Confucius' lessons still relevant, Xi says

Download

President Xi Jinping said Confucian thought can play a positive role in China's development today.

Xi made the remarks while talking to Confucianism scholars during his visit to Confucius' hometown in Shandong province on Tuesday.

China boasts a long traditional culture, and China will create a new glory of its culture, he said in a speech after he listened to a discussion of experts on Confucianism at Qufu, the hometown of Confucius.

Xi stressed that research on Confucius and Confucianism should follow the rules of making the past serve the present and discarding the dross while keeping the essential, so the thoughts of the renowned philosopher of ancient China can exert a positive influence today.

"I will read these two books carefully," he said to his two companions as he looked through classics and periodicals on Confucianism at the Confucius Research Institute with great interest. One of the two books he mentioned was about interpretations on The Analects of Confucius, and the other had quotes from Confucius' talks with family members, Xinhua News Agency reported on Tuesday.

Xi also visited the family mansion of Kong, where Confucius' descendents lived. The mansion, which occupies about 13.3 hectares and has about 460 rooms, was built in 1377.

During his visits in Shandong on Monday, Xi sent a basket of flowers to a cemetery of revolutionary martyrs in Linyi and saw the exhibition that showed the history of local residents providing aid for frontline Chinese troops during the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression (1937-45). He also visited families of former role models, including the granddaughter of Wang Huanyu, a village woman who helped to take care of Chinese soldiers' small children during the war.

On Monday evening, Xi visited Shandong Ruyi Group, a textile company in Jining, and urged the company owner to pay more attention to employees' welfare and interests.

Questions:

1. What is the name of Confucius’ hometown?

2. What is the name of Confucius’ family mansion and what year was it built?

3. Where did President Xi on Monday send a basket of flowers?

Answers:

1. Qufu

2. Kong; 1377.

3. A cemetery of revolutionary martyrs in Linyi.

About the broadcaster:

Anne Ruisi is an editor at China Daily online with more than 30 years of experience as a newspaper editor and reporter. She has worked at newspapers in the U.S., including The Birmingham News in Alabama and City Newspaper of Rochester, N.Y.