Anglo-Chinese Confucius documentary premiers in Guangzhou

A 90-minute documentary on Confucius, jointly produced by China and Britain, premiered Monday evening in Guangzhou.

The documentary, produced by China Central Television, British Lion TV, China International Television Corporation and the Dazhong News Group in Shandong, is the first made by China and a foreign company.

It comprises of six parts: the man, the legend, the philosophy, the master, the inheritance and the present time.

"This is the first time we have made an international edition before producing a longer one for domestic audiences," said Yan Dong, chief director of the documentary.

A much more commonly used method is to make a longer version and cut it into a shorter international one. "This time our work was based on the international need," said Yan Dong.

The production took two years. The British director drafted an outline while the team went to Britain, United States and many places in China.

Kong Xianglin, a 75th generation descendant of Confucius, watched the documentary. "In the movie the philosophy of Confucius was explained by Western scholars, which suggested the influence of his thoughts today."

He Suliu, director of the China Documentary Research Center in the Communication University of China, noted that the documentary showed vitality of Confucianism, which was "like air in the Chinese world, and a seed which grows not only in China but also the outside," he said.

Confucianism has been the mainstream philosophy in China since feudal times, and was used to reinforce sovereignty.

Confucius has also become an ambassador of Chinese culture. A total of 1.9 million people are studying Chinese language and culture in 500 Confucius institutes and 1,000 Confucius classrooms in 134 countries. Endi