Yu Dan, a media expert and professor at Beijing Normal University, is in the spotlight again this week, as 10 Chinese researchers have demanded she resign from her TV show.

Yu is well known for her on-air interpretation of Analects of Confucius, written by his disciples around 475 BC.

She has been a controversial figure since her show first became popular last October, making her a sudden celebrity. Some people love her witty style, while others criticize her for straying too far from the original text.

The latest attack came on Saturday as researchers in Beijing and other cities asked her to resign and demanded an apology for her "incorrect and misleading" interpretation of the classics.

Yu fought back through the local media on Monday, refusing to resign, adding that people need to learn a lesson about Chinese culture.

The latest attack on Yu began when a doctoral student named Xi Jinru, who is researching ancient Chinese poetry, posted a critical piece about her on an online forum.

He quickly gained the support of nine other doctoral students who research ancient Chinese literature at different universities.

Xi accused Yu of misleading the public and labeled her approach as "ignorant, unfaithful, and harmful."

His accusation has triggered more than 10,000 replies, both for and against.

In one case, at a ceremony to launch her new book at the Zhongguancun Book Store on March 3, a middle-aged man took off his jacket and exposed a shirt printed with the slogan, "Confucius is vexed, Zhuangzi is angry."

(China Daily March 7, 2007)