Confucius Departs Tiananmen Square

Tiananmen Square is not a good place for Confucius, after all, at least not in plain sight. Just three months ago, a statue of Confucius was erected at the Square. Some hailed it as a new cultural landmark for the symbolic location. The contrast between the ancient philosopher and the modern leader Mao Zedong in the same Square created quite a buzz in symbolic interpretations.

Well, Confucius did not last long. The statue has now been quietly moved into a courtyard designated to be a "sculpture garden" in the same museum, but largely out of the sight.

Confucius Standing at Tiananmen Square

There is a new giant statue at Tiananmen Square. It is not that of late Chairman Mao Zedong, although it is similar in size of the numerous Mao statues all over China during the Culture Revolution era.

It is that of Confucius, the ancient philosopher that Mao Zedong had spent his last few years loathing.

The new statue stands in front of the National Museum of China on the east edge of Tiananmen Square. It is part of a grand renovation project for the museum. It is also a rare new addition to the famous Square.

No words on how Mao Zedong, whose body is still being preserved in his own Mausoleum in the middle of the same Square, reacts to his new neighbor.