As you probably already know, Confucius was an extremely influential Chinese philosopher. His philosophy emphasized the importance of honoring family and tradition, but also the importance of treating other people with kindness, empathy and respect. He lived from 551 to 479 BC. Although we don’t have any manuscripts written by Confucius, his teachings were preserved by his students and compiled into the Analects.

However, don’t bother reading the Analects if you’re looking for the short, pithy quotes that Westerners often jokingly attribute to Confucius. Per Wikipedia, here are some things Confucius actually did say:

• “To know your faults and be able to change is the greatest virtue.”
• “What you do not wish for yourself, do not do to others.”
• “Knowledge is recognizing what you know and what you don’t.”

For thousands of years, the Analects have been required reading for anybody who wishes to be taken seriously in Chinese society. So, it’s no surprise that a temple dedicated to Confucius, this week’s featured UNESCO World Heritage Site, has sprung up on the site of his family home. However, what may surprise you is the scale of the monument, which consists of around 100 separate buildings.

There is also an enormous cemetery, which holds the remains of Confucius and over 100,000 of his direct descendants. It’s really quite amazing, when you think about it!

To visit the temple and cemetery of Confucius, you will need a Chinese visa. Americans visiting China for tourism should apply for an “L” visa and have it in hand before leaving the US, as Chinese visas are not issued on arrival.

For more details about what you’ll need to apply, see Chinese Visa Requirements for Tourists.

RushMyTravelVisa can make the process of applying for a Chinese visa much quicker and less stressful. We walk you through the application process and expedite your visa with the Chinese embassy for the shortest processing times around.

Apply for your Chinese visa today!

Tags: China, China visa, Chinese visa, UNESCO World Heritage Sites

This entry was posted on Tuesday, September 21st, 2010 at 5:24 pm and is filed under World Heritage Site of the Week. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.