BEIJING, Sept 6 – China is considering moving Teachers’ Day to Sept 28 believed to be the birthday of Confucius (551-479 BC), the most important educationalist and philosopher in Chinese civilisation.
The idea was made public on Thursday by the Legislative Affairs Office of the State Council or China’s Cabinet in a draft amendment of education laws to canvass public opinion, Xinhua news agency reported.
Since 1985, Teacher’s Day has been celebrated a few days after the new school year begins on Sept 10 every year.
For some years, experts and legislators have been considering moving Teacher’s Day to an alternative date.
Li Hanqiu, a scholar in traditional Chinese culture, suggested in 2004 that Teachers’ Day should have historical and cultural associations and fall on
Confucius (551-479 BC)’ birthday.
However, there is little agreement among academic circles on the exact date of the philosopher’s birthday, with some believing he was born on Sept 28 and others saying Sept 8 or Oct 9.
The Chinese have held rituals to commemorate Confucius’s birthday on Sept 28 since 1913 and in Taiwan, where Chinese traditional culture is jealously safeguarded, Teachers’ Day falls on Sept 28.
In an online survey on one of China’s major web portals Sina.com, about 70 percent of the population support the date change while the remaining 30 percent opposing the change say it only acts as a formality.
– BERNAMA
