I read a commentary in your paper's Sunday edition about how the government of Qufu, East China's Shandong Province, has come up with a controversial way to attract tourists from overseas. The author brings up an interesting argument that "it's better to promote Confucius' works than tacky tourism at his birthplace."

As a local who has been living in Qufu for 25 years, I would like to offer another perspective to your readers about how to better understand the current campaign in Qufu.

Confucius has been held dear by the Chinese, especially the emperors of ancient dynasties, for centuries. It was chosen by the ruling class as an appropriate philosophy to govern the nation, and thousands of years of inheritance, interpretations and infusion have successfully made the Chinese consider Confucianism to be holy.

Qufu, therefore, has been imbued with some kind of holiness. It has been called the "oriental Jerusalem." However, 40 years ago at the peak of the Cultural Revolution (1966-76), this town was not revered as such. It was the original place where "feudal malignancy" was bred, and Confucius was the culprit.

After years of abandonment, China's new leadership has shifted their attention toward Confucianism, whose thoughts are believed to be beneficial to China's modernity and social stability, and should play a more powerful role as a mainstream philosophy.

Like most Western cultures deeply rooted in Christianity, Confucianism is the root of Chinese culture. It will be a demanding endeavor to recover it.

Chinese President Xi Jinping's emphasis on Confucianism sends a signal that he intends to attach importance to this old school of thought in his grand vision of Chinese rejuvenation. He must have realized that Chinese public discourse is being distorted by the side effects of the opening-up of the entire society.

Chinese public opinion is losing its backbone under the influence of social pluralism. With too many ulterior motives involved, a bottom line needs to be demarcated in Chinese public discourse, especially on the Internet. The Chinese government must hammer out the mainstream culture and enable it to detect and oppose the real threats to social stability.

Therefore, the local government of Qufu must realize that the restoration of Confucianism is not a compulsion, or a chance to fawn on their seniors. Its special status in Chinese history makes it second to none to serve as an example of the restoration campaign.

Trying to attract as many foreign tourists as possible is a necessary approach for publicity, but if its city walls are only a 10-year-old poor replica and ugly modern buildings far outnumber its exquisite traditional architecture, the town had better consider more soft-power options for publicity.

Wu Siyuan, a high school English teacher in Qufu, Shandong Province