SOURCE / PRESS RELEASE
Confucius Academy of Guiyang promotes etiquette culture
The Confucius Academy in Guiyang organized a number of impressive activities to achieve an epochal revival of etiquette culture, consolidating the growing cultural confidence.
The "Coming-of-Age Ceremony" is a solemn rite of passage that announces the young people's transition toward maturity. On the eve of the May 4 Youth Day in 2025, the Confucius Academy resounded with the loud oaths of more than 1,100 high school senior students, who chanted the Odes to Morality Cultivation while dressed in traditional attires. This rite of passage to adulthood is a solemn commitment to the life ahead. It reminds adolescents to give priority to the self-cultivation of virtues and kindness, to remain unfazed by fame and fortune, and to avoid being intimidated by difficulties. In the contemporary context of material abundance and diverse spiritual pursuits, the "Coming-of-Age Ceremony" serves as a lighthouse to allow young people to better navigate their life journey.
The coming-of-age ceremony marks a milestone in an adolescent's growth, while a Chinese-style wedding is deemed as the pinnacle of life by many. On August 10, 2024, 18 couples from all over the country participated in a ceremony that followed ancient rituals and traditional wedding customs at the Confucius Academy in Guiyang. The ceremony both promoted and innovated traditional wedding culture, actively advocating for a new trend in marriage and love. Traditional rituals such as hand-washing, face-to-face sitting, and food sharing, symbolized the determination of newlyweds to face future challenges together. This Chinese wedding allowed the newlyweds to immerse themselves in the sanctity and solemnity of marriage, and experience the new dynamics and the vigor of traditional culture in modern society. The ceremony represented more than the inheritance and promotion of traditional wedding culture, positioning itself as an example of modern marriage philosophy.
During the ceremony, Professor Gong Dequan, an event advisor of the Confucius Academy, shared the traditional customs of Chinese weddings and the significance of the ceremony. China had established a complete set of wedding rituals as early as the Zhou Dynasty (1046 BC-256 BC). These rituals have been passed down generation after generation to this day thanks to the power of tradition and wedding ceremony. Today's grand and romantic Chinese-style wedding ceremony showcased the tremendous power of wedding rituals. This approach to traditional wedding culture utilizes ancient resources to address modern issues, and it is of great importance for resolving the humanistic anxiety and cultural predicament of contemporary China.
The "First Writing Ceremony" is a sacred moment for children to unlock their path to wisdom. On September 19, 2024, 406 students from the Guiyang No.2 Experimental Primary School used vermilion writing brushes as a symbol of the beginning of receiving education, and beat drums to set their aspirations. The ceremony carried forward traditional educational rituals, encouraging students to seek learning. In an era of information explosion, the "First Writing Ceremony" reminded children that learning is more than just acquiring knowledge, learning is a way to cultivate virtue and personal character, enabling them to grow up healthily.
The "Respecting the Elderly Ceremony" of the Chongyang Festival (Double Ninth Festival) promotes the traditional virtue of respecting and caring for the elderly. On October 11, 2024, the Confucius Academy in Guiyang invited nine families considered to be models of exemplary filial piety to take part in ritual ceremonies, thereby creating a strong cultural atmosphere of respecting and caring for the elderly.
The Confucius Academy holds the "Respecting the Elderly Ceremony" during the Chongyang Festival each year, aiming to strengthen family education and family values through a solemn and elegant ceremony that showcases the beauty of Chinese civilization. The promotion of the traditional virtue of filial piety is becoming increasingly significant in the context of an aging society and it reminds people to respect and care for the elderly.
The "Coming-of-Age Ceremony", the "First Writing Ceremony", the "Chinese Wedding Ceremony" and the "Respecting the Elderly Ceremony" are the "Four Ceremonies of Life" organized by the Confucius Academy in Guiyang that highlight the charm of excellent traditional Chinese culture, but this is not all. Another grand event, the Confucius Memorial Ceremony is also a solemn ritual of the academy aimed at further promoting the profound heritage of Chinese tradition.
To commemorate the 2,575th anniversary of the birth of Confucius, the grand 2024 (Year of Jiachen) Confucius Memorial Ceremony was held by the Confucius Academy in Guiyang on September 28, 2024. Steeped in a solemn and respectful atmosphere, more than 400 guests, including representatives from provincial, municipal and district cultural departments, experts and scholars from universities, colleges, primary and secondary schools, Confucius' descendants and citizens gathered together to pay tribute to the sage. Through the recitation of classics, and music and dance performances, the ceremony embodied the Confucian ideology and culture, and interpreted the connotations of moral philosophy present in Confucius' studies, including thoughts like "a benevolent person loves others" and "establishing oneself through etiquette". This event played a significant role in strengthening the country's cultural power, and expanding its influence.
On September 28, 12 years ago, the Confucius Academy was officially inaugurated and a sculpture dedicated to Confucius' teaching was unveiled. Thanks to the care and support of all stakeholders over the past 12 years, the Confucius Academy has achieved leapfrog development and made positive contributions to the inheritance and promotion of traditional Chinese culture, and the cultivation and practice of the core socialist values.
The "Coming-of-Age Ceremony" is a solemn rite of passage that announces the young people's transition toward maturity. On the eve of the May 4 Youth Day in 2025, the Confucius Academy resounded with the loud oaths of more than 1,100 high school senior students, who chanted the Odes to Morality Cultivation while dressed in traditional attires. This rite of passage to adulthood is a solemn commitment to the life ahead. It reminds adolescents to give priority to the self-cultivation of virtues and kindness, to remain unfazed by fame and fortune, and to avoid being intimidated by difficulties. In the contemporary context of material abundance and diverse spiritual pursuits, the "Coming-of-Age Ceremony" serves as a lighthouse to allow young people to better navigate their life journey.
The coming-of-age ceremony marks a milestone in an adolescent's growth, while a Chinese-style wedding is deemed as the pinnacle of life by many. On August 10, 2024, 18 couples from all over the country participated in a ceremony that followed ancient rituals and traditional wedding customs at the Confucius Academy in Guiyang. The ceremony both promoted and innovated traditional wedding culture, actively advocating for a new trend in marriage and love. Traditional rituals such as hand-washing, face-to-face sitting, and food sharing, symbolized the determination of newlyweds to face future challenges together. This Chinese wedding allowed the newlyweds to immerse themselves in the sanctity and solemnity of marriage, and experience the new dynamics and the vigor of traditional culture in modern society. The ceremony represented more than the inheritance and promotion of traditional wedding culture, positioning itself as an example of modern marriage philosophy.
During the ceremony, Professor Gong Dequan, an event advisor of the Confucius Academy, shared the traditional customs of Chinese weddings and the significance of the ceremony. China had established a complete set of wedding rituals as early as the Zhou Dynasty (1046 BC-256 BC). These rituals have been passed down generation after generation to this day thanks to the power of tradition and wedding ceremony. Today's grand and romantic Chinese-style wedding ceremony showcased the tremendous power of wedding rituals. This approach to traditional wedding culture utilizes ancient resources to address modern issues, and it is of great importance for resolving the humanistic anxiety and cultural predicament of contemporary China.
The "First Writing Ceremony" is a sacred moment for children to unlock their path to wisdom. On September 19, 2024, 406 students from the Guiyang No.2 Experimental Primary School used vermilion writing brushes as a symbol of the beginning of receiving education, and beat drums to set their aspirations. The ceremony carried forward traditional educational rituals, encouraging students to seek learning. In an era of information explosion, the "First Writing Ceremony" reminded children that learning is more than just acquiring knowledge, learning is a way to cultivate virtue and personal character, enabling them to grow up healthily.
The "Respecting the Elderly Ceremony" of the Chongyang Festival (Double Ninth Festival) promotes the traditional virtue of respecting and caring for the elderly. On October 11, 2024, the Confucius Academy in Guiyang invited nine families considered to be models of exemplary filial piety to take part in ritual ceremonies, thereby creating a strong cultural atmosphere of respecting and caring for the elderly.
The Confucius Academy holds the "Respecting the Elderly Ceremony" during the Chongyang Festival each year, aiming to strengthen family education and family values through a solemn and elegant ceremony that showcases the beauty of Chinese civilization. The promotion of the traditional virtue of filial piety is becoming increasingly significant in the context of an aging society and it reminds people to respect and care for the elderly.
The "Coming-of-Age Ceremony", the "First Writing Ceremony", the "Chinese Wedding Ceremony" and the "Respecting the Elderly Ceremony" are the "Four Ceremonies of Life" organized by the Confucius Academy in Guiyang that highlight the charm of excellent traditional Chinese culture, but this is not all. Another grand event, the Confucius Memorial Ceremony is also a solemn ritual of the academy aimed at further promoting the profound heritage of Chinese tradition.
To commemorate the 2,575th anniversary of the birth of Confucius, the grand 2024 (Year of Jiachen) Confucius Memorial Ceremony was held by the Confucius Academy in Guiyang on September 28, 2024. Steeped in a solemn and respectful atmosphere, more than 400 guests, including representatives from provincial, municipal and district cultural departments, experts and scholars from universities, colleges, primary and secondary schools, Confucius' descendants and citizens gathered together to pay tribute to the sage. Through the recitation of classics, and music and dance performances, the ceremony embodied the Confucian ideology and culture, and interpreted the connotations of moral philosophy present in Confucius' studies, including thoughts like "a benevolent person loves others" and "establishing oneself through etiquette". This event played a significant role in strengthening the country's cultural power, and expanding its influence.
On September 28, 12 years ago, the Confucius Academy was officially inaugurated and a sculpture dedicated to Confucius' teaching was unveiled. Thanks to the care and support of all stakeholders over the past 12 years, the Confucius Academy has achieved leapfrog development and made positive contributions to the inheritance and promotion of traditional Chinese culture, and the cultivation and practice of the core socialist values.
