The Sacralization of Tradition in Contemporary Confucian Utopianism

Mainland Chinese society is often characterized as highly secularized. Organized religion has been the subject of continuous criticism by the state and its expressions are tightly controlled. Yet, scholars also agree that secularization has been accompanied by a parallel process of sacralization – a growing drive to depict the nation-state, its institutions, and its leaders as sacred. This paper will build on this argument to shed new light on the sacralization of tradition in contemporary Confucian utopianism. Focusing on the writings of Zhang Xianglong (1949-2022), it will demonstrate that his proposal to establish “Special Districts for Confucian Culture,” small autonomous intentional communities designed to preserve Confucian values and practices, is driven by a desire to designate traditional culture as sacred in order to save it from extinction in an increasingly profane society. Zhang’s utopian vision offers us a new insight into the revival of Confucian religiosity in contemporary Chinese society.