Confucianism

Confucius

The English name Confucius is derived from the Latinized name Kong Fuzi, meaning Master Kong. His birth name was Qiu of the family Kong. While he is credited as the founder of Confucianism, it really was not until several centuries after his death, through the work of scholars such as Mencius (c. 371–289 BCE) and Xunzi (c. 298–238 BCE), that Confucian principles were developed into a unified, established system. Confucius was born in 551 BCE in the state of Lu in northeastern China in what is today Shantung province. His father was a distinguished soldier who died when Confucius was a young child. His mother had little money, but worked hard to raise Confucius as an educated gentleman. Growing up he worked at menial tasks and lived a life of poverty, but also enjoyed opportunities such as hunting, archery, art, and a good education.

As an adult, Confucius desired a government post that would allow him the opportunity to persuade rulers to adopt his strategies for restoring order to society. However, he was unable to pass the qualifying examinations required for such a post. For a while he served as a clerk in the Memorial Temple of the Duke Zhou performing sacred, ancient ceremonies. He then turned his focus to teaching. Unlike other teachers of his time, Confucius accepted students based solely upon their intelligence and willingness to learn rather than on their social class. In his early 50s, Confucius finally passed the civil service examinations and obtained a government position as a magistrate, but soon resigned in frustration over his failure to influence the corrupt rulers. For the next 15 years he journeyed to various states in an unsuccessful quest to locate rulers who would implement his social policies. At the age of 68 he returned home to Lu where he spent his final years teaching and editing the ancient writings known today as the Five Classics.

Confucius died at the age of 72 in 479 BCE, thinking that his ideas would never be taken seriously by those in power. However, scholars of [Page 209]later centuries transformed Confucius's ideologies into a well-defined philosophical system that would shape and be shaped by Chinese culture and society, and eventually other Asian cultures as well, for more than 2 millennia.

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