The great teacher Chinese sage, Confucius (c. 551-c. 479 BCE) defined culture through the concept of li believing that by perfecting culture, man may reach the condition of an ideal state of being. The scholar studies the minds of the past to become an exemplary human-being.
“The scholar lives and has his associations with men of the present day, but the men of antiquity are the subjects of his study. Following their principles and examples in the present age, he will become a pattern in future ages.” (LI JI 禮記 BK. XXXVIII)
The Minervan Republic 