Taiwan Today

The Ministry of the Interior announced July 22 that for the first time in the history of the ROC, a woman may soon be able to serve as sacrificial official to Confucius. “In light of shrinking family sizes and sexual equality, should a generation of Confucius’ descendants only have daughters, one of them could be appointed to the post,” the MOI said. Currently, the role of sacrificial official is reserved exclusively for Confucius’ eldest male descendant of a legitimate marriage. The MOI review of Confucian rituals sees the sacrificial official retained as a paid position. Other posts, such as those of assistant sacrificial officials, will now be unpaid. But Huang Li-hsin, director of the MOI’s Department of Civil Affairs, said this decision is not set in stone as salaries for the posts are already included in the ministry’s personnel budget. An MOI spokesman said Meng Xiang-xie, the 75th-generation descendant of Mencius, and Zong Sheng-hui, the 74th-generation descendant of Zengzi—currently serving as assistant sacrificial officials—would continue to be eligible for a monthly salary in excess of NT$100,000 (US$3,042). The proposed changes follow extensive consultations and a decision by the successor to 77th-generation descendant Kung Te-cheng—who passed away in October 2008—to decline compensation. This prompted the MOI to conduct a review of the current system, which has been forwarded to the Cabinet for approval. In addition to the sacrificial official, Confucian tradition requires four assistant sacrificial officials. These representatives, usually descendants of the sages Mencius, Zencius, Yanhui and Sizi, play a part at the annual commemorative ceremony for Confucius. As there are no descendants of Sizi in Taiwan, Kung Wei-ning, also a descendant of Confucius, stands in as representative. (MH-JSM)