BEIJING -- China Film Group and Beijing-based Dadi Media Group plan to make a $22 million biopic about Chinese philosopher Confucius, which will screen next year to mark the 60th anniversary of the People's Republic of China and Confucius' 2,560th birthday.
Pic starts shooting in November and is due for release before Oct. 1, 2009. It will be directed by Hu Mei, who is best known for her work on TV shows. No cast have been set.
"Confucius exists as a saint in many people's hearts. Almost every Chinese remembers his famous sayings, but not everyone can see him as an ordinary person and imagine his daily life," Hu told local media.
The plot will include descriptions of Confucius' travels and his political theories.
Confucius, the respectful name for the great thinker, philosopher, statesman and educator called Kongqiu, who lived from 551-479 BC, is undergoing a major revival in China these days. A big-budget toon biopic is also in the works.
Confucian philosophy, which dominated Chinese society for centuries, and spread to the West in the late 16th century, advocates achieving harmony through self-refinement in manners and taste.
Scholars and, increasingly, the Communist Party believe following sound Confucian principles is conducive to building a "harmonious society," to which President Hu Jintao constantly refers.
In order to settle the debate about what the ancient philosopher looked like, the China Confucius Foundation published a standard image of him as an old man with a long beard, broad mouth and big ears, wearing a robe, with his hands crossed on his chest.
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