Reading is said to help control the temper. Knowledgeable people are said to have more tolerance of things unfamiliar or not to their taste.

So if a person of letters gets mad, more often than not there is something totally intolerable.

 

Now we have 10 angry young scholars calling on all of us to share their rage.

 

They are screaming at a female scholar who they believe is at best distorting our ancient sages' teachings and misleading the public.

 

Their target, Professor Yu Dan of Beijing Normal University, shot to stardom on the enormously popular China Central Television (CCTV) show Lecture Room.

 

Viewers love Yu's style because she interprets such ancient classics as The Analects by Confucius in everyday language. That, on the other hand, is exactly why her critics want her out of the Lecture Room.

 

Calling her ignorant and blaming her for "disseminating mistaken and even harmful ideas", the young scholars want Yu expelled from the show and to apologize to her audience.

 

They cannot tolerate Yu's deviating from the original texts, accusing her of catering to poor taste.

 

We do not take Yu's reading of The Analects as gospel. She may not be the definitive reference on the enshrined classic. As the 10 pointed out, Yu is not a recognized authority in academic circles. Nor does everyone enjoy her presentation style.

 

But that does not change our belief that she and other scholars speaking on the Lecture Room are doing a worthy job.

 

We agree with the 10 scholars that reading the classics themselves is the best way to assimilate their wisdom. But that is not for everyone.

 

Few in Yu's audience may bother to consult Confucius in the original texts.

 

In fact quite a few of us have difficulty construing the beautiful and profound words of this ancient wise man.

 

Yu's interpretation may not be up to the academic standards the enraged scholars cited. But this show is not for experts.

 

We would like Yu to stay because she and her colleagues are bridging the gap between our precious classics and the average person.

 

As long as they do not claim an authority they do not have, we see no reason for others to be angered.

 

(China Daily March 9, 2007)