Forget Marx and Mao. Chinese City Honors Once-Banned Confucian.

October 18, 2017
By Ian Johnson
New York Times

GUIYANG, China — Nearly 500 years after he died, the Chinese philosopher Wang Yangming once again wielded a calligraphy brush, carefully daubed it into a tray of black ink and elegantly wrote out his most famous phrase: “the unity of knowledge and action.”

A crowd murmured its approval as his assistant held up the paper for all to see.

“I respect Wang Yangming from the bottom of my heart!” blurted Cao Lin, 69, a retiree.