My Grief for China, for Hong Kong

By



Wu Siu Yan



11 Sept 2002

Recently I saw a TV program about a children choir from Korea. They wore their traditional costumes -- the clothes their ancestors wore in the kingly courts. Their singing deeply moved me.

When I remember that their culture is from China, from Confucius, (in times past, there were lots of Confucius temples in Korea) I cannot but lament for our sorrowful state in China and in Hong Kong. They retain their cultural inheritance even onto today -- their courtly dress would probably be the courtly dress during the time of Confucius in China, but we do not.

How many of the people in China, or in Hong Kong have read Analect of Confucius ? one in one hundred ? one in one thousand ? or one in ten-thousand ?

The teachings of Confucius was the ROOT of our culture. What followed after him, e.g. the teachings of Mencius, and others, were nothing but "shoots" from this old "stump".

Koreans value their cultural heritage coming from Confucius, we, the Chinese in China and in Hong Kong, neglect it.

Although today, I value the teachings of LORD, of Jesus more than anything else, and they over-shadow the teachings of Confucius, of Mencius, but their teachings, e.g.

Do not to others what you don't want others to do to you. Have the heart of a little child (i.e. pure in heart, without evil thoughts)

were what moulded our society, were what paved the way for my accepting the teachings of LORD and Jesus. Without Confucius, we wouldn't have the Chinese society as we see it today.

Now many Hong-Kong-ites are lost. The youths follow the trend from Japan, the ethics depicted in the comic books. Chinese in China are lost -- they follow the trend from the money-worshipping West, if not Lenin and Marx.

Today is less than one hundred year from the fall of Ching Dynasty, from the time when Confucius was compulsory reading for public office, and our cultural orientation is lost. How many years from now on would the majority of Chinese forget the teachings of Confucius, of Mencius ? A race that forgets its past, forgets its cultural root, has no future.

If I had children, which I do not have, I would definitely have him/her read the book of Confucius. The Analect of Confucius, together with the Bible would be the cultural inheritance to him/her that they have to teach the same to their children, and their children to their children's children.

I dislike the Communists, they destroy our children, destroy the soul of numerous young people, destroy our whole Chinese race, while other nations, like Korea, Japan, cherish their Confucius root.

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