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Nothing says prominence on the mainland like a bronze statue. 
The one of Confucius unveiled yesterday  at a high-profile ceremony in Beijing stands 7.9 metres tall, on a 1.6-metre marble base. That puts the great ancient sage in the same league as Mao Zedong, several other leading figures of the Communist movement such as Karl Marx, and Sun Yat-sen, founder of the Republic of China, whose portraits have been displayed in the Tiananmen area at various times. 
The statue is in front of the north gate of the newly renovated National Museum of China, which is on the east side of Tiananmen Square, at the heart of the capital.
The elderly Confucius is the work of renowned artist Wu Weishan, 48, of Jiangsu, who is known for a group of sculptures for the Nanking Massacre monument. The Nanjing University professor has done several other statues of the sage.
The sculpture faces Changan Avenue, the main thoroughfare in Beijing, where on the opposite side the portrait of Mao, 6 metres tall and 4.6 metres wide, looks out.
Confucius' teachings were purged during Mao's Cultural Revolution (1966-76), in the power struggle with his once-favoured deputy, Lin Biao , who was accused of treason. Lin was a student of Confucius'  thought. 
There has been an officially sanctioned revival of Confucius in recent years, as authorities have turned to his teachings to reach out to the international community to strengthen China's 'soft power' and counter an invasion of Western culture. 
Museum curator Lu Zhangshen said the statue's proximity to Changan Avenue and the Forbidden City would help showcase its political and cultural significance. 'A household name in China and known as a sage in many dynasties, Confucius has a far-reaching and profound impact in the international community, as he is both the vanguard of traditional Chinese culture and an ambassador for Chinese culture,' Lu said. 
China has set up nearly 300 Confucius Institutes in 78 countries, and on the mainland the Communist regime has delved into Confucius' teachings on social harmony to stay relevant and maintain stability in an increasingly fragmented country. 
A rising number of mainland universities have set up Chinese studies institutes with Confucian teachings at their core, as people in China seek more substance and spirituality in an increasingly materialistic society.



Confucius stands up to Mao in Tiananmen