By Xinhua
Jinan : The Chinese Confucius Foundation has established an official web site dedicated to disseminate the teachings of great sixth century Chinese thinker Confucius.
"The website was launched in response to increasing demand from people who are interested in the Chinese culture," said Liang Guodian, secretary-general of the foundation.
"The web site is expected to serve as an important platform to promote the Chinese language and culture worldwide," he added.
The site – www.chinakongzi.org – contains an online Confucius Institute and sections on Confucius culture, thought and exponents of the schools during Confucius' time, and a forum on Chinese national culture.
Visitors can read theses on Confucianism and they are also encouraged to post their own articles on the forum so that people can exchange views.
An English version of the website is not yet available.
According to the ministry of education, about 30 million foreigners are learning Chinese, and the figure will hit 100 million by 2010. In China, 110,000 foreigners are studying Mandarin, up from 36,000 ten years ago.
The government has set up 140 Confucius Institutes, schools or classrooms in 52 countries and regions to promote Chinese language and culture abroad.
Confucius, born in 551 BC, was a great Chinese thinker, philosopher, statesman and educator. Confucianism, advocating the building of a harmonious society through individual self-refinement in manners and taste, dominated Chinese society for centuries and spread to Europe in the late 16th century.
The China Confucius Foundation, set up in 1984, is committed to the study of the Chinese traditional culture and boosting international cultural exchanges.