Discovering Confucius' legacy through travel (2)

Ritual and dance performance Shangri-La Tianjin 2019. [Photo by Bruce Connolly/chinadaily.com.cn]

I never disembarked at Qufu, as my time was limited and also as a foreigner finding accommodation was difficult. Once on a train, I simply stayed onboard to my ticketed destination. Those early days of solo travel across China were an adventure, but still had their problems.

I was fortunate enough to meet Mr. Kong, chairman of the Qufu Tourism Bureau and Peter Qu, general manager of the Qufu Shangri-La Hotel. There remains a sizeable number of people in Qufu today with the surname Kong — the family name of Confucius. We talked extensively about the role of Confucian tourism in and around Qufu, and how the city's contemporary prosperity has in part been driven by its history. The Qufu Shangri-La brought two of their head chefs to Tianjin who were veterans on Confucian cuisine, and they helped prepare a range of dishes to recreate the Qufu culinary experience. That area is renowned for Kong Family Cuisine, based on the Shandong cooking style with added imperial influence and a touch of Huaiyang flavor from South China. Some of these dishes may have been very kind Confucius enjoyed. He was credited with saying, after all, that "Food can never be too good and cooking can never be done too carefully."

I have long believed that to understand some of China's history it is useful to appreciate Confucius. So where better to start than some of the temples and schools dedicated to him nationwide? The schools were previously associated with the arduous Imperial Civil Service entrance exams. However, they were often places with a sense of peace and tranquility I appreciated.