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Confucius City to be built in China

Let us forget the infernal Olympics and  declare Confucius Week.   China's returning enthusiasm for the great philosopher and teacher is to be marked - says China Daily - by a huge cultural project costing $4.2 billion,  a "Chinese Cultural Symbolic City"  of 300 square km in Shandong PRovince.  Picture shows the conference launching it.  The official website is here,  though obviously in Chinese:  perhaps I should not have chosen Babelfish auto-translater, but statements do come out marvellously poetic, "We must learn to moisten Kong Zi "the light"... and " the cultural carrier many to let the people understand the sea, shows loving concern the marine life, these all are develops the sea culture to need to ponder."
    It is a rather wonderfully idealistic project, though shot through with  canny awareness of a tourist future.  Confucianism has a fascinating peacefulness and compassion about it (see earlier blogs about the battle for his soul,  nursery school,  the Chinese Catholic awareness,  the UK courses on him).   A good primer is   here, and politicians everywhere should observe his rule that:    “Good government consists in the ruler being a ruler, the minister being a minister, the father being a father, and the son being a son.” (Lunyu 12.11)
  Carry on below for some Confucian sayings..

Confucian nursery school

A fascinating BBC report   on Confucian schools for 3-6 year olds, booming in China -  this one in a tower block in Wuhan.   Clad in grey robes and square black hats  100 children bow to the portrait of Confucius each weekend,  and learn to recite his sayings on the virtues of harmony, humility and courtesy.  Now there's a multiculturalism that even Bishop Nazir Ali might like (see below)
    However,  my brief excitement in discovering that six of our new UK  Academies have a Confucius Trust link wavered slightly when it transpired that their remit is more general "China Studies"  than the philosophical teaching of  harmony and humility.  But maybe we'll get some Confucian nurseries soon..

The battle for Confucius' soul

Really interesting piece in the Washington Post about the rise of Confucianism in China, and what it means to different parts of society:  to governmnent, orderliness and respect -  to parents, calm good education -  to opponents of government, a spiritual way out of the new Chinese materialism.   The parallels with our own Government's anxious cleaving to "Faith schools" to solve complicated social and educational problems might occur.  Meanwhile, Confucius' sayings always provoke useful thoughts, for or against...
   "With coarse rice to eat, with water to drink, and my bended arm
   for a pillow - I have still joy in the midst of these things"

Chinese Catholics, world Confucians

The rift between Chinese Catholics and the Vatican widens, with the appointment of Father Li Shan as a Bishop, without Vatican consent. Earlier this year the Pope wrote a letter urging Chinese Catholics towards unity, and independence of state interference.
Meanwhile academics argue that if China is to have a 'state' religion it should be Confucianism: that ancient and fascinating guide to the Good Life. President Hu Jintao has promoted as official slogans such Confucian concepts as "Harmonious Society".
The 2000-year-old philosophy is increasingly studied and respected worldwide, in this age of globalized religion; in the US there are many Confucians. It is, importantly, possible to follow Confucian principles while  remaining a Taoist, Christian, Muslim, Shintoist, or Buddhist. To learn about Confucianism London runs courses. A brief online primer is here;  a deeper site here.
Perhaps the new education secretary and indeed the exam boards would like to ponder his dictum on education - Confucius was an early meritocrat and  advocate of universal education. "Studying without thinking leads to confusion; thinking without studying leads to laziness."