Xi.jpg (Photo : www.cntv.cn)
Government authorities in Shandong are encouraging the holding of Confucian lectures at the grass roots in village halls in several parts of the province.
A project called "Citizen Confucianism" was particularly initiated by the Qufu government this October, according to the Global Times, which aims to provide each of the city's 405 villages with a lecturer to teach twice a month the philosophy of Confucius.
Aside from the lectures, some village leaders are also making the rounds using loudspeakers to regularly broadcast classic Confucian stories and texts to the residents.
Across Qufu, the birthplace of Confucius, a month-long festival to celebrate "Citizen Confucianism" is reportedly in full swing.
Every day, crowds of people on trips organized by their villages, neighborhoods, companies and schools are dropped off at the Temple of Confucius to pay homage to the sage.
Confucius institutes and advertisements for "Confucianism camps" are on display everywhere, according to the Global Times report.
The Confucian revival was initiated by no less than President Xi Jinping himself.
In his keynote address to the International Confucian Association that met in Beijing for their fifth congress and to commemorate the 2,565th anniversary of Confucius' birth last month, the Chinese president said: "Confucianism, along with other philosophies and cultures taking shape and growing within China, are records of spiritual experiences, rational thinking and cultural achievements of the nation during its striving to build its home. These cultures have nourished the flourishing Chinese nation."
Confucianism has for thousands of years been regarded as the foundation of much of China's traditions and culture. It was both a philosophy and a practical guide to day-to-day conduct.
It was, however, greatly discouraged during the country's decade-long Cultural Revolution (1966-1976), when it was seen as an impediment to modernization and to the spread of the socialist ideology.
With the current drive to weed out graft and corruption in government and the need to encourage more civilized behavior on the part of the ordinary citizens, reintroducing Confucius' doctrine on ethics and morality may now again be relevant for China.
