Confucious Redux

Beijing — CONFUCIUS famously considered a good woman to be an illiterate woman. The ancient sage might want to eat his words: More than 2 1/2 millenniums after his death, he's back in vogue, thanks in no small part to a Chinese woman with a PhD.Confucius, meet Yu Dan. But make it quick. The professor is so busy these days she barely has time to go home and see her baby daughter. Since the publication of her enormously popular book on the teachings of Confucius late last year, Yu has been racing from college lectures to book signings, TV appearances and speaking engagements. The public can't seem to get enough of this overnight sensation who has turned dusty old Confucian teachings into a Chinese version of "Chicken Soup for the Soul." "I never expected this," the smartly dressed 42-year-old said in a hurried interview from the back of the black Audi taking her to the airport. "In the 21st century, our value system is changing; people are faced with a lot of confusion and choices. The classics are not just fossils. They are a value system that can help us find answers to modern-day problems."For more than 2,500 years, the Confucian doctrines of filial piety, moral righteousness and hierarchical relationships were the guiding principles of life and government in China and most of East Asia. Then the Communists came to power and Chairman Mao declared Confucianism counterrevolutionary and his Red Guards ransacked temples dedicated to the philosopher.Today, China is charging ahead with dizzying economic growth and breathtaking social change. But many believe the world's most populous nation has lost its moral and spiritual anchor. Enter the wisdom of Kong Fuzi, or Master Kong, as Confucius is known in China — interpreted by a woman."I'm amazed," said Hong Huang, a cultural commentator and publisher of fashion magazines in Beijing. "Her success has a lot to do with the fact that modern China has an identity crisis and spiritual crisis. The only value system we have today is money. Everybody is looking for the Chinese meaning of life."Confucius' collected teachings, called "The Analects," are written in classical Chinese and are nearly as incomprehensible as Latin is to the average English speaker. But Yu's book, "Insights on the Analects," is conversational and full of modern-day applications. When Confucius talks about the qualities of a good ruler, for instance, Yu connects it to the life of the average man. Confucius asks his students about their aspirations. Instead of praising the most ambitious for wanting to run a big country with a vast army, he supports one who merely wants to enjoy a fine spring day with friends