Lei Jiande at the 2018 International Confucianism and Entrepreneurship Forum in Johor Bahru, Malaysia on Aug 11. [Photo/sxrb.com]

Lei Jiande, a scholar of the classic Chinese literary work Romance of the West Chamber, was invited as the only representative of Shanxi province to the 2018 International Confucianism and Entrepreneurship Forum in Johor Bahru, Malaysia, between Aug 10 and 11.

In response to the Belt and Road Initiative, the forum was a gathering to promote Confucianism and entrepreneurship among professionals and outstanding people from home and abroad with more than 150 scholars and entrepreneurs from China, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia and Australia attending the event.

Lei gave a lecture on the Romance of the West Chamber by Wang Shifu, a playwright in the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368).

In the story, a young scholar named Zhang Sheng and Cui Yingying, the daughter of a minister, fell in love with each other without parental approval when they met in a garden in Pujiu Temple in Yongji county, Shanxi province. The work lauds the pursuit of love and freedom and decries feudalism and despotism.

Lei elaborated upon the relationships between family and country, individual relationships and Confucianism during the lecture, as well as promoting the classic work at the forum.

Since 1997, Lei has visited 57 countries such as the United States, France, Japan, Singapore, Russia and New Zealand to survey overseas evaluations and reviews and collect exhibits about the Romance of the West Chamber so as to introduce the work to readers around the world.