A descendant of Confucius has threatened to take the producers of a biopic of the ancient sage to court, saying the film ruins Confucius' reputation.

Kong Jian, who claims to be a 75th-generation direct descendant of Confucius, has sent a letter to producers of the film Confucius, asking them to delete the parts that are "obviously against history," Sohu.com reports.

In a recently released film trailer, Confucius, played by Hong Kong superstar Chow Yun-Fat, speaks in modern languages. The trailer also highlights a conversation between Confucius and the notorious concubine Nan-zi.

Kong believes the conversation misleads audiences that Confucius was romantically attracted to Nan-zi.

"Your recent trailer contains scenes that are obviously against history and ruin Confucius' image as a sage," Kong wrote in his letter. "Your film should respect history, not sacrifice Confucius' reputation for your commercial pursuit... Being a descendant, I shoulder a responsibility to maintain Confucius' reputation."

As a scholar of Confucianism, Kong asks the film's producers to delete the modern languages and use words from The Analects instead. The book, a representative work of Confucianism, is a record of Confucius' words and deeds.

Kong also wants to see fewer scenes of Confucius with Nan-zi in the film, saying at the end of his letter, "We won't rule out possibilities of using legal means if no positive action has been made on the producers' side."

But an unnamed representative of the film told Sohu.com that no changes or deletions would be made.

The star-studded commercial film, starring Chow, Zhou Xun, Chen Jianbin and Ren Quan, portrays Confucius as a man of romance and master of action. Director Hu Mei once told the media that she viewed Confucius not just as a saint, but also a vibrant, ordinary man.

The film is slated to open in Chinese theaters next month.

(CRIENGLISH.com December 11, 2009)