Memorial to Confucius as China seeks 'harmony'

• Chinese tourists pose in front of the 31ft (7.9m) high statue of philosopher Confucius, once the subject of a campaign of persecution led by Chairman Mao. Picture: Getty

Tianamen Square - scene of pro-democracy protests in 1989, which were brutally put down - is also the site of a mausoleum containing the body of Red China's founder, Mao Tse Tung.

Placing a statue of Confucius at China's political heart is the Beijing government's most visible endorsement yet of the 2,500-year-old sage and, selectively, his teachings.

Confucius is enjoying a revival, in books and films, on TV and in schools. His message of harmonious social order and deference to authority does not threaten the state, while his emphasis on ethics resonates among Chinese coping with fast-paced social change. "The rise of a big country requires a cultural foundation, and Chinese culture upholds the spirit of harmony," said Wu Weishan, the sculptor, who has made more than 200 statues of the philosopher. "The essential thoughts of Confucius are love, kindness, wisdom and generosity. And peace and prosperity are what the people are striving for."

The 31ft bronze sculpture depicts a robed Confucius and sits on the east side of the square, facing in the direction of Mao's portrait. This week Chinese tourists busily snapped photos and agreed that Confucius's teachings bear a message for modern China, where "money worship" and consumerism seem to be national preoccupations.

"Confucianism has been governing the lives and ethics of Chinese for thousands of years," said 25-year-old engineer Cui Xiaozhan, on a business trip from the eastern city of Qingdao. "We should study it. But everyone is too busy and tired."

Confucius laid down a code of ethics adopted as a quasi-religious national philosophy of governance and personal behaviour. His teachings emphasised duty to family, respect for learning, virtuous behaviour and obedience of individuals to the state.

At the centre of Chinese civilisation for nearly 2,000 years, Confucianism suffered under Mao, who spent much of his rule destroying traditional culture. "Criticising Confucius" - as a symbol of the old society believed to be holding China back - was one of Mao's campaigns.

But Mao has been dead for 35 years.

His political heirs have embraced capitalism and reinterpreted him as a founding-father figure who spearheaded the revolution that has led to China's recent economic surge.

When student protesters erected a Statue of Liberty-like "Goddess of Democracy" on the square in 1989, tanks toppled it.

Later, Chinese leaders largely turned to nationalism to fill the void after the collapse of the Communist bloc in Europe. Over the past decade, interest in Confucius has grown among parents, teachers, government officials and intellectuals.

Top leaders "certainly realise the absence of a value system," said Cheng Li, an expert on Chinese politics at Washington DC's Brookings Institution. "It's a desperate search for ideology, for a new value system."

So far, the government hasn't made any overt proclamations pushing Confucianism, though one of its favourite recent slogans is "harmonious society". It has backed the creation of hundreds of Confucius Institutes to spread Chinese language and culture abroad. And a proposal to amend the law on protecting the rights of the elderly is set to spell out the duty children have to parents.

What's next? "You will see some top leaders more explicitly talking about reinforcing, promoting… Confucian values," Li said.

"It's such a big basket you can select whatever you want. They will ask people to behave appropriately, not too aggressive, not use violence and don't pursue revolution."