Walking the path Confucius first laid

Last month, I completed my Level 2 Chinese lessons. As the class wound up and we bid fond farewells to our teacher, there was little confusion in my mind on what to do next.

The third level course would only begin next spring but before that, I decided I must visit a shrine dedicated to a man widely revered for building the foundation of the modern educational system in China a couple of millennia ago.

So, the following Sunday, I set out to spend some quality time visiting the Confucius Temple in the heart of Beijing, a stone's throw away from another of the city's better-known landmarks — the Yonghegong Lama Temple.

It was a bright afternoon, the streets were busy as usual with tourists taking selfies and pictures of their significant others on the way leading up to the spot. The trees along the roadside and in the adjacent compounds were sporting autumn hues as I leisurely made my way in.

Once inside the formidable complex of buildings and museums, I quickly realized that this was actually my second visit. The first in late 2009 had been a rushed affair as I had unfortunately included it in a trip to the Yonghegong Lama Temple, which takes much longer to explore.

Since I did not remember much in the way of details from back then, this second visit, thankfully, felt as good as new.

What stood out vividly as soon as I entered the courtyard was a statue of the great man right before the doors leading up to the inner sanctum. Visitors were busy taking photographs and a middle-aged man was prodding a young boy, possibly his grandson, to pose and pray before it while another family member took pictures.

It must seem awe-inspiring for the little one, I mused. As he grows up, the schoolboy will no doubt come to appreciate what a seminal change this man from Qufu in Shandong province wrought on basic literacy by giving everyone an equal opportunity to attend school, an unheard-of thing in those days.

There is much to thank Confucius for; his remarkable contribution to the country's moral compass, his ability to almost single-handedly instill in its future generations the values of honesty, hard work, filial piety, and respect for fellow beings — in short, the Confucian ethos — that are in essence what we find in abundance in Chinese society, even today.

Modern-day China's egalitarianism, its pursuit of harmony and respect for tradition, had been codified into its national character by this man, whose unrelenting focus on virtuous living during a chaotic period might seem anachronistic for the time.

But, as is so often the case with nationalities or civilizations, societies do not always evolve organically, but through the sheer perseverance of some visionary individuals. In fact, much of China's rise today as a great power can be viewed through the prism of its ethical foundations wrought by a number of people who followed the Confucian ethic and, in turn, molded the national character.

In fact, an article on Confucius in this very paper had this to say: "Since roughly the 5th century BC, the school of thought that Confucius founded and the philosophy of Confucianism that developed from it have inspired and guided individuals across multiple generations."

As I explored every nook and corner of the temple with a multitude of well-behaved citizens, the fruits of a seed sown long ago became quite apparent to me.