September 20, 2020
I reserved a place at the Confucius Memorial Ceremony despite having only the haziest idea of what it was. Turns out that it’s Confucius’ birthday on the 28th. Teachers’ Day is also celebrated then.
The ceremony is normally held at the Confucius Temple, but due to COVID19 the Confucius Memorial Ceremony was rescheduled from the Confucius Temple to Xinchuang Hall (or Hsinchuang Gymnasium – the transliteration varied). So I took the MRT, using one of the above-ground lines, completed only a few months ago.
This is a photo of the view across a river (it was raining).
The train didn’t have a driver. This photo was taken out the front of the train.
This is Xinchuang/Hsinchuang Gymnasium. Inside, it’s actually a basketball court, complete with a scoreboard, converted for the ceremony. I don’t have any photos, unfortunately. The best I can describe the ceremony is the High Mass of a Catholic service, but even more pomp. There were dignitaries, dancing, music, and rituals, lasting for 2 hours.
I can show you the Confucius Memorial Ceremony being performed a few years ago, in the Confucius Temple, on YouTube:
I’m glad I went there.
Richard
Wandering Richard 