Celebrating Confucius: How South Africans Connect with His Wisdom
Hey there! Have you heard of Confucius? 🤔 He was a super famous Chinese philosopher who lived over 2,500 years ago! This year, people in China are celebrating his birthday at the China International Confucius Cultural Festival starting on September 27 in Qufu, which is where he was born.
But guess what? Confucius’s ideas aren’t just popular in China—they’re making waves all the way in South Africa! 🌍 Some South Africans see amazing similarities between his teachings and their own traditions.
One of Confucius’s big ideas is called “ren,” which means kindness or benevolence. Clea Schultz Mofokeng, a South African, says that “ren” is a lot like Ubuntu. Ubuntu is a South African idea that means “I am because we are.” It encourages people to be kind and help each other out. Isn’t that cool? 😊
Another person, Greta Frieslaar, really likes that Confucius believed everyone should have the chance to learn. Confucius thought education was super important, and Greta agrees! 📚 She thinks that everyone should be able to go to school and learn new things, just like Confucius wanted all those years ago.
So even though Confucius lived a long time ago, his ideas are still bringing people together today from different parts of the world. Maybe his wisdom can inspire us too! What do you think? 🤗
Reference(s):
cgtn.com
