BEIJING,
March 5 -- Ten Chinese researchers have demanded Professor Yu Dan resign from
her television show and issue an apology for her "incorrect and misleading"
interpretation of the classics.
The controversial Yu Dan is a media expert and
professor at Beijing Normal University famous for interpreting Confucius's
Analects to the masses on television.
Yu Dan's work has attracted critics in the past and
the most recent attack began on Saturday. A doctoral student called Xi Jinru who
is researching ancient Chinese poetry published a post railing against Yu Dan on
the Tianya online forum. He quickly gained the support of nine other doctoral
students who research ancient Chinese literature at different Chinese
universities.
In his post, Xu Jinru accuses Yu Dan of misleading
the public and labels her approach "ignorant, unfaithful and harmful."
One of Xu Jinru's classmates and supporters, Liu
Genqin, said Xu Jinru's conscience is forcing him to protest.
The original post has now received more than 10,000
replies, both for and against.
Yu Dan has been a controversial figure since the day
she first shot to fame via the television. Some people love her witty style,
while others criticize her for straying too far from the original text.
At a ceremony to launch her new book at the
Zhongguancun Book Store on March 3, a middle-aged man revealed his dislike for
Yu Dan when he took off his jacket and exposed a white shirt printed with the
slogan, "Confucius is vexatious, Zhuang Zi is angry."
But Yu Dan doesn't seem too worry too much about her
critics, dismissing them by saying "It's a matter of personal choice. Some like
KFC, while others like McDonalds".
Before October 2006, Yu Dan was still an ordinary
professor in Beijing, unknown to the public. She shot to fame discussing her
understanding of one of China's most famous classics, The Analects of Confucius,
on TV.
(Source: CRIENGLISH.com)
Print
