Chinese Life in the Tibetan Foothills/Book 3/Confucian Society
The Confucian Society, Tang Tzŭ Hang (黨子行)
The School, or Society, is very ancient and has always borne an agnostic stamp, both in literature and religion.
The worship of Confucius is a very real thing in China, and the substitution of a tablet for an image, a change made by the Republic, is very superficial. But few, if any, of the Confucian schools have ever been satisfied with the worship of Confucius alone, but freely indulged in the worship of ancestors, and have invited the aid of the Shaman brethren when expedient or when sickness or death in the family made it necessary. Thus, the Confucian scholar may also be a follower of both the mystical and naturalistic schools.
It is readily understood that the class of persons who enter the Confucian Society is different in caste and calibre from those of other societies; but it must be remembered that the agreement is equally binding and the political consequences even more serious than in the case of other societies, and it has been the source of revolutionary activities of great importance.
The Confucian Society is the society par excellence of the official, scholar, and student. In its present form it dates at least from the T‘ang dynasty, when the followers of the "Peach Orchard" trio refused to recognize the T‘ang and clave to the Han (漢) and Liu (劉), and are called Han Liu (漢流).[1]
- ↑ Though the characters are different some Chinese give this explanation of Han Liu.