Bowing to the Sage: Confucius Veneration Ceremony in San Francisco's Chinese Diasporic Community (1982-Present)

This paper delves into the enduring practice of Confucian veneration ceremonies within the Chinese diaspora of San Francisco, sustained for over 40 years. It critically examines the ceremonies' dual role as both a cultural tradition and a stage for power dynamics within the diaspora's social organizations and in relation to broader society. Drawing on a published archive for the first ceremony in 1982, namely Chronology of the World Confucian Veneration Movement, supplemented by personal archives and oral histories collected in March 2023, and participant observations from September 2023, the study offers an in-depth exploration of the ceremony's transmission, influence and present situation. It commences with the cultural importance of Confucian rituals in immigrant communities and provides insight into how such rituals are leveraged by diasporic social groups to articulate and negotiate their internal and external power structures, presenting a unique perspective on cultural continuity and adaptation.