A work about the ancient sage Confucius has become China's best-selling book in recent memory, Reuters reported. "Notes on Reading the Analects", by Beijing Normal University professor Yu Dan has sold over three million copies in four months, defying critics who say it turns Confucian thought into self-help pulp for the modern age. Yu's book is based on a lecture she gave on the Analects on state television in October, which was very well received. Analysts say the following Yu's work has generated speaks volumes for the deep anxiety about morality and beliefs in a Chinese society that has gone through a disorienting transformation in recent decades. Confucian philosophy, which emphasizes high personal morality and a strict hierarchy of social relationships, was endorsed by China's imperial rulers but denounced as "reactionary" during the Cultural Revolution. The ideological vacuum created by the rush to get rich of the last 30 years has made China the world's "largest soul market", according to writer Zha Jianying.
Categories