China, Britain have parallels in literary traditions

Words are what keep cultures in touch with each other, and Confucius offers many points of contact with the West

Growing up as a kid in Oxford, I enjoyed a game in which you started by saying, "Confucius he say ", and then your friend had to finish the phrase with an imaginary Confucian saying.

At the time I hadn't a clue who Confucius was - obviously I do now - but looking back, I realize that's probably when the seeds of my interest in China and Eastern culture were planted.

I grew up in a house with books - both my parents respected the written word. And one of my favorite reads was - and still is - the Oxford Book of Quotations. And yes, Confucius is in there, along with Shakespeare.

Like many students in their early teens in the UK, I was herded with classmates once a year into buses and taken to the Royal Shakespeare Company's theater at Stratford-upon-Avon, the Bard's hometown.

The one play that stands out in my memory is King Lear, with quotes such as "Now, gods, stand up for bastards!" and "I am a man more sinn'd against than sinning". Imagine my joy when I discovered it was my set Shakespeare book for what were then called "Ordinary"-level examinations - equivalent to the high school entrance test in the Chinese system.

Words and phrases are, after all, what keep cultures in touch with each other, and in Confucius are a huge number of things in common with Western culture.

Take for example, this famous line on the five virtues: "To practice five things under all circumstances constitutes perfect virtue; these five are gravity, generosity of soul, sincerity, earnestness, and kindness".

Almost certainly they represent what my parents taught me, and what as a parent I have told my two daughters.

My favorite, though, is "Study the past, if you would divine the future." As an amateur historian, I feel a lot of our world leaders could do worse than to follow that advice.

Of course, it's not all serious stuff - another of my favorite authors is the renowned polymath Noel Coward, a playwright, actor, singer, cabaret artist and master of the bon mot who came to typify the England of the 1920s and 1930s with his clipped delivery, carefully poised cigarette holder and immaculate sense of style.

He is renowned for delivering stinging one-liners such as "Television is for appearing on, not looking at" and "Strange how potent cheap music is." Of that other man of letters, Oscar Wilde, he said: "What a tiresome, affected sod."

Coward, who didn't suffer fools gladly, was once asked by an earnest young actor for advice: "You ask my advice about acting? Speak clearly, don't bump into the furniture, and if you must have motivation, think of your pay packet on Friday."

Many Chinese friends and colleagues rate Tang Xianzu as China's greatest playwright, and comparisons with Shakespeare are inescapable. They lived at about the same time and they addressed various issues and emotions in much the same way.

This quote from him is one that could have come straight from one of Shakespeare's tragicomedies: "Love is not at its fullest if one who lives is unwilling to die for it, or if it cannot restore to life one who has died."

Each culture has its own book that typifies the national spirit. In Vietnam, it's an early 19th century book, essentially an extended poem, called Kim Van Khieu, by Nguyen Du. One line I remember from one of the many English translations is: "So a maiden blessed by beauty is likewise cursed by envy."

Make of that what you will.

In China, it's Tang's masterpiece The Peony Pavilion that grabs the attention, and just as soon as I can lay my hands on a decent English translation, that will be the next big read.

The author is managing editor of China Daily European Bureau. Contact the writer at chris@mail.chinadailyuk.com