More than 100 students from 10 American universities, including Harvard University, Columbia University and the University of Chicago, gathered in Qufu, Shandong province, on Wednesday and Thursday for a themed exchange event titled Seeking Wisdom in Confucius' Hometown to Write a New Chapter of Friendship.
The visit took them to the Temple of Confucius, the Kong Family Mansion, the Confucius Museum, and Nishan Sacred Land, offering a vivid encounter with China's classical heritage that transformed participants' understanding of the ancient philosopher.
For most of the American students, Confucius (551-479 BC) had long been a distant name in world history textbooks whose teachings were about some abstract principles such as those about education and filial piety.
Yet stepping into the very spaces where Confucius once walked, taught, and lived brought an entirely new dimension to their learning.
Kiana Loree Haywood from Central Michigan University said she had previously pictured Confucius as "larger than life", never imagining him as "an everyday person with students and relationships and challenges".
