One of the many questions I have about Chinese culture is where Confucius is today. Sometimes when I was caught up in the sea of humanity on the streets of Urumqi I wondered how his teachings fit with modern society. I’ve also tried to listen for his name in conversations with my friends. Sometimes I even ask people where they think this great thinker is today.

我对中国文化的许多问题之一就是孔子在哪里。走在乌鲁木齐街头的人海中，我偶尔思考孔子的教学如何适应现代社会。跟朋友聊天时我也试图留意孔子的名字，有时甚至直接问问他们认为今天孔子在哪里。

Perhaps having a Chinese point out examples of Confucianism is like asking a fish to expound on water. The incidental examples I find in daily life that are intriguing to me are commonplace to them. When people stand up on a bus to give a seat to an elderly person for example I sometimes think of the great Teacher. When I hear people call each other “big sister” or “big brother” I think of the family and social hierarchy that has been passed down for ages. When I hear his name come up in conversation when people quote him with a quiet and unambiguous authority?熏 it feels like he with us.

也许让一个中国人指出儒学的例子就像让一条鱼说明水一样。我注意到，在生活中伴随的事情对他们来说是平凡的。在公共汽车上某人给老人让座使我想到那位伟大的老师。人们相互称呼大哥和大姐使我想到从古代传下来的家庭和社会等级观念。交谈中听到他的名字，尤其人们平静而明确地引用他时，我感到他跟我们在一起。

Since westerners are accustomed to treating Confucius as an authority figure and are in fact largely ignorant of him western journalists who cover China often need to introduce it to readers in simple terms. The Washington Post reported recently on the resurgent popularity of Confucianism. The writer stated that it was seen as an obstacle to modernization during the Cultural Revolution and that today many people are “hard pressed to fully describe the philosophy. It has become a grab bag of ideas that people are tailoring to their own needs.”

由于西方人不习惯以孔子为权威的人物并对儒学比较无知，报道中国的西方记者常常要给读者作简单的介绍。《华盛顿邮报》最近报道了儒学在中国的复兴。作者说，在文革时儒学被认为是现代化的障碍，而今天许多人“很难完全说明这种哲学。它变成适合每个人各取所需的所谓概念的‘杂货铺’。”