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Confucius descendant to speak at International
Days
“I am not one who was born in the possession of knowledge;
I am one who is fond of antiquity, and earnest in seeking it there.”
—Confucius
The long Chinese beard, weeping mustache and elaborate flowing
robes may be missing, but Hsiang-te Kung, the clean-shaven direct
descendant of Confucius, is keeping the ancient philosopher’s
penchant for wisdom alive and well.
 Kung,
director of the Confucius Institute soon to open at the University
of Memphis, will speak on the importance of the U.S.–China
relationship for education and business at Pellissippi State Tuesday,
November 6, at 2 p.m.
The presentation, which is free and open to the community, is
part of International Days activities, which run November 5-14.
It takes place in the Performing Arts Center.
“We are living in this global village, and we interact a
lot with people in other cultures. We cannot be very isolated,”
Kung said.
Kung says that through his visit, he will introduce Pellissippi
State students to China.
“I’m a geographer, and can talk about the land and
the people, why American people need to know about China.”
Kung, who was born in China and educated in Taiwan, has been a
visiting professor and lecturer in China as well as the U.S. He
has co-written three books and published more than 70 articles
in professional journals.
His visit is being sponsored by the Tennessee Consortium for International
Studies, headquartered at the Pellissippi Campus.
Confucius (551-479 B.C.E.) was a Chinese thinker and educator
whose teachings and philosophy have deeply influenced Chinese,
Korean, Japanese and Vietnamese thought and life. His philosophy
emphasized personal and governmental morality, correctness of
social relationships, justice and sincerity.
The Confucius Institute, headquartered in Beijing, is a nonprofit,
public institute whose goal is to promote Chinese language and
culture through affiliated Confucius Institutes around the world.
Memphis will have the only Confucius Institute in the mid-South,
and the institute there will be one of about 20 in the U.S.
“The Confucius Institute is a very distinguished institution,”
said Milton Grimes, director of TnCis. “It broadly expands
the awareness of China. The Confucius Institute is going to occupy
the entire 11th floor of a high-rise in Memphis. It will be there
seven days a week to disseminate information and establish projects
and programs to promote China.”
Kung will assume his duties as director when the Confucius Institute
opens in 2008. He currently directs the university’s Asian
Studies and International Trade and is a professor in the Department
of Earth Sciences. During the past two years, Kung has led student
and faculty groups to China.
He received his undergraduate degree from the University of Chinese
Culture in Taipei, Taiwan, and his master’s and doctoral
degrees in geography and geology from the University of Tennessee.
For more information on Kung’s visit or International Days,
contact Theresa Castillo at 539-7279 or tcastillo@tncis.org.
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