BEIJING, April 26 (Xinhuanet) -- A member of the Chinese People¡¯s Political Consultative Conference has suggested that China designate its own Mother¡¯s Day on the birth date of the mother of Menchius, the most important disciple of Confucius and whose status is second only to Confucius in Confucianism.

    The mother of Menchius is said to have moved her home three times hoping he would find a place where he could learn valuable things. They lived near a graveyard when Menchius was a small child, and he learned some funeral rituals. She did not like that so they moved near a marketplace and he learned about business. She did not like that so they moved close to a school where he learned ethics and rites from them.

    But I was not told what her birth date was, which I think, is a major consideration.

    In the United States and in the U.K., Mother¡¯s Day falls on May 9 this year. Three things will happen on that day and in those places. It will be the heaviest day for long-distance phone calls (easily surpassing Christmas), the busiest day of the year for florists, (surpassing Valentine¡¯s Day) and most restaurants will do a good trade.

    The idea behind Mother¡¯s Day is to instill enough guilt in the people who ignore their mothers so they will send flowers.

    For the people who do not ignore their mothers, every day is Mother¡¯s Day, so it doesn¡¯t matter to them.

    What is the exact date of Menchius¡¯ mother¡¯s birthday¹Ò This will be an important premise for setting up China¡¯s own Mother¡¯s Day. I hope that her birth date has been recorded in historical archives. If not, it will be a great problem.

    Menchius¡¯ mother is important enough for her birthday to become China¡¯s Mother¡¯s Day. China has had many great mothers. But Menchius¡¯ mother is the most famous of all.

    I like the idea of using Menchius¡¯ mother¡¯s birthday. But it is better that we develop a process where many people can discuss the idea which will be helpful in achieving consensus. Furthermore, this process could also be a promotional period for the project.

    I guess that most people will agree to using Menchius¡¯ mother¡¯s birthday as China¡¯s Mother¡¯s Day, because her image has remained very positive in Chinese people¡¯s minds for her anxiety to provide her son with a good environment for his studies.

    With the rapid economic development in our society, we are losing more and more of our traditional virtues. As a result, social problems are on the rise. We are facing a sort of crisis of ethics.

    Isn¡¯t it lagging a little behind the times to use someone living more than 2,000 years ago to teach today¡¯s children¹Ò I agree that Menchius¡¯ mother was a good mother. Actually all mothers are good to their children. But times are very different now. Something good long time ago may not be good in every way to today¡¯s people.

    It¡¯s no doubt Menchius¡¯ mother was anxious to give her son a good environment to study. But what else did she have¹Ò To teach a child today, we should not only try to find a good environment for him or her, we should also make a lot of changes in our traditional mentality, especially in using scientific and appropriate way to help the child study. We should not only help them grow academically but also morally. So why should we not find a more relevant example.

(Shenzhen Daily)