Confucius is a brand name in hometown lottery promo
- Source: Global Times
- [03:29 February 02 2010]
- Comments
By Fu Wen
One picture is worth a thousand words in the nation's first welfare lottery based on the sayings of Confucius.
The picture and words could also be worth 300,000 yuan ($43,936) on a winning lottery ticket.
A portrait of Confucius and sayings of the legendary philosopher appear on lottery tickets that went on sale last week in Qufu, the hometown of Confucius, located in East China's Shandong Province.
The tickets are printed with various proverbs from The Analects, the classic work of Confucius. If sayings on the tickets match the ones drawn by the lottery center, the buyer can take home the cash.
The top prize lottery ticket, worth 300,000 yuan ($43,936), reads, "Of all rituals, harmony is the most valuable."
The lowest prize is 10 yuan ($1.40). Each ticket costs 10 yuan as well.
The lottery center believes the tickets can help spread the wisdom of Confucius, but many Internet users think it is unwise to use the ancient philosopher for profit.
Tang Nianbing, in charge of lottery marketing at the Shandong Welfare Lottery Center, told the Global Times yesterday that the Confucius-themed lottery would help promote traditional Chinese culture.
"Everyone in China knows Confucius and The Analects, but not everyone can recite three sentences from it," said Tang.
"People who buy lottery tickets will have a chance to remember several sentences from The Analects, which is a win-win situation."
Many Net users disagreed.
"Lottery is gambling. It is against the spirit of Confucius," said one user.
A poll conducted by sina. com showed that among 1,869 voters, 52.6 percent disapproved of a Confucius-themed lottery while 42.5 percent approved. Another 4.9 percent were undecided.
Some Web users quoted the saying, "The gentleman sees righteousness, the petty man sees profit" from The Analects to criticize the lottery center.
Despite the criticism, the total sale of welfare lottery tickets, including the Confucius-themed lottery, surpassed 2 million yuan ($292,915) in Shandong Province last week, said Tang.
"About 65 percent of the lottery revenue will go back to buyers as prizes, 20 percent will be saved in a public welfare fund managed by the Ministry of Finance and the remaining 15 percent covers the cost of ticket printing and marketing," said Tang.
He said the welfare lottery in China is different from ordinary gambling because the lottery is classified as a charity, approved by government to help less fortunate people in society.
