Descendants, scholars mark Confucius' birth

• Source: Global Times
• [02:46 September 29 2009]
• Comments

"The music and dance were both recorded in history," said Yang Yitang, director of Confucius Memorial Office in Jining, Shandong , which is unprecedented during ceremonies in the past 400 years, Taiwan-based Central News Agency said Monday.

A grand joint sacrifice ritual to Confucius was held Sunday. The ceremonies, the largest in the past six decades, included thousands of teachers and students and were synchronized via the Internet at three locations.

They were held in Beijing, Hsinchu and Shandong.

Song Chuyu, founder and chairman of the People First Party in Taiwan, said he was impressed by the ceremony.

"The ceremony demonstrates that the ancestral legacy is a common heritage cherished by the Chinese pProvince.

In Quanzhou, Fujian Province, sculptures of Confucius' disciples were unveiled during the ceremony to celebrate his birthday.

Similar events were staged in other cities, including Beijing, Nanjing in Jiangsu Province, Ha'rbin in Heilongjiang Province and Quzhou in Zhejiang Province.

The first show of a 104-episode animation program describing the life of Confucius was shown in China Central Television Monday.

Confucius is the pillar of traditional Chinese culture, which teaches how to treat other people, professor Zhang said. "In a competitive society, Confucius' golden rule doctrine requires us to balance the harsh world and bring peace to our heart," he added.

Taiwan

Taiwan leader Ma Ying-jeou presided over the 2560th Birth Anniversary of Confucius Memorial Ceremony in Taichung to pay homage to the great philosopher.

Ma, the guest of honor, offered incense to the great thinker in the Confucius Temple in Tainaneople from the two sides of the Taiwan Straits. The descendants of a brilliant culture, we are bonded with the same flesh and blood," he said.