Death and rebirth

It's almost hard to imagine that the study of the ancient Chinese sage and his philosophies had stopped for more than 100 years. In fact, throughout Chinese history, there had never been an interruption before, Yang said.

"After the Opium Wars, Western ideology had a great impact on Chinese society," Yang said. "When scholars of that time lashed out at traditional culture and ideology, Confucianism was their first target."

It was during the "cultural revolution" (1966-76), Yang said, that the study of Confucianism hit rock bottom.

"At that time, everything about Confucius seemed like a dirty word, and academic study was frozen," Yang said.

But the halt couldn't alter basic role of Confucius' philosophy in China's roots for 25 centuries. In the 1980s, the study reawakened, and with more than two decades of economic development and the rise of social ills that inevitably come with it, the ancient wisdom of Confucius has become a solution for many thousands of people today.

"As people became richer, they started to want something to fill up inside," said Simone de la Tour, researcher at the Centre for the Higher Studies of Conscientiology in Iguassu Falls, Brazil, who is also the academic director of the Sino-Brazilian Academic Exchange Centre in Beijing. "Confucius' doctrine is what their hearts and minds are looking for."

Shinichi Yanaka, professor of humanities at the Japan Women's University in Tokyo, said the rebirth of Confucian study is necessary for China and the world.

In the 1970s and '80s, the depths of the Chinese research in Confucianism was considered lacking in the eyes of their Japanese counterparts.

"We didn't think highly of the Chinese scholars," said Yanaka, 58. "Today things have changed. The academic society is very progressive, and the level of Confucianism study is high, as well."

Scholars from Japan, South Korea and the United States have been involved in a programme of exchange trips with their Chinese counterparts, Yanaka said, and "we've gained a lot from it."

South Korean scholar Oh Suk-won agreed, saying significant progress has been achieved in Confucian studies in China since the '80s.

"The improvement reflects particularly in the treatment of the scholars," said Oh, who is the director of the Institute of Confucian Cultural Studies at Sungkyunkwan University in Seoul, considered the top Confucianism institution in the country. "It's encouraging."

Even so, Oh added there is still a long way to go to fully understand the essence of Confucianism and put it into practice.

"It all comes down to the essence of Confucianism, which calls for love and tolerance," he said. "That's the best recipe for sound communication among people."

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