Confucius Say: He who run in front of car get tired. He who run behind car get exhausted.

If a person (in the West) starts a line with Confucius Say, he proceeds to give a tongue-in-cheek oneliner, which may or may not be what Confucius actually said but could indeed be consistent with what the ancient Sage might have taught.

There are hundreds and hundreds of Confucius sayings over the Internet, mostly funny-ha-ha one-liners jokingly attributed to the man.

If I may make a typical Confucianist, middle-of-the-road remark, I'd say it's both bad and good that people in the West use/abuse the No. 1 Teacher from China thus. It's bad because Confucius said many things and said them better than in broken English, another trait of Confucius Say-ings, which is supposed to make the words of a Chinese old man (who spake a very odd language indeed) a bit more fun. It's good because people in the West quote him at all.

In real life, the wise old man from Qufu, Shandong Province, said many good things, most of which were collected in the Analects. This is the real "Confucius says" book that has been studied over, over, and over again for over 2,000 years, and by scholars today in sincere and serious search of its contemporary relevance.

In October, for example, one such group of Confucianist scholars from China and aboard is gathering in Beijing to talk about what Confucius (really) says and whether what he (really) says mean anything today. The meeting, co-sponsored by the Center for Chinese Studies, University of Hawaii and College of Humanities, Beijing Language and Culture University will address "Confucianism in the postmodern era".

Postmodernism refers to ideas of science, arts and philosophies that have evolved from, well, modernism.

These two terms embody so many things that it's hardly possible to define either of them in detail without boring you to sleep. So here, I'll generalize. Postmodernists advocate cultural pluralism. Unlike modernists who believe in definite things, postmodernists believe there are no absolute truths, only relative truths.

Postmodernists believe that existence is experiential and personal. There's no definite right and wrongs, only different perspectives. It makes no sense, therefore, one government to dictate, and impose its system on another.

Postmodernists don't believe any one system of culture or politics is definitely superior to another. In terms of religion, one god is not mightier than another. So therefore, postmodernists advocate tolerance between cultures, societies as well as individuals of different color, class or country.

If you read Confucius (what he really says, that is), you'll understand that Confucius, if alive and running about today will be happy to talk to postmodernists. Postmodernists, on the other hand, will like his idea of, for instance, "Do onto others what you want done onto you. "

It is in this global environment that Confucianist scholars believe it's imperative to cast a new look at Confucianism. On Wednesday, I talked to one of these scholars in Tian Chenshan, a professor from the University of Hawaii who is now giving lectures in Beijing Foreign Studies University. Tian, author of Chinese Dialectics: From Yijing to Marxism (of Chinese characteristics), believes it's time Chinese scholars observed Confucianism in this global light.

He encourages scholars to "study classical Confucian texts with reference to Western postmodern theoretical approaches." If scholars do this and "advance with the times," Tian says, "Confucianism will be given a new lease on life."

People in the West have been finding Confucianism and other oriental philosophies (Taoism, Zen, and Buddhism) more relevant than ever before. "Take environmental issues for example," Tian says, "Confucianist ideas of seeking harmony, rather than conflict, with one's environment, from one's immediate family to one's friendship and social circles, to society and the earth as a whole, are making a lot of sense to a lot of people.

"Confucius is timeless (he's proven so). There's no doubt that Confucius can still guide lives, which he does. It's up for people to put his teachings into practice, fitting his teachings to their personal, changing circumstances."

Well, hopefully, more genuine Confucius sayings are read online.

Here are a few more Confucius-Say examples. Some of them are not authentic as you can readily tell.

Confucius Say: I hear and I forget. I see and I remember. I do and I understand.

Confucius Say: Be not upset that others do not know of you. Be worth knowing.

Confucius Say: He who leap off cliff jump to conclusion.

Zhang Xin is Trainer at chinadaily.com.cn. He has been with China Daily since 1988, when he graduated from Beijing Foreign Studies University. Write him at: zhangxin@chinadaily.com.cn, or raise a question for potential use in a future column.