In celebration of the 2576th anniversary of the birth of the great sage Confucius, on the afternoon of September 26th (Saturday), representatives from overseas Chinese associations, teachers and students from Chinese schools, and people from all walks of life gathered at the Los Angeles Overseas Chinese Cultural and Educational Center’s grand auditorium to participate in the solemn and grand ceremony of honoring Confucius through traditional rituals. The event also included an awards ceremony to recognize outstanding teachers, upholding the spirit of respecting teachers and traditional cultural education.
Organized by the Southern California Confucius Commemoration Committee, the ceremony followed traditional ritual procedures, commencing with the sounds of “drum first solemn, drum second solemn, drum third solemn,” and then proceeded with rituals such as opening the door, welcoming the spirits, three bows, initial offerings, reading of blessings, secondary offerings, final offerings, and presenting of flowers. The ceremony also featured a performance of the six dances of the yis and traditional music to express reverence and remembrance for Confucius.
Kong Xianzhao, President of the American Confucian Society, managed to attend despite illness. He emphasized that Confucius is an important philosopher and educator in Chinese history, advocating throughout his life the core values of “benevolence” and the standards of “propriety.” Using recent international political events as examples, Kong Xianzhao highlighted the practical significance of Confucian ideas such as “do not do unto others what you would not want done to yourself” and “harmony without uniformity” in times of increased social division and conflict. He hoped that people could draw wisdom from Confucian teachings to seek reconciliation and promote peace.
The chief organizer of the Confucius Commemoration ceremony was Dr. Wang Zhuqing, with the chairpersons including the American Confucian Society, the Chinese American Association of Southern California, the Southern California Korean-Chinese Association, the Qilu Club, the California Taiwan Compatriots Association, various Vietnamese-Cambodian-Laotian-Chinese groups, the Cai Nianyin Education Foundation, and the Southern California Chinese Schools Union.
The event also featured Chinese school students reciting traditional literatures to allow participants to not only understand the traditional rituals of honoring Confucius but also experience the vitality of Chinese culture being passed on overseas.
Wang Zhuqing stated that the Confucius Commemoration ceremony is an important activity for remembering the great sage and continuing the heritage of Chinese culture. Through the solemn ritual ceremonies and cultural and educational activities, he hoped to instill in the younger generations the spirit of respecting teachers and continuing the inheritance of Chinese culture overseas. Additionally, traditional cultural activities such as “pluck the wisdom hair” and presenting longevity peaches were arranged on-site, attracting enthusiastic participation and adding cultural significance and fun to the ceremony.