A Chinese teacher and philosopher (traditionally 551–479 BCE) whose teachings on virtue, family duty, ritual propriety and government by moral example, recorded by his disciples in the Analects, shaped the ethics and statecraft of East Asia for over two thousand years.
Confucius lived during the late Spring and Autumn period of the Zhou dynasty, a time when central authority had weakened and rival states fought for power. Born into a modest family in the state of Lu, he served in minor government posts and became a teacher, accepting students regardless of their birth if they were willing to learn, an unusual idea for his time. He travelled among states hoping to find a ruler who would apply his ideas, with little success during his lifetime.
After his death, his disciples compiled his sayings into the Analects. Later thinkers, notably Mencius and Xunzi, developed his ideas in different directions. From the Han dynasty onwards, Confucianism became the official ideology of the Chinese state, and the imperial examination system, which selected officials through tests on Confucian classics, lasted until 1905. Confucian ideas also deeply influenced Korea, Japan and Vietnam.
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