Hans Kueng at Beijing Forum on Nov 2. Kueng says that China has grown richer and stronger over the years, so this is also an ideal opportunity to look at its spiritual needs. Kuang Linhua / China Daily

Hans Kueng returns to Beijing to set up the World Ethics Institute at Peking University, reports Zhang Yue, who adds that the Sinologist is well qualified to do so.

After more than 30 years, Hans Kueng still vividly recalls his first visit to the Chinese mainland in 1979. That was on a tour of Peking University as a delegation member of the Kennedy Institute of Ethics, Washington DC. He was 51.

"We were among the first batch of foreigners allowed to stay at Confucius Mansion in Shandong," he recalls. "It was such a lovely place."

That was also a remarkable period for China, one year after the country initiated its reform and opening-up policy in 1978.

"When we were younger, China was quite a mysterious place for us," he recalls, smiling. "If anyone told us something about China, we called him a 'China Hand'."

The 84-year-old Sinologist recently returned to Beijing to establish the World Ethics Institute at Peking University.

Kueng's understanding of Chinese philosophy goes back to his university days, when he was inspired by translations of Chinese classics by Italian Jesuit Matteo Ricci (1552-1610), who came to China as a missionary.

"Kueng was thinking about setting up the institute in China many years ago," says Yang Xusheng, a professor at the Center for World Religious and Global Ethics at Peking University.

Yang was one of Kueng's favorite students when he was studying for his doctorate with Kueng at the University of Tuebingen in the 1990s.

Yang says Kueng has been pushing for the establishment of a world ethics center in China for many years.

While traditional Chinese ethics and values, found in Confucianism and Taoism, are a crucial part of world ethics, "China is now at the stage of seeking something more than material goods," Kueng says.

"When I was touring Taishan Mountain, I watched young couples tie red ribbons to the bushes to express their wishes for happiness and harmony. It's essential to determine what kind of happiness they are seeking."

This idea was mentioned when Kueng addressed the opening ceremony of the 2012 Beijing Forum on Nov 2.

Kueng feels that China has grown richer and stronger over the years, so this is also an opportunity to look at its spiritual needs.

He says that during his recent visit to China, he noticed "people in large cities like Beijing and Shanghai rushing from one place to another pursuing material success.

"In fact, it is traditional Chinese philosophy that could help people in China at the moment to get more spiritual support, such as Confucius."

There are four values that Kueng mentions as being most important: the protection of life, or treating others like human beings; protection of the relationship between men and women; protection against poverty; and the promotion of truth.

Kueng's Chinese name, Kong Hansi refers to the great Chinese philosopher Confucius (Kong), while "Hansi" means "thinking of Chinese".

He talks about an incident that he read about it in China Daily and has underlined a quote: "The training of preschool teachers is very market-oriented. Kindergartens want to hire teachers with better teaching skills and often ignore their ethics," from a legal expert in China.

"This is what I am worried about, and hope I can help," he says.

However, this could be the professor's last visit to China because of his age.

"I would love to come," he says. "But I do not know. I am now 84 years old."

Even so, he said he had been refreshed by his travels in the capital, where he stayed one night in Fragrant Hills.

"I had a good time there," Kueng says, his eyes sparkling behind old glasses.

"I never stop learning about what's happening in China at the moment. The country appears very often in almost all the major media in Europe. I can see its impact growing.

"And I give China my best wishes."

Contact the writer at zhangyue@chinadaily.com.cn.

(China Daily 12/16/2012 page4)