A grand ceremony was held in Qufu, east China's Shandong Province, on Monday to commemorate the 2,560th birthday of Confucius, the great ancient Chinese thinker and philosopher revered around the world.

More than 10,000 people, including his descendants, scholars and representatives from foreign embassies in China and international organizations, attended the ceremony at the Confucius Temple in Qufu, his birthplace.

Photo taken on Sept. 26, 2009 shows the Great Confucius Statue at Hermann Park in downtown Houston, the United States. [Xinhua]

Confucius and his disciples advocated positive self-discipline, healthy living, maintaining harmony in family life, peace and order in the country, peace in the world. His thoughts are still studied worldwide.