More than 2,500 years later, it is still possible to feel the presence of Confucius by visiting his old residence in Qufu, east China's Shandong Province.

In recent years, around 3 million people from across the world have annually visited the well-preserved temple, cemetery and family mansion of Confucius in Qufu, put on the World Heritage List of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in 1994.

"These are awe-inspiring places. The tall trees with big crowns that appear to reach the sky, the majestic ancient palaces, the rare birds that hover in the sky and the solemn and respectful ambiance everywhere seem to have brought you back to Confucius (551-479 B.C.) times," said a tourist Dong Lizhi.

The temple of Confucius, the great thinker, philosopher and educator, was built to commemorate him in 478 B.C., one year after he passed away. Built on the basis of his old residence, the temple displayed clothes, hats, musical instruments, vehicles and books he once used, which also made it the world's oldest museum.

The temple has been destroyed and reconstructed over the centuries. Today it covers 130,000 square meters of land and comprises more than 100 buildings in nine compounds built along a straight line.

Noises of people at the gate disappear suddenly when one enters the temple. A solemn atmosphere reigns here. The blue tiles, red paint on doors and millennium-old but still lush trees calm people.

The cemetery of Confucius, planted with more than 100,000 trees, contains the tomb of Confucius and the tombs of his descendants. More than 9,000 of the trees are above the age of 200 years. More than 4,000 steles of various periods scatter among the trees, forming a Forest of Steles unrivaled in China and a mirror of changes of times.

The small house of the Confucius family developed into a gigantic aristocratic residence, of which 152 buildings remain. The area is for Confucius' direct descendants.

In its brief introduction, the World Heritage Center of UNESCO explained the survival of temple, cemetery and family mansion of Confucius in Qufu.

"The Qufu complex of monuments has retained its outstanding artistic and historic character due to the devotion of successive Chinese emperors over more than 2,000 years," says the introduction.

In present day China, the complex is also under careful protection. "All buildings, stone carvings and vegetation of these places have been well protected," said Ding Chen, vice director of Qufu City Cultural Relics Bureau. "We have adopted the strictest regulations, the most advanced methods and the uttermost devotion in our work."

The bureau has placed electricity wiring underground, built fire-water ponds, installed lightning rods and established a computerized management system to monitor all the cultural properties there.

The 79-year-old Kong Fanyin is one of the devoted workers. Hired as a helper in the temple in the 1940s, he has since grown into a world-renowned specialist in the management and maintenance of cultural relics of the temple, cemetery and family mansion of Confucius.

"I love every grass and tree here. Sometimes I work days and nights in a row," he said. "Confucius has left so much and such great spiritual wealth to his posterity. We have a responsibility to take good care of the wealth."

Confucius and his thought have profoundly influenced the politics, values and ethics of Chinese civilization. Confucianism was enshrined by Chinese feudal rulers as the orthodox school of thought since the Western Han Dynasty (206 BC-24 AD). It also spread far into east and south Asia where its influence can still be felt today.

Research on Confucius and Confucianism thrives in many parts of the country, so is the trade of goods bearing the hallmark of Confucius, like alcohol, bean curds and hand-made cloth shoes.

Lots of streets and places in Qufu City are named after Confucius or things related to him. Among tourist sites in the city, there is a street lined with lamps printed with popular remarks of Confucius.

Worldwide, there are more than 100 websites devoted to Confucius. In some schools of China and Japan, reading aloud the Analects of Confucius and other classical poems has become a required course.

Centuries later, as with most of the world's great men, Confucius remains present everywhere and he continues to instruct and enlighten people.
 
(Xinhua News Agency June 7, 2004)