The Republic of China declared Confucius' birthday as "Teacher's Day", as Confucius Day is also known, in 1952 to celebrate the great sage, also dubbed "first and model teacher", and to honor his contributions to China and the world. On this day, teachers are also honored for their virtues, sacrifices and for being the pilars of culture both for their students and for society. Every September 28, Confucius temples around the island of Taiwan hold sacrificial rituals in honor of the highly respected sage. The ceremony of "Shih Tien Li" (display-presentation), as it is known, has its roots as far as the Zhou Dynasty (1122 BC to 256 BC).The core of the Confucius philosophy are displayed above, over Taiwan's flag, and they are (right to left): benevolence-charity; justice-rectitude; politeness-tact; wisdom-knowledge; fidelity-trust. To the far left are the characters for Kongzi, Confucius real name - Confucius is a westernization of Kongzi.
Although many of these concepts may be found in various religions, Confucianism is not a religion but rather a set of values that establish a moral code for what the revered First Teacher considered a proper and civilized society.
About the Republic of China (Taiwan) flag:
Blue signifies liberty, justice, and democracy; red stands for fraternity, sacrifice, and nationalism, white represents equality, frankness, and the people's livelihood; the 12 rays of the sun are those of the months and the twelve traditional Chinese hours (each ray equals two hours). The blue and white design of the canton (symbolizing the sun of progress) dates to 1895; it was later adopted as the flag of the Kuomintang Party.Note: Not to be mistaken for the People's Republic of China (mainland China).
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