An exhibition of more than 200 paper-cuttings featuring the life of ancient Chinese philosopher Confucius has begun its world tour with its first stop in Jinan, capital of East China's Shandong Province.

The exhibition comprises three sections: stories about Confucius' life, the book of Lunyu (or "Analects" of Confucius), and his apprentices.

"All the stories about Confucius are displayed in the form of traditional Chinese paper cuttings, which took me about three years to complete," said artist Lu Xue.

The exhibition also features paper-cuttings of well-known figures in Western stories and fairy tales.

Rita Fan (Hsu Lai-tai), president of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong, said at the opening ceremony, "The philosophical thought of courtesy and benevolence in Confucianism guided the ancient Chinese. We modern Chinese should still follow the philosophy and learn from it."

Chinese paper-cutting is believed to date back to the Sixth Century.

Lu, secretary of Hong Kong Association of Chinese Paper-Cutting, was born in Tai'an City in Shandong and began to learn the craft at the age of six.

The exhibition will head to Hong Kong after Jinan, and then go on to Japan, the Republic of Korea and Singapore. The tour is expected to last for one year or longer.

Confucius was the founder of Confucianism, which advocates the building of a harmonious society through an individual's self-refinement in manners and taste. It was promulgated by ancient Chinese rulers since the Western Han Dynasty (206 B.C.- 25 A.D.) and spread widely through east and south Asia.

Source: Xinhua