Comments on: Exploring Qufu, Home of Confucius…走进曲阜

By: Joseph Prendergast

Joseph Prendergast — Sun, 30 Oct 2011 12:35:15 +0000

Benjamin:

I just found your web site, and I wanted you to know that I’ll be following it, and especially reading about your China experiences.
Thanks for all of this!

By: estabien esteban

estabien esteban — Mon, 06 Sep 2010 19:06:19 +0000

As life is coming to an end, why not get along and just help out a friend?

Aka observer just kiking back

By: Benjamin Ross

Benjamin Ross — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 13:21:40 +0000

@ Jenny

Qufu is in Shandong.

By: Jenny

Jenny — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 05:37:16 +0000

Can I check with you the Qu Fu that you went is it in Shandong or Xuzhou?

Thanks

By: joe

joe — Sun, 19 Apr 2009 16:28:10 +0000

hi there, i am very interested in the place! and planning to have a visit there coming july.. would u pls send me an email regarding how to go there from beijing/tianjin? also the accommodation in qufu thanks in advance! joe yee8607@yahoo.com

By: Benjamin Ross

Benjamin Ross — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 07:37:24 +0000

@ Maxiewawa

Wow, I never thought I’d see the day when people were making liturgical citations on my blog. I am in fact Jewish. I’ve read most of the New Testament, but am by no means an expert (or even well-read for that matter) on Christianity.

@NJD

My pictures are probably a bit misleading in terms of crowding. When I take pictures, I intentionally wait for gaps in the tourist herds and take shots then. Therefore my pictures usually end up coming out giving the impression that there are less tourists than are actually there. Qufu isn’t too bad though. Nothing like going to the Forbidden City or the Badaling Great Wall, but there is still a pretty substantial amount of tourism.

@Josh

I would say that both Pingyao and Qufu are worth a visit, but I am also a connoisseur of small Chinese towns. Purely in terms of architecture, Pingyao has more to offer than Qufu, but Qufu also has the whole Confucian aspect. Neither one of them requires more than two days. I think it would actually be a pretty interesting trip to do the two of them back to back.

By: Jet So

Jet So — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 01:37:03 +0000

I just recall “Stone Cold” Steve Austin’s T-shirt motto: “Do undo others!” …. Hmm, no wonder he omitted the 2nd part, hehe.

Yes, I heard that lost ten tribes of Israel are also in Persia (Iran), India, Afghanistan, Ethiopia and even in Japan & Native Americans!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ten_Lost_Tribes

By: Alan

Alan — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 13:54:01 +0000

As other folks have commented above, Confucius’s Silver Rule (I like that label) is similar to the biblical Golden Rule, but their implications are vastly different. I totally agree. Some biblical scholars believe Chinese ancestors were a lost tribe of the Israelites. Ben, have you ever read anything about that? I have read a book (maybe semi scholarly, not exactly religious) on how Chinese ancestors passed the stories of Genesis (before they were written) on to their descendants and how the meaning of some Chinese characters have reflected these stories. I think I have the book. If you are interested, I can find it and give you some more information. I think it’s written by a Hong Kong pastor and an American linguist.

By: Vincent

Vincent — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 12:10:40 +0000

Ah, but it’s not the Golden Rule! It’s in the negative. Some call it the Silver Rule. When you mine it a bit, you find that the implications and underlying assumptions are different. It’s passive. The Golden Rule compels you to be hospitable and charitable to your fellow human being. Confucius’ saying does not. Unless you want to get all meta and double-negative-y – i.e. “I do -not- want others to -not- give me a hundred dollars.” Heh heh.

By: Josh

Josh — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 09:19:42 +0000

Great pics, Ben.

You mentioned how you had been to Pingyao before to see the ancient walled city there. I’m just curious if you would recommend somebody to visit Qufu who has already visited Pingyao and seen his fair share of temples all throughout China.

Do you think this place was sufficiently unique and captivating to warrant it’s own visit?