What stands out for Guo are the doctrines of "not doing to others what you don't want others to do to you" and cultivating moral character.

"From these I understand that if a person wants to fulfill his social ambition, he must first of all perfect his own moral character and be strict on himself in words and deeds," he said.

"As an educator for more than 20 years, I have been trying my best to become a positive role model for my students, doing nothing pompous. I believe that deeds speak louder than words, and I am determined to exert silent influence on them by example.

"Only in this way will a person be able to contribute more to his country, or to become a harmonizer within his circle - a trustworthy person with a tranquil mind."

For Ames, such attitudes are a sign that China is regaining its ancient identity and realigning with its own cultural radio wave, not taking cues exclusively from the West.

"With the rise of China in the last generation, there's this notion of zixin, of confidence," Ames said, adding that while the younger generation tends to look to the West as the icon of modernity, they will not always do so.

"One of the things you have to say about the present government is that they are collaborating with the academy to try to promote a revival of Chinese culture," he said. "So there are forces at work, and there's no need to be impatient. You know that China will come back to its own culture gradually over time. After all, in just one generation, we've seen progress in China that is unprecedented in human history."

Spreading the word

Shandong province, by virtue of being the birthplace and family home of Confucius, has played a leading role in promoting the values detailed in the sage's philosophy. Around 23,000 lecture rooms have been created in communities in the province to spread Confucian wisdom, according to the provincial government.

In a program funded locally, elders, prestigious community members, college professors and volunteer scholars give lectures to residents, mostly on traditional Chinese classics and Confucius.

Confucian harmony is being put into practice in settling disputes between rural residents in Qufu, a county-level city in Jining. More than 400 mediation rooms have been operating for more than four decades, the city's information office said. The success rate for resolving disputes is around 98 percent.

And Confucius continues to attract disciples, just as he did more than 2,500 years ago. More than 5.8 million people visited his temple, family cemetery and family mansion in Qufu last year.

The buzz over Confucius in Shandong is palpable, especially during summer breaks. Students ranging from primary school to college mingled with a steady flow of tourists to feel the vibe and learn about the sage.

More than 145,000 students participating in nearly 800 study tours visited various Confucian legacies during the first half of this year, according to the information office.

But not everyone shows such enthusiasm. Li Gong, a 52-year-old migrant worker in Jinan, for example, was reserved.

"I'm not sure whether Confucius has any influence on me. I didn't learn his works," Li said. "I just work as hard as possible so I can live a better life."

He may not have realized that diligent work is also found in the list of Confucian values. In fact, at virtually every level, the ancient sage remains instructive in modern times, said Yan Binggang, deputy head of the Advanced Institute for Confucian Studies at Shandong University in Jinan.

"Confucian values are like DNA in Chinese people and will always be in their blood no matter how the social structures change," he said.