The 2026 Nishan Forum on World Civilizations and the China International Confucius Cultural Festival opened on September 28 in Qufu, east China's Shandong Province.

To mark the occasion, CGTN harnessed the power of AI to present a pressing question facing the world today to the great Chinese philosopher. Using Ask Confucius, our interactive AI-powered product, let’s engage in a cross-temporal dialogue with the master himself.