An artist performs during the Second International Confucius Cultural Festival in New York, the United States, Sept. 8, 2018. The Second International Confucius Cultural Festival was held here on Saturday as organizers brought several art groups to bring to life the ancient wisdom of Confucius, an ancient Chinese philosopher and educator. (Xinhua/Ma Jianguo)

NEW YORK, Sept. 8 (Xinhua) -- The Second International Confucius Cultural Festival was held here on Saturday as organizers brought several art groups to bring to life the ancient wisdom of Confucius, an ancient Chinese philosopher and educator.

Around 1,000 artists and spectators gathered at a high school here to pay their respect to Confucius with incense and flowers, or by reciting selected sentences from Analects of Confucius, among others.

"The Confucius Cultural Festival aims to promote Chinese culture and Confucianism philosophy," said Wang Lizhi, chairman of the Shandong Association of Eastern America (SAEA) and the leading organizer of the festival.

"The group reciting of Analects of Confucius is a touching moment of the whole event, and actually, we should give more time and respect to Confucius and ancient Chinese culture," said Shen Yi, chairman of the Anhui Business Society.

Poem reciting, dances, some of which are typical of Shangdong, home of Confucius, and Chinese kungfu, were performed at the event.

Confucius, the founder of Confucianism, is widely considered as one of the most important and influential individuals that helped shape Chinese culture and one of the greatest Chinese contributors to humanity.

The festival is sponsored by the SAEA, East Shandong Chamber of Commerce, America East Confucius Foundation, International Martial Artist Association, the U.S. Federation of Chinese-American Entrepreneurs, and the China Confucius Foundation.

The SAEA is a non-profit institution dedicated to promoting Chinese culture and enhancing cultural exchanges. Since its founding, it has been bringing together people from diverse backgrounds to share the beauty of Chinese culture and tradition.