In this technology-savvy era, more and more Chinese people are growing up with little or no knowledge of traditional culture, including Confucianism, although they are up to date on information on foreign brands such as Starbucks and happy to celebrate Western festivals such as Christmas and Valentine’s Day. Owing to this, there have been rising calls for authorities and people to make greater efforts to educate young people about the essence and importance of traditional Chinese culture.
At a time when many of our traditional virtues, such as filial piety and respect for teachers, are dying, efforts to revive them should not create controversies. As part of China’s tradition, kowtowing before parents and teachers on certain occasions as a way of thanking them for their efforts in shaping their lives should not be seen as an attempt to propagate forced humility or inferiority among the young.
China has done a lot to promote freedom and equality over the past decades, but that does not means efforts to advocate filial piety from children to parents and respect from students to teachers are redundant.
But while trying to popularize these virtues, school authorities should not be too formalistic — for instance, they should not focus excessively on imitating what people in imperial China wore during such ceremonies. Instead, they should concentrate on making such ceremonies truly social and healthy events to carry forward the essence of traditional Chinese culture.
The author is a senior writer with China Daily.