The Life of Confucius

Confucius (孔子), a highly respected and ancient Chinese figure, was a great teacher, philosopher, and statesman. Confucius also founded the Confucian school of thought in China. Confucius’ contributions to Chinese history are tremendous. All of his teachings and life lessons were recorded and can be read today.

Image via Wikipedia

“Confucius” is actually a Latin name for “K’ung Ch’iu.” This man was born in northeastern China in 551 BC. During this era, China was dissected into numerous feudal states. These states were governed by warlords who were extremely selfish in all their actions. Being raised by a poor family in the state of Lu (ironically his father was a descendant of the sage king Cheng Tang), he had no teachers or tutors. He taught himself.

When he matured into an adult, Confucius, or Ch’iu, left his home and began traveling into different states. His hope was to encourage all the ruling princes in China to treat and lead their people with morals, therefore creating a more peaceful China. He tried to influence the leaders to not lead with the thought of more power or control or money in mind, but to make a better China.

For a long time, the warlords rejected Confucius, but he had gained the hearts of the abused citizens. After all of his travels were over, he returned back to his homeland where he founded his School of Thought. There he taught his basic (but usually unheard of) principles to his followers, which were growing everyday. Confucius taught over 2,000 people in his entire lifetime. His hope and reasons for founding this school were to hopefully watch these young students mature and accept government positions, so as to make a true difference in China’s feudal future.

Once he had died, Confucius was considered a god. Because of his great teachings, he was placed alongside Buddha as one of the greatest teachers in Eastern history.