Confucius,a great ancient Chinese thinker,was again thrown into the spotlight on Wednesday when a range of memorial activities were held worldwide to commemorate the 2,556th anniversary of his birth.
Commemorative activities were organized simultaneously in six cities in the Republic of Korea,Japan,Singapore,the United States and Germany,with the auspices of the United Nations Educational,Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
Born in 551 B.C.,Confucius,a statesman and educator,founded the Confucian school of thinking,or Confucianism,which emphasizes a people-first ideal and advocates a personality with the virtues of loyalty,filial piety,integrity,and seeking "harmony while maintaining disparity" in culture and thinking.
Confucianism has ready solutions to many problems that wreak havoc in the contemporary world,such as regional conflicts and a worsening ecology,said Tu Wei-Ming,a professor of Chinese history and philosophy at Harvard University.
"In this sense,Confucius not only belongs to China,but also to the whole world."