Grand plans

The ICEA has drawn up an eight-year plan of action. Its goals include educating people about the "Confucian approach to environmental issues" through temples and academies and cooperating with the cultural and propaganda authorities to deliver 100 lectures on the subject, according to the ARC website.

They plan to develop Beijing's Haidian district, home to universities including Peking University and Tsinghua University as well as the Summer Palace, into a "Confucian Ecological Town," though it didn't specify what that term means.

They plan to develop a network of 500 Confucian centers around the world by 2015, which "will serve as models of a simpler way of life, treading more gently on the Earth."

Part of the plan is to address the "environmental impact on Deng Feng, a major Confucian destination that receives 8 million visitors a year."

Feng Zhe, director of the Sihai Confucius Academy in Beijing and also deputy secretary of the ICEA, has talked about his idea of a "Confucian cultural ecological town" on several occasions.

In ancient times, people related by blood lived together, forming the foundation of Chinese society which emphasized filial piety, harmony among neighbors, and where everybody knew their place in society. In the Confucian town that Feng envisions, people would live according to Confucian thought and every aspect of people's lives would reflect Confucian concepts, from architecture and city planning to clothing and economy, according to an article on the academy's blog.

Feng said the Confucian Town aims to use Confucian teachings to guide people's behavior, their way of interacting with each other and to foster a traditional way of life. He said it's probably different from the term "ecology" as understood by environmentalists.