Confucius (Kong Fuzi or "Master Kong" in Chinese) was a philosopher and political

scientist who lived during the Zhou Dynasty of ancient China. He was born in 551 BCE and died
in 479 BCE. During that time period, China was politically divided, with many areas controlled
by local warlords. There was no central authority and much conflict as a result. Confucius, who
worked as a bureaucrat for a warlord in Northeastern China, developed a philosophical system
that helped put an end to the strife that plagued his era. The system he developed,
called Confucianism, became very influential and helped to bring stability to China. His
teachings are still very widely studied today, with millions of Confucians all over the world,
especially in East Asia.
For most of his life, Confucius expounded his teachings to many disciples. He advocated
peace and respect for others. His most famous idea is called the Golden Rule: "What you do not
wish for yourself, do not do to others." This concept, which is also found in most religions and
philosophical systems, emphasizes the respect that Confucius felt all people deserved. He
believed that if shown respect and given dignity, people would give respect and dignity in return.
Confucius placed a strong emphasis on the importance of education. He emphasized that
as long as people applied what they learned, they would improve all of their endeavors.
Confucius also felt that proper education could prevent people from doing evil deeds. He also
was a proponent of following rituals and rites properly. In Confucian philosophy, proper ritual
observance is significant because it provides a template for proper behavior and will influence
other aspects of life. In Chinese traditional religion, ancestor veneration is very important, and
many of the rites and rituals practiced in Confucianism are related to this.
Family is at the core of Confucian philosophy. More than anything else, Confucius
emphasized the idea of "filial piety," which means respecting one's parents and elders. To
Confucius, order came from hierarchy. Sons should respect their fathers, younger people should
respect their elders, and students should respect teachers, among other hierarchical systems.
Through filial piety, younger people gain benefits from older people's wisdom, and older people
are cared for by younger people when they reach old age.