The front page of This Morning 6 o’ Clock today features a picture of Zhou Qifeng (周其凤), the president of Peking University, kneeling down before his mother and hugging her on her 90th birthday. The headline reads, “Peking University president kneels to thank his mother.” A smaller heading below it says this act of filial piety has sparked controversy.
The article explains that on July 13, Zhou Qifeng went home to Liuyang, Hunan province to see his family for the occasion of his mother’s 90th birthday. At her party, he knelt before her and cried. He had not been able to come home for her 80th birthday because he had been too busy with work. But for her 90th birthday he knew he had to come back.
On July 15th at 3:12 PM, photos of him kneeling before his mother were posted on Weibo from a government account. The title was: “Peking University president Zhou Qifeng went back to Liuyang to celebrate his mother’s birthday, and knelt before her knees.” This attracted a slew of Weibo comments that the article reproduces. Here is a sampling:
@Fangyangzi : What major event has taken place over the past 10 years that a university official can’t find time to go visit his parents? Now you have to bring reporters home with you and make a scene to make amends?
@Ruan_qing: The president of Peking University goes home to congratulate his mother on her 90th birthday, and right next to him there happens to be a photographer to capture it? And the picture looks so professional?
@ Caiweidong: On his mother’s 90th birthday, the president of Peking University kneels before his mother and the two of them start crying. We don’t have to do this ourselves, but we shouldn’t laugh at them. University presidents are also regular people, and have the same emotions. We shouldn’t make fun of the deep emotions between parent and child.
@ Toutiaoxinwen: He can kneel, but he didn’t have to do it in front of all those people. He must have been worried that if he didn’t’ kneel at that moment, not everyone would known about it. Moreover, do people really need to applaud when a man kneels like that? The people around him were also his juniors, shouldn’t they also be kneeling?
The event was Sina Weibo’s top trending topic of the day. The above picture was also on the front page of at least three other newspapers: the Three Rivers Metropolis, the Metropolitan Woman’s Daily, and the Yangzi Evening News. Here are the front pages of all four:
Links and Sources
This Morning 6 o’ Clock: 北大校长长跪为九旬老母祝寿
China Digital Times: Five official newspapers run identical front pages on the same day
Danwei: A bold front-page layout at the People’s Daily
Shanghaiist: Photos of Peking Uni president kneeling before mother go viral
Global Times: What’s wrong with showing filial piety?