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| Benjamin Whitlock |
By Benjamin Whitlock, Class of 2015
The Confucius Institute is located in the library at Western Kentucky University. The goal of the Confucius Institute is to promote understanding of Chinese language and culture through training courses, cultural workshops, and special events that focus, particularly, on children’s programming. Through partnerships with local schools, the Confucius Institute introduces Modern Chinese language to high school, middle school, and elementary school students. It also serves as a regional center for Chinese curriculum development and tackles the business and community needs of China and Sino – American relations. More pressing, however, is the Confucius Institute’s goal of building connections between China and the Commonwealth of Kentucky.
McConnell Scholars share WKU’s goal of building relationships between China and the Commonwealth. Every year, ten McConnell Scholars travel to the People’s Republic of China for a month-long study abroad program in Shanghai, Xi’an, and Beijing. We study the Chinese language (very little), we study governmental relations, and we immerse ourselves in Chinese culture every summer. Although we study the PRC and visit the country, we do not have the luxury of an on-campus institute – an on-campus center that focuses exclusively on traditional China. The site, itself, is a permanent fixture on the campus of WKU and works with locals to bridge the gap between East and West.
As I entered the Confucius Institute, I noticed the traditional Chinese clothing and the artifacts that filled the museum-like exhibits. I learned that Confucius played an important role in Chinese history and culture. Confucius, an ancient philosopher and public thinker, wrote about personal balance. In other words, people should be balanced in work and family relations. He also wrote that public service is an important part of being a well-rounded and well-developed individual. People reach the pinnacle of success when they are serving their country through public service. The result over time, therefore, is that China had many bureaucrats who served Ancient China.
The Confucius Institute is a fixture that continues to promote service, as Confucius once did. The institute at Western Kentucky University is a reminder that citizens across cultures should continue to explore their roles in leadership, scholarship, and service.
Benjamin Whitlock, of Campbellsville, Ky., is a junior McConnell Scholar at the University of Louisville. He is studying history and political science.