[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 157 (Tuesday, October 27, 2009)]
[House]
[Pages H11832-H11833]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  HONORING CONFUCIUS' 2560TH BIRTHDAY

  Mr. CARNAHAN. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to 
the resolution (H. Res. 784) honoring the 2560th anniversary of the 
birth of Confucius and recognizing his invaluable contributions to 
philosophy and social and political thought.
  The Clerk read the title of the resolution.
  The text of the resolution is as follows:

                              H. Res. 784

       Whereas September 28, 551 B.C., is recognized as the date 
     on which Confucius was born in the town of Qufu, in what is 
     now the Shandong Province of China;
       Whereas Confucius, who is one of the greatest thinkers, 
     teachers, and social philosophers in history, developed a 
     philosophy that has deeply influenced, and continues to 
     influence, the social and political thought of countries 
     around the world, including China, Korea, Japan, Taiwan, and 
     Vietnam;
       Whereas Confucius counseled introspection, self-
     cultivation, sincerity, and the observance of respect within 
     social relationships as a means of achieving justice and 
     attaining morality in personal and public life, reflecting a 
     moral fiber of the highest degree;
       Whereas the teaching of Confucius that ``what one does not 
     wish for oneself, one ought not to do to anyone else; what 
     one recognizes as desirable for oneself, one ought to be 
     willing to grant to others'' is a model for ethical behavior 
     and for the promotion of harmony among us;
       Whereas Confucius taught that an ideal government is 
     founded upon loyalty, respect for elders, and recognition of 
     the importance of family; and
       Whereas Confucius taught that politicians must be models of 
     truthfulness and morality, which serves as a reminder to all 
     of our duty to serve with the utmost honor and respect: Now, 
     therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the House of Representatives honors the 
     2,560th anniversary of the birth of Confucius and recognizes 
     his invaluable contributions to philosophy and social and 
     political thought.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Missouri (Mr. Carnahan) and the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Ros-
Lehtinen) each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Missouri.


                             General Leave

  Mr. CARNAHAN. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and 
include extraneous material on the resolution under consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Missouri?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. CARNAHAN. Madam Speaker, I rise in strong support of this 
resolution, and I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  This resolution before us honors the birth of Confucius over 2,000 
years ago and recognizes his contributions to philosophy and social and 
political thought. I would like to thank my friend, the gentleman from 
Texas (Mr. Al Green) for introducing this resolution.
  According to Chinese tradition, Confucius was born in 551 B.C. to a 
poor but noble family. He became a high-level government minister but 
later resigned his position after becoming disillusioned with the 
misbehavior and corruption of the rulers in feudal China.
  Confucius then embarked on a long journey throughout the small 
kingdoms that made up China with a devoted group of students, 
expounding his political philosophy. He would return home to spend his 
last years teaching and compiling his wisdom into a set of texts that 
would become known as the ``Confucian Classics.''
  After his death, Confucius would serve as the ``spiritual ancestor'' 
of later teachers, historians, philosophers, and literary scholars 
whose lives and works figure prominently in Chinese intellectual 
history. Indeed, he would become not only China's preeminent 
philosopher but also Asia's most influential thinker as well.
  Confucius' birth over 2\1/2\ millennia ago was not only celebrated in 
China late last month but throughout Asia, including South Korea, 
Japan, and Taiwan.
  He taught respect for one's elders and for understanding one's 
responsibility to others within the existing social structure. He 
believed that government officials should be chosen for their virtue 
and ability, not for their birth.
  Confucius believed that the purpose of the government was the welfare 
of the people. And perhaps most importantly, he taught that a ruler who 
was not righteous and humane would forfeit the ``Mandate of Heaven'' 
and, thus, lose the right to govern.
  Confucius' teaching developed into a system of philosophy known as 
Confucianism, which would have profound impact on the thought and life 
of East Asia. Some have compared his influence with that of Socrates in 
the West.
  I strongly support this resolution and urge my colleagues to do the 
same.
  Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Madam Speaker, I rise in support of this resolution commemorating the 
2,560th anniversary of the birth of that sage of Chinese culture, the 
philosopher Confucius.
  Confucius is not only revered in his native China but also in Taiwan, 
Korea, Japan, and Vietnam. Confucius is best remembered for his 
promotion of social harmony and his emphasis on the virtues of 
education. His teachings have long provided an ethical guidepost for 
millions of people living throughout East and Southeast Asia.
  Confucius is another philosopher who taught us the golden rule: ``Do 
not do to others what you do not want done to yourself.'' Confucius 
also taught that the path to both virtue and success is led through the 
discipline of study. His famous saying that ``a journey of a thousand 
miles begins with a single step'' encouraged his disciples never to 
give up no matter what the hardships.
  Inspired by him, thousands of Chinese, Taiwanese, Korean, Japanese, 
and Vietnamese scholars and scientists have made enormous contributions 
to the world's pool of knowledge. Young American scholars, drawn from 
these Asian communities influenced by Confucianism, have made 
impressive contributions to the mosaic of American life in the fields 
of science, law, medicine, engineering, music, and art.
  So it is fitting today to pass this resolution honoring the birthday 
of a man who has been called ``China's greatest teacher.''
  Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. CARNAHAN. Madam Speaker, I am pleased now to yield 5 minutes to 
the sponsor of this bill, the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Al Green).
  Mr. AL GREEN of Texas. Madam Speaker, I think it appropriate that you 
be in the chair today because in Houston, Texas, in your district, I 
believe, we have a statue that has been erected in honor of Confucius. 
So I come here today and I thank you, Madam Speaker, and I thank the 
leadership for allowing this resolution to come to the floor. I thank 
the Honorable Howard Berman, the chairperson of the Committee on 
Foreign Affairs, for allowing the resolution to pass the committee. I 
thank the Honorable Ileana Ros-Lehtinen for allowing us to work with 
her and to manage this piece of legislation on the floor. I thank the 
Honorable Russ Carnahan for acting as Democratic manager of the 
amendment.
  This resolution honors the 2,560th anniversary of the birth of 
Confucius, recognizing his contributions to philosophy and to social 
and political thought. This resolution is a reflection of the diversity 
that we celebrate in the United States of America.
  We are 46.9 million Hispanic and Latinos, 37.6 million African 
Americans, 16 million foreign-born naturalized citizens, 14 million 
Asian and Pacific Islanders. We speak 337 different languages. In my 
district, we have and we are African American, Latino, Vietnamese, 
Indian, Pakistani, Chinese, Nigerian, Somali, Ethiopian, Eritrean, 
Sudanese, Turkish, Ghanaian, and Taiwanese. And there are probably some 
that I have missed and I apologize to any constituent that was not 
properly mentioned.
  On September 26, in our district, as I indicated earlier, this year, 
a bronze statue of Confucius was dedicated in Hermann Park in Houston, 
Texas.

[[Page H11833]]

  I am honored to tell you that today on the suspension calendar we 
honored His All Holiness Bartholomew, Archbishop of Constantinople, and 
I commend my colleague for bringing this to the attention of the House. 
It is not unusual for us to honor persons who are not Americans for 
their contributions to America and to global society. We have honored 
many persons, including Tony Blair, Prime Minister of the United 
Kingdom; Nicholas Sarkozy, President of France; Her Majesty Queen 
Beatrix of the Netherlands; and we've also honored the Honorable 
Desmond Tutu and Nelson Mandela, both of South Africa. We have honored 
events. We have honored what is known as the religious and historical 
event that is the Festival of Diwali, which was presented to this House 
in September of last year. And I am proud to say today that we are 
going to honor Confucius, an Asian teacher, scholar, and philosopher.
  Confucius was born in 551 B.C., was one of the great thinkers of his 
time and of all time. He was a teacher of prosperity and a preacher of 
peace. He developed Confucianism, a philosophy that has deeply 
influenced the social and political thought of countries around the 
world, including China, Korea, Japan, Taiwan, and Vietnam, to name a 
few. He emphasized that personal introspection, self-cultivation, 
respect of social relationships, personal and governmental morality, 
justice and sincerity reflect a moral fiber of the greatest and highest 
degree.

                              {time}  1715

  He preached that politicians must always represent truth and 
morality. He taught the philosophy of reciprocity: never impose upon 
others what you would not choose for yourself.
  He taught the ``silver rule'' which complements the Golden Rule: do 
not do unto others as you would not have do unto you.
  He taught the importance of shame in an orderly society by 
indicating, If people be led by laws, and uniformity sought to be given 
by punishments, they will try to avoid punishment, but have no sense of 
shame. However, if they be led by virtue, and uniformity is sought to 
be given them by rules of propriety, they will have a sense of shame, 
and moreover will become good.
  I would note that shame promotes good to prevent punishment, whereas 
punishment precedes bad, to promote good.
  He reminded all that, When you have faults, do not fear to abandon 
them. In different words what he said was, It is virtuous to know one's 
faults and change. He explained that self-respect begets self-respect 
when he made this quote, Respect yourself and others will respect you.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentleman has expired.
  Mr. CARNAHAN. I yield the gentleman an additional 1 minute.
  Mr. AL GREEN of Texas. He gave us with a great degree of simplicity a 
quote that I believe is one of his greatest when he articulated, To 
understand nothing is to understand everything.
  I am honored to present this resolution today. I believe that the 
diversity that we celebrate in this country, the diversity that I have 
in my district which is 36 percent African American, 31 percent Anglo, 
21 percent Latino, and 12 percent Asian, in my district I believe that 
my constituents are honored to have persons of Asian ancestry who honor 
and celebrate Confucius. But I think as a philosopher who has 
transcended time, he is someone we should recognize in the House of 
Representatives.
  I beg that my colleagues would support this resolution, comparable to 
many others that we have had on the floor of the House.
  Mr. HONDA. Madam Speaker, I rise today to support House Resolution 
784, honoring the 2560th anniversary of the Birth of Confucius and 
recognizing his invaluable contributions to philosophy, and social and 
political thought. This resolution is sponsored by my friend and 
executive board member of the Congressional Asian Pacific American 
Caucus (CAPAC), Congressman Al Green of Texas.
  Confucius was born on September 28, 551 BC in the town of Qufu, in 
what is now the Shandong Province of China. Though he grew up in 
poverty, Confucius recognized the value of education in creating an 
informed and knowledgeable society. He lived his life by this principle 
and traveled throughout China as a teacher to counsel others in 
introspection, self-cultivation, sincerity, and the observance of 
respect within social relationships as a means of achieving justice and 
attaining morality in the personal and public life. In a chaotic time 
of internal feuds and wars, Confucius established a peaceful 
intellectual and personal evolution in the minds and hearts of the 
Chinese people. He began a global effort to move society in an 
enlightened direction, and his teachings in the principles of self-
transformation, humaneness, strength of mind, and an orderly society 
have contributed to our advancement.
  In addition to being known for his commitment to education and self-
enlightenment, Confucius's thought also included the principle that 
politicians must be models of truth and morality. He believed that 
government must adopt the practice of moral correctness and that 
politicians must rule with justice and sincerity. These principles have 
helped build the foundation for political philosophy, and have been a 
cornerstone for past and future leaders in representing their 
constituents. Confucius's philosophical teachings have been studied by 
scholars throughout the world, and his words of wisdom have inspired 
many generations of dedicated followers.
  Confucius is considered to be one of the greatest philosophers, whose 
teachings and philosophy still influence millions of people around the 
world today. I am proud to be a cosponsor of House Resolution 784 to 
honor Confucius's birth, life, and teachings. This resolution 
recognizes the importance of Confucius's edicts in today's society, and 
conveys the House of Representatives's deepest respect to this 
important philosopher.
  I would especially like to thank Congressman Green for making this 
resolution a priority on the House floor. As a member of CAPAC, 
Congressman Green is a committed and conscientious advocate on behalf 
of Asian American and Pacific Islander communities. I commend his 
efforts to recognize Confucius's great contributions to society, and I 
join him in asking you to support House Resolution 784.
  Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Madam Speaker, I have no further requests for time, 
and I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. CARNAHAN. Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Carnahan) that the House suspend the rules 
and agree to the resolution, H. Res. 784.
  The question was taken.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds 
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
  Mr. CARNAHAN. Madam Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX and the 
Chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this motion will be 
postponed.

                          ____________________