Confucius, Freud find Place in Jails

December 4, 2006

Source: China Central Television/Xinhuanet

http://www.cctv.com/program/cultureexpress/20061204/100432.shtml

BEIJING, Dec. 2 (Xinhua) -- "Men at birth are naturally good." A group of 30 inmates intone with their teacher one of the most famous verses by Confucius every morning at a northeast China prison.

Beijiao Prison, in Changchun, capital of Jilin Province, has opened a "Confucian classroom" and installed closed circuit televisions to let the ancient sage do the teaching.

The inmates take turns to attend lectures during the day and revise the texts at night. Each has been given a 66-page collection of famous Confucian works including a primer on virtue and the Analects of Confucius and his disciples.

At the end of the course, the inmates will take a written test and an oral contest on Confucianism.

"The study of traditional Chinese culture can help the inmates cultivate virtues and adopt good behavior," says Yang Mingchang, the prison warden.