Yu Dan and Popularizing Confucianism

As someone who had popularized Confucianism in China over the past two years, it probably does not come as a surprise that Yu Dan (于丹) had been criticized by those who argued that she had not been true to the teachings of the ancient sage.

In defence, Yu - a professor in media and communications - pointed out that she had never claimed to be a Confucian scholar, and that her intention was indeed to popularize Confucianism. (我的角度是一种普及的角度.)

"我觉得人家只要抱着一种真诚的意愿，说你哪个地方讲的不够严谨，或者你这种提法站在学理角度是不被允许的，其实对我有好处，可以让我的讲解变得更完善一些。而且，不同的声音越多，越说明更多人关注，这对 《论语》 的解读大有好处。。。我从来不敢说我提供的内容都是正确的，但是我会准确地传递出我的一种感觉，就是圣贤之道它是朴素的，是温暖的，是贴近人心的，它能活在我们的生活里，它能给你解忧。"

("It does benefit me if my critics are sincere, and point out the areas in which I lack rigor, or tell me that from the standpoint of academic theory, such an argument is untenable. These will help me improve my lectures. Moreover, more varied voices also mean that more people are paying attention, and this is good for the re-interpretation of The Analects ... I have never said that the information I have provided are always accurate. But I will always accurately portray my own sentiments, and that is, the ways of the ancient sages are simple and warm, and close to our hearts. They can be relevant to our lives, and help us with our problems.")

Indeed, Yu had often placed much emphasis on the humanism of Confucianism in a way which I would describe as soft, fuzzy, and with a feminine touch.

"《论语》 是什么？我们今天这样奉为经典的一部书，当时不过就是孔子的一些课堂言论，他的学生把笔记整理整理就弄出来了，整理出来的这20篇实际上没有太内在的逻辑体系。我觉得，我们不要以一种过分神化的眼光去把 《论语》 看成一个完整的体系。有时候，把孔子还原成凡人，可能会激发我们心里真正朴素的爱。

("What is The Analects? What we acclaim as a classical text today was merely Confucius' classroom comments which were later put together by his students. The 20 chapters do not really have an inherent system of logic. I feel that we should not cast an overly religious eye by viewing The Analects as a comprehensive system. Sometimes, seeing Confucius as a mortal will help trigger off a true simple love that is within our hearts.")

On her personal voyage in understanding Confucianism, Yu said that in the past, it was the grander and loftier aspects of the ancient text that had appealed to her.

But as she became older, it is the simplicity that called out to her. Such as 仁爱难道离我们很远吗？我要真想做到的话，心中一念它就到我身边来了，or "is love or benevolence really very distant from us? If I really want, I'd utter them in my heart and they'd appear at my side."