Confucius

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Confucius, illustrated in Myths & Legends of China, 1922, by E.T.C. Werner
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Confucius, illustrated in Myths & Legends of China, 1922, by E.T.C. Werner

Confucius (born 551 BC died 478 BC) was an important Chinese philosopher.

Confucius lived in a time when many people were fighting wars in China. This period was called the Spring and Autumn period, or the Warring States period. Confucius did not like this and wanted to bring back order to society.

Like Socrates, Confucius did not answer many philosophical questions himself. Instead he wanted people to think hard about problems and to learn from others, especially from history. Confucius also thought that people should get power because they were good and skilled, and not because they came from powerful families.

Confucius wanted people to think about other people more than about money or what they owned. However he also felt that there should be strong rules in society and that people needed to obey them. Confucius thought that there were five relationships people could have, and that they all had their own rules. People could be

These were traditional relationships called the 'five prototypes'. However Confucius said that in all these relationships, both people must obey rules. For example a subject must obey a prince, but also a prince must listen to a subject and must rule him well and fairly.

Confucius said that people should only do things to other people if they would be OK with other people doing those things to themselves. This is sometimes called the Golden Rule and was also taught by Jesus Christ.

Like Socrates, Confucius did not write any books that we know of. However other people wrote down small stories about him, and also things that he said. These were put together to make a book called The Analects.

Confucius' birthday, September 8, is a holiday in China. On that day people celebrate teachers.


Confucius' original name was Kong Qiu or Zhong Ni. He was born in Lu State, China on 27 of eight month 551 BC. His father was Shu Liang He, and his mother was Yan Zheng Zai. When he was 3 years old, his father was died, and he lived with his mother after that. As a child, he was eager to learn about everything, and was very interested in rituals. Once he grew up, he worked as an officer who handled the farms and cattle. Then he became a teacher.