China to host confab on Sa'adi, Confucius

China is scheduled to hold a literary conference on the Persian poet Sa’adi of Shiraz and Chinese philosopher Confucius.

The conference has been organized by Hebei University in China’s Hebei Province, as a follow-up confab to the session which was held at the Cultural Center of the Book City Institute in Tehran last April.

Four Iranian literary scholars and 10 Chinese academics will speak about the life and works of Sa’adi and Confucius during a two-day event scheduled on January 8-9.

Iranian poet and philosopher Zia Movahed, author and mythologist Abolqassem Esmailpour, author and deputy director of Book City Institute Ali Asghar Mohammadkhani and author and researcher of Persian literature Mahdi Mohabbati are among the Iranian participants of the gala.

Born in Shiraz in 1194 CE, Sa’adi is best-known for his books Boustan and Golestan which present a peculiar blend of human kindness and cynicism, humor, and resignation in the form of stories and personal anecdotes.

Sa’adi is known world-wide for one of his aphorisms, which adorns the entrance to the Hall of Nations of the United Nations building in New York.

Chinese philosopher was also an influential teacher and political figure. The philosophy of Confucius emphasized personal and governmental morality, correctness of social relationships, justice and sincerity.

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