History Faculty Publications
Memory and Power in Qufu: Inscribing the past of Confucius’ Descendants
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
7-2009
Publication Source
Journal of Family History
Abstract
This article examines the connection between writing on the past and the construction of collective memory and identity by the Kong family of Qufu, the recognized descendants of the Confucius. Kong family dukes raised an ancestor named Renyu to a position of importance in the Kong historical imaginary second only to Confucius himself, transforming a seemingly insignificant name from the family records into a powerful signifier of the centralized economic and political institution represented by the title of the “Duke for Fulfilling the Sage.” By tracing the development of the legend of Kong Renyu from the fourteenth century to the present, this article details the centrality of social and political power in the construction of the historical narratives that serve as the basis of collective memory and identity.
Inclusive pages
327-343
ISBN/ISSN
eISSN: 15525473; ISSN: 03631990
Publisher
Sage
Volume
34
Issue
4
Peer Reviewed
yes
eCommons Citation
Agnew, Christopher, "Memory and Power in Qufu: Inscribing the past of Confucius’ Descendants" (2009). History Faculty Publications. 158.
https://ecommons.udayton.edu/hst_fac_pub/158
