Wishing benevolence, courtesy, and harmony upon the world. The 2022 Online Worship of the Confucian Sacrificial Rites was successfully held on September 28 to commemorate the 2,573rdyear since the birth of the great sage Confucius. CHINAKONGZI.ORG and the Jining Municipal Cultural Inheritance and Development Center partnered with more than 60 Confucian temples, academies, and cultural institutions (both domestic and international) to present the Confucian Sacrificial Rites in diverse forms on different platforms and provide up to date commentary on what was going on, why, and what it meant. More than 60 media outlets and platforms broadcast the event to some 12 million viewersfrom every corner of the globe to see and experience how they didthe Confucian Sacrificial Rites.

The 2022 Online Worship of the Confucian Sacrificial Riteslasted more than three hours. It featured a panoramic view of the Confucian Sacrificial Rites with local characteristics in the Qufu, Wenshang, and Quzhou Confucius Temples in Shandong, the Yuelu Academy in Hunan, the Hangzhou Confucius Temple in Zhejiang, the Gongcheng Confucius Temple in Guangxi, the Tianshui Confucius Temple in Gansu, the Hunyuan Confucius Temple in Shanxi, the A’cheng Confucius Temple in Harbin, the Changchun and Jilin Confucius Temples in Jilin, and the Eunjin-myeon Academy in South Korea’s Chungnam Province.

With content produced by the on-site studio in Jinan, the Qufu Confucius Temple, the Zhengding ConfuciusTemple, the on-site studio in Seoul, and ConfuciusTemples around the world, the event invited Professor Yan Binggang (Distinguished Fellow at Qufu Normal University, Dean of the Rural Confucian Research Institute, and descendant of the philosopher and Confucian disciple Yan Hui) and Professor Kong Deli (descendant of Confucius and faculty member of the Capital Normal University Department of Philosophy) to join us in the studio and provide the audience with exclusive commentary on the Confucian Sacrificial Rites. They also discussed trendy topics, such as why people offer sacrifices to Confucius today, the role of Confucian temples and academies in spreading Confucianism, how “rituals”go into people’s lives, and the influence of Confucian culture overseas, and further expounded on the values of rituals and Confucianism in the new era.

Other expert commentators includedLiu Xubing (Deputy Director of the Confucius Research Institute at the Nishan World Center for Confucian Studies) joining from the live broadcast studio in Qufu, Shandong; Gao Shitao (Executive Vice President of the Hebei Provincial Confucian Association) joining from the live broadcast studio in Zhengding, Hebei; and Park Hongying (President of the Confucius Cultural Center of Korea) joining from the live broadcast studio in Seoul, South Korea. Theseexperts providedviewers with a systematic explanation of the differences between the modern Confucian Sacrificial Rites as performed at the Qufu Confucius Temple, the Zhengding ConfuciusTemple, and the Eunjin-myeon Academy. As they explainedthe similarities and differences between the rites as practiced in different regions, viewers gained a better understanding ofthe charm of excellent traditional Chinese culture.

As the Yellow River is running, Confucianism is sweeping across the world. The Yellow River culture rooted in the Yellow River basin is one of the most representative and influential cultures in Chinese civilization. To further bring out the value contained in the Yellow River culture and tell the “stories of the Yellow River,”the “Confucian Sacrificial Rites along the Yellow River”program was rolled out - for the first time ever - as one of the highlights at the 2022 Online Worship of the Confucian Sacrificial Rites livecast.

The live broadcast presented the Confucian Sacrificial Rites in the Deyang Confucius Temple in Sichuan, the Taiyuan Confucius Temple in Shanxi, and the Weiwu Confucius Temple in Gansu. CHINAKONGZI.ORG and the Jining Municipal Cultural Inheritance and Development Center worked with mainstream media outlets from regions along the Yellow River to take the audience on a journey in a short documentary to the Lanzhou Confucius Temple in Gansu, the Tumut Confucius Temple in Inner Mongolia, the Hancheng Confucius Temple in Shaanxi, the Zhengzhou Confucius Temple in Henan, and the Jinan Fuxue Confucius Temple. This gave the audience an opportunity to discover the stories behind cultural relics, understand the inheritance of Confucianism along the Yellow River, and learn more about the vitality of the profound Confucian culture in the Yellow River basin.

Without Confucius, all ages would have been left in the dark. The thoughts of Confucius have travelled more than 2,000 years to lay the foundation for Chinese civilization, enlighten the Chinese nation, and provide Chinese wisdom to the development of world civilizations. In the live broadcast, international friends, overseas Chinese, domestic experts and scholars, and enthusiasts of traditional culture expressed their reverence for Confucius and passion for excellent traditional Chinese culture by narrating “Confucius on my mind”and reciting The Analects of Confucius.

Through the Confucian Sacrificial Rites, people worship Great Confucius, the teacher of all ages. The Online Worship of the Confucian Sacrificial Rites is a large iconic event guided by the Nishan World Center for Confucian Studies, the China Confucius Foundation, and the Shandong Provincial Department of Culture and Tourism. Over six years of development, it has become a significant opportunity and platform for people to understand Confucius, Confucianism, and excellent traditional Chinese culture. It is playing an increasingly important role in strengthening the exchange and mutual learning between Chinese culture and world civilizations and in building a community with a shared future for mankind.