Thanks, Jack. Delighted to hear it. I still loathe Communism, but this is an improvement over the "trash Lin Piao & Confucius" stuff of yesteryear. And, yes, I use Wade-Giles NOT Pinyin. The American Buddhist poet Red Pine gave me the idea of keeping on with Wade-Giles as a protest against totalitarianism (sort of like when the National Socialists pushed saying "Fernsprecher" instead of "Telefon"--or referring to Ike as "Eisenhauer"). Good news: the WONDERFUL Shandong Friendship Press Confucian translations are available in the US again--check 'em out: www.homabooks.com
Just as interesting as the Confucius Award itself is the fact that this is being reported on a PRC website. Confucianism was kind of decrepit by the early 20'th century, but it was the communists that finally put a dagger in its heart. But now it seems that Beijing wants to wrap itself in the aura of Chinese tradition, while keeping the substance at arm's length. China is funding a bunch of 'Confucius Institutes' here in the US and around the world. But it seems that they will be Chinese language and culture groups kind of like Germany's long-established Goethe Institutes. http://www.chinanews.cn/news/2004/2005-01-27/1325.shtml But there does seem to be some kind of popular interest in Confucianism remaining in China. The Nanjing Confucius Temple reportedly received a quarter million visitors a day during the Spring Festival holiday. The news story plays it as if they were holiday tourists, but that's such a tremendous turnout in one place a one time that it makes me think that perhaps something more than tourism is happening. http://www.chinanews.cn/news/2004/2005-02-17/1748.shtml Confucius' birthplace of Qufu reports that it is going to celebrate the Confucian ceremonies weekly instead of once a year. The news story once again plays it as cultural tourism, but reading between the lines it certainly sounds like there's lots of interest. http://www.chinanews.cn/news/2004/2005-03-30/2913.shtml And overseas Chinese are pouring money into restoration work in Confucius' hometown of Jining with the party's blessing. http://www.chinanews.cn/news/2004/2005-07-01/6990.shtml I'm not sure what this tells us about the state of Confucianism in contemporary China, beyond the fact that it still generates interest and perhaps some passion.
