China torch relay: Qufu

By Michael Bristow BBC News

Confucius, Qufu's most famous son, is back in favour with Beijing

Philosopher, politician and teacher, his words of wisdom became the cornerstone on which Chinese society was built.

That wisdom was attacked by the communists as part of a general campaign to rid China of its feudal past.

But Confucius is making a comeback. His teachings are once more popular - even with the once-hostile Chinese government.

Confucius was born in 551BC in the Chinese state of Lu. At the time, China was made up of a number of separate countries.

In his long life, he became a minister and spent time as a kind of freelance political adviser to a number of royal courts.

Morality

Confucius had many students and disciples, many of whom made sure his wisdom was passed down to future generations.

CHINA RELAY CITIES IN FOCUS Use the map to see the full Olympic torch relay route or read about some of the key cities: Full route map, Hong Kong, Guangzhou, Xiamen, Jinggangshan, Shanghai, Nanjing, Huangshan, Three Gorges, Kaili, Lhasa, Urumqi, Xian, Yanji, Qufu, Anyang, Beijing.

His teachings were written down after his death, and are supposed to be a record of his conversations with these followers.

Central to his beliefs, whether in politics or society at large, was morality, self-discipline, education and virtue.

Confucius was quickly recognised as a great thinker, and his teachings soon developed into a quasi-religion. Emperors honoured him.

High officials were even required to study, and pass exams on, his teachings right up to the turn of the 20th Century.

During China's chaotic Cultural Revolution launched in 1966, Confucian thought came under heavy criticism, but is now once again in vogue.

Bestseller

Just how popular Confucius has again become can be seen from the number of sales of a book on his beliefs.

Notes on the Analects of Confucius, by the academic Yu Dan, has become a bestseller since its publication two years ago.

Confucius believed education should be open to all men

The Chinese government has also rehabilitated Confucius, choosing the philosopher's name for its worldwide cultural institutes.

Confucius Institutes have now spread across the globe to Cuba, Africa, Europe and North America.

Their aim is to encourage foreigners to learn Chinese, and to promote relations between China and the rest of the world.

There are even Confucius schools in China, where children learn about the philosopher's teachings.

Qufu is Confucius' spiritual home: his temple, cemetery and family mansion are now Unesco world heritage sites.

The cemetery contains the remains of more than 100,000 of his descendants.

The sage's descendants have now spread across the entire globe. A family tree is due to be published next year.

It will have more than two million names on it, including women for the first time.

But experts estimate the number of descendants of the philosopher from Qufu could now number three million.

The torch arrives in Qufu on 22 July.

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