Dr. Anna Sun (Duke University), Dr. Pauline Lee (Saint Louis University), and Dr. Bin Song (Washington College) have co-authored a play titled “When the Fire Came: A Retelling of the Confucian Sacred Story.” This work has just been published as a chapter in Retelling Sacred Stories: Our Journeys to a Shared Sacred Story, sponsored by the Fetzer Institute and published by Orbis Books in 2025!

With the guidance of two literary advisors and a panel of leading Confucian scholar-reviewers, this play represents the most literary and imaginative work I have participated in to date. The volume also features sacred stories from Christianity, Buddhism, Hinduism, Religion and Science, Interspirituality, and more.

For readers seeking an inspiring and enjoyable exploration of sacred stories across diverse traditions—each reimagined by distinguished scholars and writers—this book is a must-read!