FCC Club Lunch with David YANG Zuoren

Speaker: David YANG Zuoren
Director, Shandong Confucian Business Institute

Topic: Why China promotes Confucianism

China’s government has spent at least $500 million since 2004 establishing 350 Confucius Institutes worldwide to teach Mandarin and Chinese culture. It also funds classrooms at elementary and secondary schools in foreign countries named after the philosopher who lived almost 2,500 years ago. David Yang Zuoren will talk about what lies behind this effort and how Confucianism is relevant to understanding the Chinese people today.

David YANG Zuoren was born in Beijing in 1954, but his ancestral roots are in Shandong, the native province of Confucius. He began studying history at Qufu Normal College in 1977, continuing his post-graduate studies in pre-Qing history and intellectual history before transferring to the Confucius Research Department. He also participated in the establishment of the China Confucius Foundation and the Confucius Research Center, and is director of the Shandong Confucian Business (Rushang) Institute, where he also teaches.