Tang Yahua (www.rednet.cn): The current direction the Confucian culture craze in Qufu is heading for is somewhat worrisome. Scholars are busy, because they'll get high payments for giving classes on Confucianism; businessmen are busy, as they are buying land and building Confucianism schools, which can charge high tuition fees; and the local government is busy attracting more local people to Confucianism courses. Given all of these activities, it would seem hard for people not to connect the so-called Confucian craze to commercial motivations. Although Confucianism does not reject commercial involvement, as it also stresses engagement with social life, commercialized Confucianism isn't the point.

That said, it's great to see the rise of Confucian studies and promotion in Qufu and many other places. In modern times, people may feel anxious due to rapid economic and social transition and development, so the Confucian culture can offer rich resources to cope with many modern issues. Properly tapping into this rich cultural mine will improve people's well-being and the country's overall development. However, if possible, Confucian-related cultural activities should try not to mix too much up with commercial activities. What we don't want to see is certain businesses making huge profits in the name of Confucianism, while the culture itself becomes ignored and obsolete.

Changing times

Wang Xiaodong (Global Times): Confucius is a great philosopher and educator in the Chinese history. The thinking and values that he championed compose invaluable treasure for the Chinese nation. However, the world today is quite different from the one Confucius lived in, and China has changed a lot since his time. If Confucius were still alive today, he would not agree to impose the whole set of his ideas on today's society. This is something the scholars, businessmen and the local government, all of whom are involved in this round of craze for Confucianism, must think about carefully before taking further actions.

With the support of the local government, businesses naturally will make full use of the opportunities provided by Qufu in terms of Confucius and the Confucian culture. This is evidenced by the facts that investors keep rushing into the hometown of Confucius and that new schools and cultural industrial parks are popping up.

As for the massive movements to build up Confucianism studies in the villages, we have to understand that the government intends to do something that will help improve local people's knowledge of traditional culture and moral standards.

We don't oppose businesses taking advantage of traditional culture to make profits. When there is need for the culture in the market, it's good that some businesses are selling related products. Then what about the image of Confucius and the image of traditional Chinese culture? When Confucianism is too much closely intertwined with business activities, we quite doubt the result of reviving the culture in this way. This is something the public and the descendents of Confucius need to think carefully about. There must be better ways to promote and spread Confucian ideals.