In mourning for His Imperial Majesty Emperor Guangxu on the 101th anniversary of his death, I'd like to share a link of the trailer of the coming Chinese epic film 'Confucius'(due to be released in the Spring Festival of 2010), which cast Yun-Fat Chow as the sage Chinese philosopher and educator, who spent his whole lifetime preaching and teaching his thoughts throughout China, which would only become highly esteemed many years after his death but which would change the whole course not only of Chinese but of the whole East Asian history for the next two thousand years to come, just as how Jesus Christ had shaped the Western Civilization.
I now begin to call myself a Confucian and I think that the reason why I have discovered the values of Confucianism is none other than my veneration and love towards Emperor Guangxu, for the basis of Confucianism is that a soverain who loves and cares for his people should be loved back and be paid loyalty. I shall always remember that Emperor Guangxu sacrificed his own life for the good of his country and the cause of his people, a courageous and selfless deed that few other soverains would ever match.
Guangxu himself was raised in a Confucian education (thanks to Weng Tonghe), and only recently do I realize that the very power that had pushed such a seemingly weak and frail young man to take the heavy responsibility of reviving China upon his shoulders is his faith in Confucianism, for faith always prevails over natural cowardice; and this is the very reason why Confucius says in the "Analects" : "The courageous are not necessarily humane(ren); while the humane must be courageous". For humanity is so strong and noble an ideal that courage can naturally yield from it.
Guangxu, along with the martyres of the 1898 reform such as Tan Sitong, had "not tried to save their own lives by undermining humanity, but rather sacrificed their lives to make humanity prevail" (also from "The Analects")
Emperor Guangxu had formed such an idea at a very young age, therefore his risking all in 1898 was not out of impulse and infatuation, but rather out of a long-established sense of duty. It is said that in the winter when Guangxu was merely 7 years old, he ran out barefoot into the snow to thank heaven that his prayers finally came true. (For snow is good for crops in spring), and when both his tutor and his servants tried to persuade him back into the room, he yelled to them resentfully, "You fellows don't understand me at all, just as those who didn' t understand Confucius."
Anyway, I'm looking forward to seeing the film "Confucius" next year although I will always be in France.For me, the greatness of China is due to Confucianism. If we lose this tradition, we will find not even a foothold in the contemporary world.
