Ancient Chinese scholar Zeng Gong honored by hometown

Source:chinadaily

By Li Wenrui

Elementary school children from Nanfeng county, Fuzhou, East China's Jiangxi province, perform in Beijing on July 20, 2019. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

For anyone who dabbles in the history of the Song Dynasty (420-479), Zeng Gong is certainly a significant cultural figure. He was one of the key supporters of the New Classical Prose Movement, which reiterates prose as media of elucidation instead of rich rhetoric.

Known as a politician, prose writer and essayist, Zeng produced some 400 poems in his lifetime and a number of essays. He was praised by his literati peers and regarded by later scholars as one of the Eight Great Prose Masters of the Tang and Song Dynasties.

On the occasion of the 1,000th anniversary of his birth, Zeng's birthplace Nanfeng county in East China's Jiangxi province will hold a series of cultural activities, to celebrate the legacy of Zeng Gong and further introduce local culture and tourism to more people.

The news conference on the commemorative project for ancient Chinese scholar Zeng Gong takes place at Peking University in Beijing on July 20, 2019. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

In recent years, Nanfeng county has been exploring possibilities using traditional Chinese cultural heritage to fuel the future of local development.The Zeng Gong Cultural Research Committee has created a study of Zeng's literary achievements. The book collection by Jiangxi People's Publishing House has an overall introduction to his biography, essays, poetry and family history.

To attract tourists with culture-oriented travel packages, the grave of Zeng Gong and a memorial temple dedicated in his name have been fully renovated together with a cultural village celebrating traditional local heritage.

The news conference on the commemorative project for ancient Chinese scholar Zeng Gong takes place at Peking University in Beijing on July 20, 2019. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

"The year 2019 marks the 1,000th anniversary of this great scholar," said Wu Zisheng, secretary of the CPC Nanfeng County Committee. "We aim to bring the legacy of Zeng Gong to the Chinese people and to the world."

The commemorative project, with most of its highlights in this September, includes an exhibition tour in East China, seminar and writers' forum, creative cultural products and an art festival.

Elementary school children from Nanfeng county, Fuzhou, East China's Jiangxi province, perform in Beijing on July 20, 2019. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

At the news conference held last Saturday at Peking University, elementary school children from Nanfeng county performed local dance and On the Ink Pond (Mo Chi Ji), a renowned work of prose by Zeng Gong in which Zeng attributed the success of the great calligrapher Wang Xizhi to his diligence and hard work.