Chinese city celebrates birth of Confucius
- By He Shan
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E-mail China.org.cn, September 29, 2016
Quzhou, a city in Zhejiang Province, held a grand memorial ceremony to mark the 2,567th anniversary of the birth of Confucius on Wednesday.
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Participants march in to the memorial ceremony marking the 2,567th anniversary of the birth of Confucius held in Quzhou, Zhejiang, on Sept. 28. [Photo by Li Kang / China.org.cn] |
Born in 551 BC, the great philosopher and educator provided concepts that were considered a principle philosophy in China for more than 2,000 years, and are also admired internationally.
He was also the first Chinese person to set up private schools enrolling students from all walks of life.
The grand ceremony, with the theme of "calling on the common people to build harmony," was held in the Southern Confucius Ancestral Temple, one of the only two family temples in the whole country.
The ceremony, attracting teachers and students from schools in the city and representatives from Confucius Institutes around the world, included activities such as tribute-paying and recitation sessions.
Representatives presented flower baskets to a statue of the sage, while all participants bowed three times toward it.
Representatives also recited classic quotes from "The Analects," a collection of Confucius' famous sayings, during the ceremony.
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Maiatckii Dmitri, director of the Confucius Institute of Saint Petersburg University in Russia, receives an exclusive interview with China.org.cn. [Photo by Li Kang / China.org.cn] |
Maiatckii Dmitri, director of the Confucius Institute of Saint Petersburg University in Russia, told China.org.cn that the ceremony was very important because it provided an opportunity to introduce Confucianism to the world.
Dmitri said many Russian people knew about Confucianism and "The Analects" had been translated into Russian many times.
Aldin Mutembei Kaizilege, director of Confucius Institute at the University of Dar es Salaam in Tanzania, believed the ceremony would help foreigners understand Confucius, which would serve as a way to better know Chinese people and culture.
"The trip to Quzhou offers me a lot of chances to gain a better knowledge of the city," he said, adding that the city is opening up to the world.
He highly commended Confucianism as a system of morals and standards of living, citing the Deputy Prime Minister of Tanzania as saying, "If people in the world follow the philosophy, the world will be a better place."
Less-known to the public, Quzhou is the site of the residence of Confucius descendants. The establishment of the Confucius ancestral temple in the city was due to the relocation of the Song Dynasty capital. Confucius himself was born in Qufu, Shandong Province.
In 1130, the reigning Emperor awarded Kong Duanyou, the 47th generation in the lineal descent of Confucius, a house in Quzhou for his meritorious service to build the ancestral temple.
Annual memorial ceremonies for Confucius has begun here since 2004.
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