On Deborah Sommer’s “Unusual Depictions of Confucius: Cultural Encounters”

The image of Confucius is always "under construction," and Deborah Sommer's talk "Unusual Depictions of Confucius: Cultural Encounters" offers glimpses into some of the workings of this de- and re-construction at different times and in different cultures. With a particular focus on depictions of Confucius in Chinese, European, and North American popular culture, Sommer presents, piece by piece, a fascinating collage of the different, incompatible Confuciuses created, subverted, and recreated through time. This lecture takes us into the visual world of statues, travel books, collectible cards, posters, and mystery novels, where the image of Confucius has been used to represent the absolute good, the absolute evil, and anything in between, undergoing multiple, often inexplicable, changes.