auditoriums were renamed Buddhist or Taoist temples. Since Buddhism has always been an officially recognized religion in Indonesia and has not been suppressed by the authorities, the renaming of Confucian auditoriums as Buddhist temples or their association with them is actually out of the need for self-protection and also has positive historical significance. In the post-Suharto era, Confucianism was rehabilitated and officially became an official religion. It moved from underground activities to open activities, and its exposure rate increased greatly. During Wahid’s term, the Chinese Spring Festival was legally designated as a national public holiday in Indonesia, and Confucianism in Indonesia made great contributions. In addition, drawing on Christian Sunday worship, Confucian auditoriums developed scheduled and irregular preaching activities. Whenever there were activities, Confucian believers gathered in large numbers and became lively. Relatively speaking, Buddhist and Taoist temples do not have preaching activities. They only provide venues and services for believers to come and burn incense, kowtow, pray to gods and worship Buddha, and maintain a detached relationship with the world. Therefore, some Buddhist or Taoist temples that were originally combined with Confucianism have beenAfter the situation became public, they felt that they were being ignored, excluded or harassed, so they tried to drive out the Confucian auditorium, which was originally a harmonious coexistence. Their biggest basis for property rights was the name of the temple. Pekalongan Auditorium is an exemplary case. Lawyer Su said that this case is very important. If the auditorium loses, Buddhist and Taoist temples across Indonesia may follow suit, and the impact will be very bad, so he will do whatever it takes to help the auditorium win this lawsuit.

Taking advantage of the trial, we returned to the Langan Auditorium in Beijia to hold an informal announcement event, and the department’s goal was to let me observe. The auditorium is located at the corner of a narrow street. The venue is small, only a few hundred square meters. Next door is the Buddhist temple Bao’an Hall, which is in litigation with it. It is resplendent and magnificent. Next to the temple, a four-story Dragon and Phoenix Hall has just been built, with carved eaves and painted roofs, making it very impressive. In comparison, the auditorium looked particularly small and shabby, but for some reason Bao’an Hall could not accommodate the small auditorium and had to rush out. There will be twenty or thirty Taoist relatives attending the auditorium event tomorrow. Without exception, they are all elderly people in their sixties or seventies. There is not a single young person. Seeing their sad faces because of the litigation disputes made me heartbroken. If they lose the lawsuit, it will be really difficult to find another venue to hold preaching activities, unless there are wealthy businessmen who are willing to help. In small and medium-sized cities in Central Java, many Chinese are empty-nest families. Their young children are studying and working in big cities such as Jakarta and Bandung, while only the elderly stay in their hometowns. Confucian activities provide many middle-aged and elderly Chinese with a place and channel for spiritual comfort, so that they are no longer empty and lonely in the twilight stage of life.

The court officially opened at two o’clock in the afternoon. The small courtroom was full of seats, and they were all Confucian Taoist priests who came to listen. Their weather-beaten faces were filled with eager expectations. Lawyer Su made a representation to the judge beforehand, and I was allowed to take a photo in the courtroom. However, I turned off the flash and secretly pressed the shutter a few more times, hoping to more vividly record this historic moment for Confucianism in Indonesia. Indonesian law stipulates that citizens who hold office in government agencies, or go to court to litigate or testify must take a religious oath. During the period when Confucianism was suppressed, Confucian believers usually swore in front of the statue of Guan Gong in court. Guan Gong occupies an extremely important position in Indonesian Confucianism. A statue of Guan Gong can be found wherever there is a Confucian auditorium. What is interesting to think about is that Guan Gong was also included in the temples of Buddhism and Taoism. In Buddhism, he was Jialan Bodhisattva, and in Taoism, he was Emperor Xietian. While the court was in session, we also witnessed this interesting scene. The prosecution witnesses in the Baoan Hall and the defense witnesses in the Confucian Auditorium all worshiped and swore an oath to the statue of Guan Gong placed in a corner of the courtroom before they began to testify. Lawyer Su and the representative of the prosecution were at loggerheads, even to the point of blushing. An hour later, the judge adjourned the case without making any ruling. It turns out that tomorrow’s court appearance is only the eighth time in this marathon litigation, and both parties will have to appear in court in the future.Third court. The Confucian and Taoist priests were reluctant to leave for a long time. They gathered in the courtyard outside the court and talked enthusiastically and excitedly. I don’t know what they are talking about, and I don’t know what the final outcome of the lawsuit will be. But I understand that no matter whether the future is full of thorns or a bright road, Confucianism in Indonesia will go forward step by step, firmly and tenaciously.

The Fourteenth Day of the 28 Days of Confucianism in Indonesia

Yu Changxiu, an industrialist who is enthusiastic about Confucianism

 
Cirebon, Adivina, Zhige and Pekalongan are all located on the north coast of Central Java, starting from the west. They are lined up horizontally to the east. Tomorrow we will turn around and head south, once again crossing the central mountains across Java Island, and arrive at the city of Purwokerto, which is close to the coast of the Indian Ocean. Like other Confucian auditoriums, Pekalongan Auditorium also sent a strong team to escort me to my destination, including Chairman Ye Chunlan, three other elders, an unknown teacher, and a young driver. Herman. The car was packed, everyone was talking and laughing, and occasionally stopped to buy some snacks. There was no trace of the gloomy look on their faces when they attended the court yesterday. At nine o’clock in the morning, when the car left Pekalongan, there were endless green rice fields on both sides of the road, showing the richness of this land of fish and rice. About an hour later, we began to enter the mountainous area. The winding road passed through the valley, and the scenery everywhere was extremely beautiful. Indonesia has sufficient rainfall. As long as you step out of the hustle and bustle of the city, you will see beautiful mountains and green waters everywhere, which is pleasing to the eye. On the way, I happened to see a newly built Chinese mosque, just next to the highway. It has green tiles and red eaves, it is gorgeous and spectacular. There are also a few words written on the pink and white wall, “I wish you peace”, which makes people feel more moved. Surprising and gracious. At around one o’clock in the afternoon, we arrived at Purwokardo, a beautiful city hidden in a mountain basin with a population of about 250,000. It is said that due to traffic congestion and serious pollution in Jakarta, Indonesia is considering moving its capital, and Purwokerto is the only candidate city from Java. The local Chinese population is unknown, but pedestrians who look like Chinese can be seen at several street corners, so the Chinese community must have a certain size.

After many twists and turns, we finally met with the person in charge of the Puhe Jia Duoru Church in front of a building called the “Harmony Building”. In front of the Harmony Building stands a statue of Confucius, which was donated by Dr. Tang Enjia, president of the Confucian College of Hong Kong, in 2005. It is said that this is the only statue of Confucius donated by Dr. Tang in Indonesia. We were entertained by Zhang Menglin, chairman of the Puhe Jia Duo Confucian Church, and Confucian activist Jamaica SugarShi Yu Changxiu and Budi. The positions in the Indonesian Confucian Church are all part-time without any remuneration. Both ordinary believers and leaders generally have their own careers. For example, Zhang Menglin is engaged in the chemical plastics industry, Yu Changxiu owns three factories, and Budi has his own business consulting company. Yu Changxiu did not hold any position within Confucianism, but he claimed to be a promoter of Confucianism, enthusiastically participated in the construction of Confucianism, and actively repaid society. So in addition to managing three factories, he is also the co-founder of two local trilingual schools (also known as Chinese schools). Budi’s professional title within Confucianism is student, but he is also the dean of the Confucian academy under construction. According to Budi, important Chinese businessmen in Purwokardo believe in Confucianism, and he himself conducts himself in accordance with Confucian moral values.

Lunch was at a noodle shop diagonally opposite the Harmony Building, one bowl of noodles per person, simple and casual. As the largest employer in Purwokerdo City, Yu Changxiu lives an extremely simple life. He insists on practicing Qigong from 6 to 8 am every morning before starting his day’s work. Everyday lunch is served at this noodle shop, and the owner is his sister. After lunch, we returned to the Harmony Building to visit. It turned out that this was a fledgling trilingual school founded by the local Confucian Foundation. Yu Changxiu himself was one of the founders of the foundation. Nowadays, Chinese schools run by Chinese in Indonesia are generally called trilingual schools. Students are not limited to Chinese descendants, but all students must learn Chinese, English and Indonesian. The reason why it is called a trilingual school instead of a Chinese school is not only to consider the market demand of globalization, but also to prevent The suspicions and suspicions of other fraternal ethnic groups, and the long-term experience and lessons are still fresh in our minds. Yu Changxiu wanted to turn this school into a Confucian school with Confucian values ​​and principles as its main theme, enrolling children from middle- and low-income families, regardless of Chinese or non-Chinese. The monthly tuition is only 20,000 Indonesian rupiah, which is 14 yuan per person. coins. The Confucian kindergarten has been open for four months now, and next year these children will enter first grade. The walls of the kindergarten are painted with pictures on the theme of religious harmony, as well as some familiar traditional Confucian stories.

This is a fairly large school. Apart from the kindergarten classrooms and offices, the remaining space in the Harmony Building is currently an indoor sports ground. I wonder if it can be divided into classrooms in the future. There is a large vacant space behind the building, and a teaching building will be built in the future. Next to the trilingual school is another beautiful school, affiliated with the National Awakening Party, the party of former President Wahid. Mr. Yu Changxiu said that the school’s space and funding are not problems now, but it is in urgent need of Chinese teachers, so he hopes to get help from Hanban to provide support in terms of volunteer teachers, textbooks and teaching syllabus. . In addition, he also wanted to study in a school in Purwokerto CityUniversities have established Confucius Institutes and Institutes of Traditional Chinese Medicine to introduce Chinese culture to local people and benefit them. What makes Mr. Yu proud is that Purwokerto is the birthplace of General Suleiman, the founding father of Indonesia, and its candidate for becoming the new capital of Indonesia further highlights the charm of this city. It can be seen that Mr. Yu deeply loves the land where he was born and raised, so he wants to do his best to repay the local society.

After coming out of Mr. Yu’s school, we visited Fude Temple. The Confucian auditorium of Purwojiado is in the temple. Fude Temple is located in a downtown area, but the temple door looks tall, majestic and magnificent, with two flying dragons guarding it on the left and right. Like the Fude Temple in other places, this temple also enshrines many Chinese gods, from Confucius, Guan Gong, Lao Tzu, Fude Zhengshen, Sakyamuni, Guanyin, to Fortune, Luxury and Longevity Star, Sanbaogong Zheng He, Tianmu Empress, Yuchi Gong, Qin Shubao, Tiger God, etc., totaling eighteen. The Confucian auditorium does not have its own independent space. It is located in the left corner of the main hall and looks dark and crowded. Fude Temple has its own dragon and lion dance troupe. The team’s banner is embroidered with the symbols of Buddhism, Taoism and Confucianism, reflecting the spirit of harmonious coexistence of the three religions. Just as a group of us sat down to drink coffee outside the second gate of Fude Temple, a group of Javanese children came to the small yard in front of the temple and started rehearsing the dragon dance. They were very skilled and agile in their movements. They looked like they belong to the temple. Member of the dragon dance team. After drinking coffee, the Taoist priests who had accompanied me from Pekalongan said goodbye and went back home. They still had several hours’ drive to go back. Too many words are useless. I sincerely thank them in my heart, especially when I think of their current predicament.

After visiting Fude Temple, we went to Puhua Trilingual National School, another trilingual school co-founded by Mr. Yu Changxiu. Pu is Puwojiado, and Hua is Zhonghua. This school and the Confucian school we just looked at are the only two trilingual schools in Puwojiado City. Mr. Yu said that this school was established with the Puhua Alumni Foundation and now has a history of six years. According to my speculation, there used to be a Puhua Chinese School, but it was later closed due to well-known reasons, and now it has been re-opened and renamed as a trilingual school. There are 580 students in the school, of which 30% are Muslims and 65% are Christians. The rest are students from other religious beliefs, including 28 Confucian students, one Hindu student, and a Buddhist student. no more than ten. Currently, the school has grades one to six, and plans to establish a junior high school next year. Puhua School has established an outstanding reputation in both the local Chinese and non-Chinese communities. At first, there were almost no Muslim students (for example, there were only three in the sixth grade, and the rest were all Chinese). Now, Muslim students account for 30%. This is exactly This is a sign that the school has been recognized by the local people, and of course it is also related to the school’s positioning as a trilingual school. Compared with the Confucian school’s 20,000 Indonesian rupiah per month, Puhua seems more like a school for the children of wealthy families, with monthly tuition fees as high as 300,000 Indonesian rupiah. in schoolThere are two volunteer teachers from Baoding, Hebei Province. They are a couple who have been here for six years. It seems that they expect to stay for a long time.

On the way to Puhua School, we also visited Mr. Yu Changxiu’s factory. His three factories make wigs and eyelashes, cosmetics and tailoring. The wig and eyelashes factory alone employs 400 people, all of whom are girls from local Javanese and other indigenous ethnic groups. Most of the factory’s products are exported to European countries. Mr. Yu Changxiu’s ancestors came from Fuqing, Fujian Province. He was born in a cold climate and lost his father at the age of five. His career was completely started from scratch. Influenced by traditional Confucian ethical values, he understands and cares about people’s feelings and has a close relationship with factory employees. Every time he goes to a workshop, he tries to have eye contact with the employees and occasionally chats. “The way of a university lies in being virtuous, being close to the people, and striving for perfection.” This is a sentence he often uses to encourage himself. Creating as many job opportunities as possible for the local area is Mr. Yu Changxiu’s return to society, so it is not accidental that he became the largest employer in Purwokerto City.

In the evening, we returned to the Harmony Building of the Confucian school and had a discussion with more than thirty Confucian Taoist priests from Purwo Kado. The atmosphere was warm and sincere. Several young people even made a special trip from the nearby city of Pubalinga to attend the symposium, and the journey was full of travel. During this period, I received a notification from the Confucian Federation of Indonesia, and the process was slightly modified. Originally, the next stop after Purwokerto was Yogyakarta, but now I was asked to abandon Yogyakarta and rush to another city, Sura, one day early. Kata, also known as Solo, is an important town of Confucianism in Indonesia. Three of the eight scholars now live there, including Xu Zaiying, the de facto spiritual leader of Confucianism. I don’t know that Confucianism always has any special plans, but I feel a little anxious at the thought of having to pay a visit to several senior and respected seniors immediately. It takes half a day to take a bus from Purwokerto to Solo. Due to the sudden incident, they have arranged for a minibus to pick me up at five o’clock this morning. This is a unique bus service in Indonesia. Travelers must book a minibus in advance. The driver picks up the guests on time, waits until the car is full, and then sets off to the destination city, delivering the guests to the designated location one by one. The price may be more expensive than ordinary buses, but the door-to-door service is very popular with passengers. Today’s trip will be the first time without anyone accompanying me, and I’m looking forward to a new personal experience.


The fifteenth day of the 28-day journey of Indonesian Confucianism

The Confucian city of Solo

Last night I received a call from Indonesian Confucianism There will always be notifications to change my course. I will take a minibus directly to Solo early tomorrow morning. I woke up at 4:30 in the morning and started packing my luggage. The bed in the hotel was very hard. I tossed and turned and couldn’t fall asleep. I finally managed to sleep for an hour with great difficulty. The driver arrived before five o’clock, I jumped on the minibus and tried to find a good place to sleep. At this time, there were already two passengers in the car. But the driver called me to sit in the cab, and because of the language barrier, I had to obey his instructions. The driver drove to pick up people at several agreed-upon locations, walked back and forth through the streets and alleys of Purwokerto City, and finally loaded up a car full of passengers, and then started heading towards Solo City. Another young man squeezed into the cab, and I sat in the middle, right on the hood. There was also a Chinese family in the car, a young mother and her young son, the son’s grandmother, and an accompanying Javanese nanny. An hour and a half later, we stopped at a street food stall restaurant for breakfast. It seemed to be run by a Chinese. There were several other minibuses parked densely in the parking lot. It seemed that most of the passengers had breakfast here. This is somewhat similar to domestic long-distance passenger transportation. There are usually fixed spots where passengers can eat. The driver directly pulls the passengers there and then collects a certain kickback from the restaurant owner.

Sitting on the hood was not different at the beginning. Later, as the car was driving, the engine gradually became hot. I became an ant on the hot pot for a while, and I couldn’t move. The scenery on both sides of the kilometer was flying backwards. The only thing that left a deep impression on me was the vast green rice fields. They looked a bit like the paddy fields in my hometown in my memory, but there were some indescribable differences. . There is a sharp contrast between the coolness of the mountain basin of Purwokardo and the scorching heat of midsummer in the plains of Solo. After seven hours of bumpy ride, we finally arrived in Solo. It took the driver another half an hour to deliver the owners to their destination one by one. I was the last one to get off the bus. At this time, I felt that there were many blisters on my buttocks, and there was a dull pain. But when the archway of the Thoreau Confucian Auditorium appeared in front of me, a strong feeling of pilgrimage suddenly surged from my chest. Finally arrived!

Solo is a very special city. It briefly flourished as the capital of the Mataram Empire. It has long competed with the Indonesian municipality of Yogyakarta for its position in the center of Javanese civilization. Many street names are preserved. Written in Javanese. There is a familiar Indonesian song called “Beautiful Solo River”, which talks about a river flowing through the Solo area. Solo’s other name is Surakata. It is still the seat of the Solo royal family and is proud of its two palaces – Solo Palace and Wanggunigalan Palace. As one of the centers of Javanese culture in Indonesia, Solo is a place where dance, music and Indonesian shadow puppetry can be seen everywhere. It is also the gateway to the world-famous Buddhist monument Borobudur Temple. In the 1998 Indonesian riots, Solo was also one of the most serious places. The rioters first attacked banks and government buildings, and then expanded to shopping malls and busy commercial areas. Finally, they turned into anti-Chinese riots. In Indonesia, It has left an indelible scar in contemporary history.

Thoreau plays a pivotal role in the history of Confucianism in Indonesia.It has long been the seat of the Confucian Federation of Indonesia. It was not until ten years ago that the Confucian Federation moved its office to Jakarta. Now Solo is still the seat of the Confucian Elders Association. The first National Congress of Confucianism in Indonesia was held in Solo in 1923. Everyone unanimously approved the establishment of the Confucian Federation and set up its headquarters in Bandung. In 1938, the Solo Confucian Church invited Confucian churches from all over Java to hold a joint conference of the All-Java Confucian Church. At the meeting, the leadership body of the Confucian Federation was elected. The conference also decided to establish the “Mudo Monthly” as a link between the Confucian Federation and various branches. ‘s monthly magazine. From 1942 to 1945, when Japan invaded Indonesia, Japan believed that the Confucian Federation was against Japan and ordered a freeze on its activities. During this period, Chinese religious activities were conducted in various places in a very low-key manner. In 1954, some Confucian figures held a representative meeting in Thoreau to explore the possibility of reorganizing the Confucian General Association. On April 16 of the following year, the Indonesian Confucian Federation with Dr. Guo Xiezhuo as the chairman was established, so April 16 became the anniversary of the founding of the Indonesian Confucian Church. In 1961, Indonesian Confucianism held the Fourth National Congress in Solo to unify canon law and visited the Minister of Religion to request confirmation of Confucianism’s legal status in the Indonesian Ministry of Religion. In August 1967, the Indonesian Confucian Federation held its sixth national congress in Solo, and the conference decided to change the name of the Indonesian Confucian Federation to the “Indonesian Confucian Supreme Council” MATAKIN (Majelis Tinggi Agama Khonghucu Indonesia) and is still used today. In November 1978, the Indonesian Ministry of Interior issued an official letter circulating, clearly stating that the authorities only recognized Islam, Protestantism, Catholicism, Hinduism and Buddhism. Since then, Confucianism in Indonesia has been eliminated “in compliance with laws and regulations” and has gone through a period of darkness for more than 20 years. It was not until President Wahid stepped down in 2000 that it was rehabilitated.

It can be said that the Solo Confucian Auditorium, which has three teachers, is the nerve center of Confucianism in Indonesia, and its history is the epitome of the history of Confucianism in Indonesia. Fortunately, I met three teachers, Xu Zaiying, Chen Kexing and Lin Liangyi, in the auditorium. They were energetic and amiable, just like old friends reunited after a long separation. Xu Zaiying is seventy-eight years old this year. He is the oldest and highest-ranking preacher of Confucianism in Indonesia. He has served as the vice president of the Supreme Council of Confucianism in Indonesia and the chairman of the committee of preachers for more than ten years. He is the spiritual leader of Confucianism in Indonesia. It is respected as “Modern Yan Hui”. He was born in a traditional Confucian family in Central Java. He became an official Confucian through a vow ceremony when he was young and founded the Confucian Youth League in Solo. The “Four Books” that are now commonly used in Confucianism in Indonesia were translated from Malay into modern Indonesian by Xu Zaiying. In addition, he has also translated the “Book of Changes”, “Shangshu” and “Book of Rites” among the “Five Classics” into Indonesian. arts. Master Chen Kexing is also seventy-four years old. He has received advanced education in Chinese and is the only Confucian church in Thoreau.Someone who speaks Chinese fluently. He originally studied science and engineering and now owns his own factory. However, he became a Confucian preacher in Indonesia through self-study in his spare time. He is now the head of the promotion and development department of the Confucian General Mission. At the age of more than 70 years old, Master Lin Ngai Yee obtained a doctorate in philosophy through hard work. The research direction is Xunzi’s thought. Now he is the chairman of the Confucian Academy of Confucianism, a high-level Confucian institution in Indonesia that is about to open.
                                                                                                      ” According to what they said, there are more than 3,000 Confucian believers in the Solo area, but only 50 people usually participate in Solo Jamaica Sugar activities. There are many people, mostly middle-aged and elderly people. There are preaching activities in the auditorium every weekend, and there are usually activities for young people on the first and fifteenth day of each month. Since the Solo Confucian Church has three scholars and other scholars, teachers and other Confucian preaching talents, it is difficult for ordinary believers to have the opportunity to get off the stage to preach. This is in sharp contrast to the Karawang Auditorium. Although Huang Yaode, the chairman of the Confucian Federation, lives in Karawang, there is no literary master there yet, so ordinary believers usually take turns to preach. In addition to preaching in this auditorium, Thoreau’s three teachers also occasionally preached in other auditoriums. Just ten days ago, Master Xu Zaiying went to Daheng, Jianmis and Banjal to give preaching tours and achieved outstanding results. In the 1970s, he went to Semarang to preach every month. Teacher Chen Kexing also has a very heavy task. He has to preach at the Surabaya Auditorium the day after tomorrow. Because he can speak Chinese, he often travels to China to attend Confucian conferences and publish papers in Chinese.

I checked into a pretty good hotel in the morning. According to the setting of the Confucian Federation, I will stay in Solo for three mornings. The Internet in Indonesia is not very popular yet, and only higher-end hotels have such services. I was able to use the Internet for the first time in a few days. I felt connected to the world again, and I wasn’t so blinded. What’s more important is that the clothes I changed along the way were packed in my outer bag, and I didn’t have the time or conditions to wash them. The last time I washed my clothes was in Karawang, and when I arrived in Solo, I was almost marching naked. I was finally able to stop and rest so that I could be refreshed and ready for the next phase of the process.

(to be continued)

The author of the author of the Confucian Chinese website