The Teaching of True Humanity 29 Sep 2007 天地玄黄、宇宙洪荒、四季中和、惠泽八方. This is a passage in an eulogy enunicated in the Confuxian Memorial Service at a Urumqi Confucian Temple, which is the largest shrine devotd to the sage in the Xinjiang Uighur Automonous Region, constructed mainly during the 18th century. The service is the first this kind since 1945. Friday, 28 September, is the 2558th birth anniversary of China’s one of the greatest sages Confucian, and his followers once again gethered together for public memorial services. The sage’s teaching, known as 儒家思想 (Confucius), has been the heart and backbone of Chinese culture and tradition for two thousands years, which helped created one of the most splendid civilisations in the human history.
In another memorial ceremony site in Suzhou, which has a history that goes back to the time when the sage lived, and produced more priced First Confucius Scholars (状元) in history than anywhere else in China, the antiquated Six-Line Dance (六佾舞) was performed by 36 children wearing a red robe in the Ming fashion. The earliest record of the Six-Line Dance as a part of the memorial representation appeared in the fifth century: “元嘉立学, 裴松之仪, 应舞六佾; 以郊乐未具, 故从权奏登歌. 今金石已备, 宜设轩县之乐, 六佾之舞, 牲牢器用, 悉依上公. (The rites should include the Six-Line Dance. However, since the music band was not available, we had only staged singing performance. But now, as the orchestra is ready, the Six-Line Dance will be the part of the sacrificial presentation. )” The Six-Line Dance, originally a chamber dance in the Han emperors’ palace, is a collection of a set of ceremonial expressions that includes music, singing, dance and rites, and can be further divided into cultural and martial two major categories. When presenting cultural dance, the performers usually hold one or three feathers in the right hand and a bamboo flute in the left, with each body movement swinging to the tune of a spoken word or a music note. The dance performed at the Confucian Memorial Service is traditionally consisted of three chapters, each having eight lines of four-word verse, totalling 96 characters that correspond at precision to 96 physical movements. Through which the concepts travel, expand and radiate; and as the sage’s message of the universal humanity conveyed with the strength of synchronized harmony, it is thus made susceptible to the deep corner in our hearts, which further allows it to be developed into a comprehensive revelation of the greater wisdom, and beyond. It is reported that from September 2008, the World Confucius Forum will be held annually in the sage's birthplace Qufu County (曲阜市), Shangdong Province (山东省). Pre: The Rating
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At the start of this year's
ceremony in his birthplace, under the ancient city wall
of the 
