China News Service, Shanghai, September 29 (Reporter Chen Jing) The reporter learned on the 29th that on the occasion of the 2575th anniversary of the birth of Confucius, the master of Chinese cultural thought, the founder of Confucianism, a great thinker, politician, and educator, A statue of Confucius, made of pure copper, 7.2 meters high and weighing 5 tons, was unveiled at Jiading No. 1 Middle School in Shanghai.
This statue of Confucius is a scaled down version of the 72-meter tallest Confucius statue in the world in Nishan, Qufu, Shandong Province. It also represents the 72 sages. The base is 1 meter, which represents the continuous inheritance of education and the consistent emphasis on culture and education. This statue of Confucius was donated by the Jiading Minjin Entrepreneurs Association and the Confucius Family Special Fund of the Confucius Foundation of China. It is the first statue of Confucius donated to the outside world since the establishment of the special fund.
Lin Zaiyong, Secretary of the Party Committee of Shanghai Normal University, pointed out that for more than two thousand years, the sage Confucius established himself in learning and became a “teacher for all generations.” The Confucianism founded by Confucius and the Confucianism developed on this basis have had a profound impact on Chinese civilization . Jiading District in Shanghai has been known as “education” since ancient times. The traditional culture represented by Confucianism has cultivated generations of people, and the string songs are endless and timeless. This event is a vivid portrayal of promoting traditional culture to penetrate into the campus and infiltrate people's hearts. He hoped that Jiading No. 1 Middle School would take the inauguration of the Confucius statue as an opportunity to integrate Confucianism and the educator’s spirit contained in it into the whole process of teaching and educating people, so as to better polish the foundation of building moral character and cultivating people.
As the initiator and donor of the Confucius Family Special Fund of the China Confucius Foundation and the 76th grandson of Confucius, Kong Fei explained the origin of this statue of Confucius. He called on more descendants of Confucius to take up the mission of promoting Confucius' thoughts and promote Confucius' theory and Confucianism out of the Confucius Temple and reach the public; he expected students in the new era to practice the “benevolence, righteousness, etiquette, wisdom, and trustworthiness” advocated by Confucius. Principles of conduct, draw strength from the excellent traditional Chinese culture, determine to become talented, and forge ahead.
“How far is benevolence? I want benevolence, and this is the end of benevolence.” The core idea of Confucius' theory, “benevolence”, is not only a personal virtue, but also a social ethics and political concept. It requires individuals to actively participate in social life while improving themselves, and promote social harmony and progress through the practice of “benevolence”. During the ceremony, students recited the classic phrase “asking for benevolence” in The Analects of Confucius to pay tribute to Confucius' outstanding contributions.
This year, as a well-known scholar who studies Confucius and “The Analects of Confucius”, Lin Zaiyong was invited by Jiading No. 1 Middle School to write lyrics and Professor Wang Ruixing from the Ningxia University Conservatory of Music composed the music to create an original song “Confucius”. At the event, teachers and students of Jiading No. 1 Middle School sang “Confucius” together.
According to reports, the Jiading Democratic Progressive Entrepreneurs Association and the China Confucius Foundation will also set up a Confucius Fund (scholarship) at the school to reward outstanding practitioners of traditional Chinese culture who are committed to Taoism, virtue, benevolence, and art. . (over)