In January, a large bronze statue of Confucius was erected overnight in Tiananmen Square, facing Mao Zedong's giant portrait.
It was seen as the ultimate symbol of China returning to its roots, the triumphant return of a 2,000-year-old philosophy which had dictated state politics until the last Qing dynasty; Confucianism still has a significant influence on Chinese communities across the world today. But just as abruptly, the statue was removed overnight after a few months later, without any explanation.
What happened to the statue is, some say, a symptom of China's 'to be or not to be' dilemma, in which the need to balance its economic growth conflicts with equally pressing demands to educate, modernise and build a cohesive society. Most agree the incident is symptomatic of a deeper struggle - the result of the lack of an ideology of nation-building, which needs to be in place to improve morality and fill the ideological vacuum left by the Cultural Revolution.
There is also external pressure in a world dominated by Western ideologies. China feels the pressure to produce something from within - something that is its own. So since the 1990s, there has been talk about reviving Chinese traditions. That includes not just Confucianism, but also Buddhism, Taoism and other 'Chinese' beliefs. Confucianism has come to the forefront.
As China struggles to give its people moral and ethical education fast enough to keep pace with its economic growth, Confucianism is seen as a useful philosophy.
'There is no denying the deep and encompassing influence of Confucianism in Chinese societies,' said Professor Joseph Chan Cho-wai, head of the political science department at the University of Hong Kong and an expert on political Confucianism.
