Filming of the documentary, a joint Chinese-British television production, began at a ceremony marking the 2,565th anniversary of the philosopher's birth. (Photo provided to China Daily)
Confucius had its world premiere in London on Wednesday during President Xi Jinping's state visit. [Special coverage]
The 90-minute documentary is a joint production by China Central Television, Lion Television of the United Kingdom, China International TV Corp and Shandong Mass Media Group.
Confucius provides an objective overview of the life, ideology and influence of the Chinese philosopher, who was born on Sept 28, 551BC and became known to later generations as the Great Sage.
His teachings have had a profound influence on Chinese civilization and form an essential part of traditional Chinese culture.
"The documentary Confucius not only presents a memorable, classic production but also explores a new model of China-UK historical documentary coproduction," said Guo Weimin, deputy director of China's State Council Information Office, at the ceremony at Lancaster House.
Cultural exchanges play an important role in deepening mutual understanding between the people of China and the UK, Guo said.
The documentary explores Confucius and his teachings as it recounts his life, the legend surrounding him, his philosophy, legacy and relevance today.
"Through indepth analysis and anecdotes, and making use of animations and reenactments, the documentary presents, in a way that's accessible to international audiences, the man long acknowledged by the world as a great thinker, educator and politician," said Li Ting, CCTV deputy editor-in-chief.
Li said that CCTV and Lion TV in the UK began work on Confucius in September 2013 with a series of symposiums and the beginning of script writing.
Filming began on Sept 28, 2014, with CCTV cameras at the ceremony marking the 2,565th anniversary of Confucius' birth.
Later, the crew visited the United States, the UK and Chinese locations including Shandong, Hebei, Sichuan and Guangdong provinces, the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region and Beijing for research, interviews and filming.
They traveled to Confucius' birthplace, Mount Nishan, where the local people described his enduring influence on their daily lives.
The team also explored several Han-dynasties-era (206BC-AD220) tombs to uncover clues about the celebrated meeting between Confucius and Lao-tzu.
"With the cooperation in producing the documentary Confucius as an excellent starting point, CCTV hopes to further strengthen and expand its cooperation with British media and production companies in the production, filming and purchasing of television programs, in the expectation that this will contribute significantly to the broader cultural exchange between China and the UK," Li said.
