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For the first time since the establishment of the People's Republic of China in 1949, an official memorial ceremony was conducted on Tuesday to honor the birth anniversary of Confucius. It was the renowned scholar and ethicist's 2,555th birthday.

More than 3,000 people from around the world attended the ceremony in the great man's hometown, Qufu City in east China's Shandong Province.

Descendants, government officials and representatives from various walks of life saluted the altar in turn and offered flowers before a statue of Confucius, while people dressed in traditional ancient costumes reenacted ceremonies held in the early Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). Visitors from the Republic of Korea, Malaysia and the United States attended the celebration.

Confucius (551-479 BC) is known in Chinese as Kong Fuzi, or Virtuous Teacher Kong. His profound thinking and the centuries of commentary it spawned are central to China's cultural system, and have strongly influenced the cultures of several other countries in the region.

The four major Confucian classics -- The Analects of Confucius, The Doctrine of the Mean, The Great Learning and Mencius -- formed the basis of education in China for centuries.

During his life some 3,000 young men studied with Confucius, the 72 best and brightest of whom became known as his disciples. He taught the classics and philosophy, including his views on governmental reform, together with poetry and music.