Commemorating Confucius

To be able, under all circumstances, to practice five things constitutes perfect virtue; these five things are gravity, generosity of soul, sincerity, earnestness and kindness...

He who will not economize will have to agonize...

Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in getting up every time we do. — Confucius

Thank goodness we have the likes of humble Ateneo basketball star Chris Tiu, singer-songwriter Jose Mari Chan, the first Filipino Catholic saint Lorenzo Ruiz (whose Chinese surname was said to be “Lee”), Henry Sy, John Gokongwei, Jr., Ben Chan, Chinese mestizos President Sergio Osmeña and Jaime Cardinal Sin, the World War II martyr General Vicente Lim, the Philippine Revolution supporter Roman Tanbensiang Ongpin, pre-war Chinese Chamber of Commerce co-founder Dr. Jose Tee Han Kee and his son, the late incorruptible Chief Justice Claudio Teehankee, the late libertarian Chief Justice Pedro Yap, Chinese mestiza President Corazon Cojuangco-Aquino, and others whose exemplary lives uphold the humanist Confucian moral values of our ancestors.

They are the Barack Obamas in our ethnic Chinese minority, our sources of pride and inspiration.

Thank God for all those good people in order to offset the controversial people with Chinese surnames but whose confused values and shocking scandals might have besmirched the reputation of our ethnic Chinese minority, such as Dr. Hayden Kho, the ex-convict Claudio Teehankee, Jr., the convict Rolito Go, despicable drug lords and others. 

Although the ethnic Chinese minority in the Philippines constitutes no more than two percent of the total national population, our ancestors and many in our generation have for centuries played a disproportionate role in advancing Philippine economic, cultural, social, political and civic progress.

In my dad’s clan, surnamed Lee (also spelled as “Dy” or “Dee”), we have continuously celebrated the Chinese Lunar New Year here in the Philippines for two centuries through the worst and best times of history — not wavering in our confidence in the Philippine future and also never forsaking our ancestral culture. 

The local Chinese — like the Moros, Igorots, Ilocanos, Cebuanos, Bicolanos, Warays, Ibanags, Mangyans and others — are part of the rich tapestry and cultural diversity that is Philippine society. Unity in diversity.

Like the Jewish minority of America or Europe, we believe that we can be full-fledged citizens of our adopted land without forsaking the cultural ethos and Confucian values of our ancestors. By the way, I admire award-winning scriptwriter Roy Iglesias as a first-class writer, but he is not ethnic Chinese so it is not his fault the Mano Po movies weren’t accurate and fair portrayals of our ethnic Chinese minority’s true experience but mostly horrendous stereotypes.

Today, January 25 in the Gregorian calendar of the West, is New Year’s Eve based on the Chinese lunar calendar. Ethnic Chinese communities worldwide, including Koreans, Taiwanese, Singaporeans, Vietnamese and others are celebrating this momentous spring festival with family reunions.

Tomorrow morning at 9 a.m., the first day of the Lunar New Year, young entrepreneurs of the Anvil Business Club and special guests from government, business, education and diplomatic sectors will formally inaugurate a granite Confucius monument in the Chinese Garden of Rizal Park, Manila City. The public is invited; attire is barong tagalog or formal. It is our unique way of celebrating the essence of true Chinese culture, not superstitions or crass frivolities.

I suggested the idea of Anvil donating a Confucius monument four years ago, but we encountered difficulties with Manila City Hall bureaucrats who asked for a P10 million donation for education purposes for only 10 years in a chaotic overcrowded plaza, then renewable — like a real estate business lease — after another donation. It was amazing! We were not doing this for business!

We didn’t bother to tell Mayor Alfredo Lim about our problem and I asked Anvil to stop negotiations with City Hall bureaucrats. This civic project was only realized due to the support of the dynamic Tourism Secretary Ace Durano for the Chinese Garden site and due to the hard work of Anvil officers led by president Eduardo “Eddie” Cobankiat, Michael Chenglay, Wilfred Co, Danny Ching, Roy Chua, Ronald Ko, Warren So, William Villanueva and others.

Why this Confucius monument project in the Philippines? Apart from reciprocating China’s support for the Rizal monument in his ancestral home village of Siong-que in Jinjiang City of Fujian province, we at Anvil Business Club wish to honor all teachers — the unsung heroes of society who are often overworked and underpaid — and we wish to also promote traditional Confucian values that are the moral foundations of East Asia’s numerous economic miracles.

After consulting the board of regents and board of directors of Anvil, this writer as Anvil chairman, along with Marie France/Facial Care Center/Svenson boss George Siy as honorary chairman, together wrote these words in English and Chinese for the commemorative plaque of the monument:

Confucius (Kung Tzu)

“Confucius is considered through the ages as one of the world’s greatest teachers. He was born on September 28, 55l BC in the Spring and Autumn period in Qufu City, China, and he died in 479 BC.

“Confucius devoted his whole life to teaching good governance, the cultivation of virtue, correctness of social relationships, family values, hard work, discipline, justice, integrity, the sacrifice of self-interest for the community welfare and national interest.

“We, the officers and members of the Anvil Business Club, and on behalf of all students and learners, humbly donate this monument to honor all teachers and mentors for their devotion to the noblest of all professions, to pay homage to Confucius, and to inspire all to live with ‘virtue’ and in harmony with the ‘will of heaven.’

“Dedicated on the First Day of the Chinese Lunar New Year,

26 January 2009 in the Gregorian calendar,

Chinese Garden, Rizal Park, Manila City, The Philippines.”

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