View source for Confucius

{{short description|Chinese philosopher (c. 551 – c. 479 BCE)}}
{{Other uses}}
{{pp-vandalism|small=yes}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2023}}
{{Infobox philosopher
| name             = {{ubl|Confucius|{{nobold|{{transliteration|zh|Kǒngzǐ}}}}}}
| native_name      = {{langn|zh|孔子}}
| native_name_lang = zh
| region           = [[Chinese philosophy]]
| image            = Confucius Tang Dynasty.jpg
| caption          = Depiction of Confucius by [[Wu Daozi]], 8th century CE
| birth_name       = Kong Qiu
| birth_date       = {{circa|551 BCE}}
| birth_place      = Zou, [[Lu (state)|Lu]] {{awrap|(now [[Qufu]], [[Shandong]])}}
| death_date       = {{circa|lk=no|479 BCE}} (aged 71–72)
| death_place      = [[Si River]], Lu
| resting_place    = [[Cemetery of Confucius]], Lu
| school_tradition = [[Confucianism]]
| notable_students = {{Collapsible list|title=[[Disciples of Confucius|Disciples]]|[[Yan Hui]]|[[Zengzi]]}} 
| main_interests   = {{cslist|Ethics|education|music|[[political philosophy]]|[[social philosophy]]}}
| module           = 
{{Infobox Chinese|child=yes
| pic        = Kongzi (Chinese characters).svg
| piccap     = "Confucius ({{transl|zh|Kǒngzǐ}})" in [[seal script]] (top) and [[regular script]] (bottom) characters
| picupright = 0.4
| c          = 孔子
| l          = "Master Kong"
| p          = Kǒngzǐ
| bpmf       = {{bpmfsp|ㄎㄨㄥˇ|ㄗˇ}}
| w          = {{tonesup|K'ung3-tzŭ3}}
| mi         = {{IPAc-cmn|k|ong|3|.|zi|3}}
| j          = Hung2 zi2
| y          = Húngjí
| ci         = {{IPAc-yue|h|ung|2|-|z|i|2}}
| wuu        = Khon-tzy
| poj        = Khóng-chú
| tl         = Khóng-tsú
| mc         = khúwng tsí
| oc-b92     = *{{IPA|khongʔ tsɨʔ}}
| oc-bs      = *{{IPA|[k]ʰˤoŋʔ tsəʔ}}
| altname    = Kong Qiu
| c2         = 孔丘
| p2         = Kǒng Qiū
| tp2        = Kǒng Ciou
| bpmf2      = {{bpmfsp|ㄎㄨㄥˇ|ㄑㄧㄡ}}
| w2         = {{tonesup|Kʻung3 Chʻiu1}}
| mi2        = {{IPAc-cmn|k|ong|3|-|q|iu|1}}
| gr2        = Koong Chiou
| myr2       = Kǔng Chyōu
| j2         = Hung2 jau1
| ci2        = {{IPAc-yue|h|ung|2|-|j|au|1}}
| y2         = Húng Yāu
| h2         = {{tonesup|Kung3 Hiu1}}
| poj2       = Khóng Khiu
| tl2        = Khóng Khiu
| wuu2       = Khon Chieu
| mc2        = K<sup>h</sup>úwng K<sup>h</sup>juw
| oc-bs2     = *{{IPA|[k]ʰˤoŋʔ [k]ʷʰə}}
| altname2 = [[Courtesy name]]
| c3 = 仲尼
| p3 = Zhòngní 
| bpmf3      = {{bpmfsp|ㄓㄨㄥˋ ㄋㄧˊ}} 
| showflag   = p
}}}}

'''Confucius''' ({{lang|zh|孔子}}; pinyin: {{transliteration|zh|ISO|Kǒngzǐ}}; {{lit.|Master Kong}}; {{circa|551|479 BCE}}), born '''Kong Qiu''' ({{lang|zh|孔丘}}), was a [[Chinese philosopher]] of the [[Spring and Autumn period]] who is traditionally considered the paragon of Chinese sages. Much of the shared cultural heritage of the [[Sinosphere]] originates in the philosophy and teachings of Confucius.<ref>{{cite web|title=The Life and Significance of Confucius|url=http://www.sjsu.edu/faculty/watkins/confucius.htm|website=www.sjsu.edu|access-date=2017-09-27|archive-date=2019-12-27|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191227143137/http://www.sjsu.edu/faculty/watkins/confucius.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref> His philosophical teachings, called [[Confucianism]], emphasized personal and governmental morality, harmonious [[social relation]]ships, righteousness, kindness, sincerity, and a ruler's responsibilities to lead by virtue.{{sfn|Chan|1969|p=15–17}}

Confucius considered himself a transmitter for the values of [[Ancient China|earlier periods]] which he claimed had been abandoned in his time. He advocated for [[filial piety]], endorsing strong family loyalty, [[Ancestor veneration in China|ancestor veneration]], and the respect of elders by their children and of husbands by their wives. Confucius recommended a robust family unit as the cornerstone for an ideal government. He championed the [[Silver Rule]], or a negative form of the [[Golden Rule]], advising, "Do not do unto others what you do not want done to yourself."<ref>{{Cite news |title=Unthinkable: Which 'golden rule' of ethics is best, the Christian or Confucian? |url=https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/unthinkable-which-golden-rule-of-ethics-is-best-the-christian-or-confucian-1.1674003 |access-date=2023-10-21 |newspaper=The Irish Times |language=en}}</ref>

The time of Confucius's life saw a [[Hundred Schools of Thought|rich diversity of thought]], and was a formative period in China's intellectual history. His ideas gained in prominence during the [[Warring States period]], but [[Burning of books and burying of scholars|experienced setback]] immediately following the [[Qin dynasty|Qin conquest]]. Under [[Emperor Wu of Han]], Confucius's ideas received official sanction, with affiliated works becoming mandatory readings for career paths leading to officialdom. During the [[Tang dynasty|Tang]] and [[Song dynasty|Song]] dynasties, Confucianism developed into a system known in the West as [[Neo-Confucianism]]. In the 20th century, an intellectual movement emerged in [[Republic of China (1912–1949)|Republican China]] that sought to apply Confucian ideology in a modern context, known as [[New Confucianism]]. From ancient dynasties to the modern era, Confucianism has integrated into the Chinese social fabric and way of life.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Confucianism|url=https://www.worldhistory.org/Confucianism/|access-date=2020-11-04|website=World History Encyclopedia|archive-date=2021-04-17|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210417151257/https://www.worldhistory.org/Confucianism/|url-status=live |last1=Mark |first1=Joshua J. |date=7 July 2020 }}</ref>

Traditionally, Confucius is credited with having authored or edited many of the ancient texts including all of the [[Five Classics]]. However, modern scholars exercise caution in attributing specific assertions to Confucius himself, for at least some of the texts and philosophy associated with him were of a more ancient origin.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Philosophers of the Warring States |url=https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/world-history/ancient-medieval/zhou-qin-han-china/a/the-philosophers-of-the-warring-states |access-date=2023-04-30 |website=[[Khan Academy]] |language=en |archive-date=2023-04-30 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230430131152/https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/world-history/ancient-medieval/zhou-qin-han-china/a/the-philosophers-of-the-warring-states |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Aphorism]]s concerning his teachings were compiled in the ''[[Analects]]'', but not until many years after his death.

==Name==
{{anchor|Etymology|Name|Titles}}
The name "Confucius" is a [[Latinisation of names|Latinized]] form of the [[Standard Chinese|Mandarin Chinese]] {{transliteration|zh|Kǒng Fūzǐ}} ({{lang|zh|孔夫子}}, "Master Kong") that was coined in the late 16th century by early [[Jesuit China missions|Jesuit missionaries to China]].{{sfn|Nivison|1999|p=752}} Confucius's [[Chinese surname#Shi|family name]] was Kong ({{Old Chinese|kʰˤoŋʔ|孔|suppress_reconstruction_link=yes|show_lang=no}}) and his given name was Qiu ({{Old Chinese|[k]ʷʰə|丘|suppress_reconstruction_link=yes|show_lang=no}}). His [[courtesy name]], a capping (''guan'': {{lang|zh|冠}}) given at [[Coming of age|his coming of age ceremony]],{{sfn|Hunter|2017|p=50}} and by which he would have been known to all but his older family members, was Zhongni ({{Old Chinese|N-‍truŋ-‍s nr[əj]|仲尼|suppress_reconstruction_link=yes|show_lang=no}}), the "Zhòng" indicating that he was the second son in his family.{{sfn|Nivison|1999|p=752}}{{sfn|Wilkinson|2015|p=133}}

{{anchor|Biography|History}}
==Life==

===Early life===
It is thought that Confucius was born on 28 September 551 BCE,{{sfn|Huang|2013|p=3}}{{sfn|Creel|1949|p=25}} in Zou ({{lang|zh|陬}}, in modern [[Qufu]], [[Shandong]]).{{sfn|Creel|1949|p=25}}{{sfn|Rainey|2010|p=16}} The area was notionally controlled by the [[list of Zhou kings|kings]] of [[Zhou dynasty|Zhou]] but effectively independent under the local lords of [[Lu (state)|Lu]], who ruled from the nearby city of Qufu. His father [[Kong He]] (or Shuliang He) was an elderly commandant of the local Lu garrison.{{sfn|Legge|1887|p=260}} [[Family tree of Confucius in the main line of descent|His ancestry]] traced back through the [[Song (state)|dukes of Song]] to the [[Shang dynasty]] which had preceded the Zhou.{{sfn|Legge|1887|p=259}}{{sfn|Yao|1997|p=29}}{{sfn|Yao|2000|p=23}}{{sfn|Rainey|2010|p=66}} Traditional accounts of Confucius's life relate that Kong He's grandfather had migrated the family from Song to Lu.{{sfn|Creel|1949|p=26}} Not all modern scholars accept Confucius's descent from Song nobility.<ref name=Eno>{{ cite journal
| last = Eno | first = Robert
| title= The background of the Kong family of Lu and the origins of Ruism
| year = 2003 | volume=28
| journal=Early China 
| publisher=Cambridge University Press
| pages = 1–41
| doi = 10.1017/S0362502800000651
| jstor=23354229
| s2cid = 20828205
}} Eno concludes of Confucius's ancestry that the descent from Song nobility has been constructed to serve an ideological purpose. However he rejects the stronger statement that Confucius's immediate parentage is also fabricated, as proposed by Creel and Jensen.{{pb}}{{ cite journal
| last = Jensen | first = Lionel
| journal=Early China
| publisher=Cambridge University Press 
| year = 1995 | volume= 20
| pages = 407–437
| jstor =23351776
| title= Wise man of the wilds: fatherlessness, fertility, and the mythic exemplar Kongzi
| doi = 10.1017/S0362502800004570
| s2cid = 163177601
}} p. 409{{pb}}{{harvnb|Creel|1949|pp=297–298}}, cited in Eno.</ref>{{rp|14–15}}

Kong He died when Confucius was three years old, and Confucius was raised by his mother [[Yan Zhengzai]] ({{lang|zh|顏徵在}}) in poverty.{{sfn|Huang|2013|p=4}} His mother later died at less than 40 years of age.{{sfn|Huang|2013|p=4}} At age 19, he married [[Lady Qiguan]] ({{lang|zh|亓官氏}}), and a year later the couple had their first child, their son [[Kong Li]] ({{lang|zh|孔鯉}}).{{sfn|Huang|2013|p=4}} Qiguan and Confucius later had two daughters together, one of whom is thought to have died as a child and one was named Kong Jiao ({{lang|zh|孔姣}}).<ref>{{cite book|last1=Schuman|first1=Michael|title=Confucius: And the World He Created|date=2015|publisher=Basic Books|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wb6DBQAAQBAJ&pg=PT25|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170416230225/https://books.google.com/books?id=wb6DBQAAQBAJ&pg=PT25|archive-date=2017-04-16|isbn=978-0-465-04057-5}}</ref>

Confucius was educated at schools for commoners, where he studied and learned the [[Six Arts]].{{sfn|Huang|2013|pp=4–5}}

Confucius was born into the class of ''[[Four occupations|shi]]'' ({{lang|zh|士}}), between the aristocracy and the common people. He is said to have worked in various government jobs during his early 20s, and as a bookkeeper and a caretaker of sheep and horses, using the proceeds to give his mother a proper burial.{{sfn|Huang|2013|p=4}}<ref name=buryl/> When his mother died, Confucius (aged 23) is said to have [[Ancestor veneration in China#Mourning|mourned for three years]], as was the tradition.<ref name=buryl>{{cite book|last1=Burgan|first1=Michael|title=Confucius: Chinese Philosopher and Teacher|date=2008|publisher=Capstone|page=23|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vM8GCpBncjEC&pg=PT12|access-date=August 12, 2015|isbn=978-0-7565-3832-3}}</ref>

===Political career===
In Confucius's time, the [[state of Lu]] was headed by a ruling ducal house. Under the duke were [[Three Huan|three aristocratic families]], whose heads bore the title of viscount and held hereditary positions in the Lu bureaucracy. The Ji family held the position "Minister over the Masses", who was also the "Prime Minister"; the Meng family held the position "Minister of Works"; and the Shu family held the position "Minister of War". In the winter of {{BCE|505}}, Yang Hu—a retainer of the Ji family—rose up in rebellion and seized power from the Ji family. However, by the summer of {{BCE|501}}, the three hereditary families had succeeded in expelling Yang Hu from Lu. By then, Confucius had built up a considerable reputation through his teachings, while the families came to see the value of proper conduct and righteousness, so they could achieve loyalty to a legitimate government. Thus, that year ({{BCE|501}}), Confucius came to be appointed to the minor position of governor of a town. Eventually, he rose to the position of Minister of Crime.{{sfn|Dubs|1946|pp=274–276}} The ''[[Xunzi (book)|Xunzi]]'' says that once assuming the post, Confucius ordered the execution of [[Shaozheng Mao]], another Lu state official and scholar whose lectures attracted the three thousand disciples several times except [[Yan Hui]]. Shaozheng Mao was accused of 'five crimes', each worth execution, including 'concealed evilness, stubborn abnormality, eloquent duplicity, erudition in bizarre facts and generosity to evildoers'.<ref>{{Cite book|trans-title=Xunzi|language=lzh|title-link=Xunzi (book)|last=Xun|first=Kuang|author-mask=0|script-title=zh:荀子|script-chapter=zh:宥坐|script-quote=zh:孔子為魯攝相，朝七日而誅少正卯。門人進問曰：「夫少正卯魯之聞人也，夫子為政而始誅之，得無失乎，」孔子曰：「居，吾語女其故。人有惡者五，而盜竊不與焉。一曰心達而險；二曰行辟而堅；三曰言偽而辯；四曰記醜而博；五曰順非而澤。此五者，有一於人，則不得免於君子之誅，而少正卯兼有之。故居處足以聚徒成群，言談足飾邪營眾，強足以反是獨立，此小人之桀雄也，不可不誅也。是以湯誅尹諧，文王誅潘止，周公誅管叔，太公誅華仕，管仲誅付里乙，子產誅鄧析、史付，此七子者，皆異世同心，不可不誅也。詩曰：『憂心悄悄，慍於群小。』小人成群，斯足憂也。」}}</ref>

Confucius desired to return the authority of the state to the duke by dismantling the fortifications of the city—strongholds belonging to the three families. This way, he could establish a centralized government. However, Confucius relied solely on diplomacy as he had no military authority himself. In {{BCE|500}}, Hou Fan—the governor of Hou—revolted against his lord of the Shu family. Although the Meng and Shu families unsuccessfully besieged Hou, a loyalist official rose up with the people of Hou and forced Hou Fan to flee to the [[state of Qi]]. The situation may have been in favor for Confucius as this likely made it possible for Confucius and his disciples to convince the aristocratic families to dismantle the fortifications of their cities. Eventually, after a year and a half, Confucius and his disciples succeeded in convincing the Shu family to raze the walls of Hou, the Ji family in razing the walls of Bi, and the Meng family in razing the walls of Cheng. First, the Shu family led an army towards their city Hou and tore down its walls in {{BCE|498}}.{{sfn|Dubs|1946|p=277}}

{{multiple image
| align = right
| image1 = Confucius, fresco from a Western Han tomb of Dongping County, Shandong province, China.jpg
| width1 = 200
| image2 = Confucius and Laozi, fresco from a Western Han tomb of Dongping County, Shandong province, China.jpg
| width2 = 220
| footer = A [[Western Han]] ({{BCE|202}}{{snd}}{{CE|9}}) [[fresco]] depicting Confucius and [[Laozi]], from a tomb of [[Dongping County]], Shandong
}}
Soon thereafter, Gongshan Furao, a retainer of the Ji family, revolted and took control of the forces at Bi. He immediately launched an attack and entered the capital Lu. Earlier, Gongshan had approached Confucius to join him, which Confucius considered as he wanted the opportunity to put his principles into practice but he gave up on the idea in the end. Confucius disapproved the use of a violent revolution by principle, even though the Ji family dominated the Lu state by force for generations and had exiled the previous duke. Creel states that, unlike the rebel Yang Hu before him, Gongshan may have sought to destroy the three hereditary families and restore the power of the duke. However, Dubs is of the view that Gongshan was encouraged by Viscount Ji Huan to invade the Lu capital in an attempt to avoid dismantling the Bi fortified walls. Whatever the situation may have been, Gongshan was considered an upright man who continued to defend the state of Lu, even after he was forced to flee.{{sfnm|Creel|1949|1pp=35–36|Dubs|1946|2pp=277–278}}

During the revolt by Gongshan, [[Zhong You]] had managed to keep the duke and the three viscounts together at the court. Zhong You was one of the disciples of Confucius and Confucius had arranged for him to be given the position of governor by the Ji family. When Confucius heard of the raid, he requested that Viscount Ji Huan allow the duke and his court to retreat to a stronghold on his palace grounds. Thereafter, the heads of the three families and the duke retreated to the Ji's palace complex and ascended the Wuzi Terrace. Confucius ordered two officers to lead an assault against the rebels. At least one of the two officers was a retainer of the Ji family, but they were unable to refuse the orders while in the presence of the duke, viscounts, and court. The rebels were pursued and defeated at Gu. Immediately after the revolt was defeated, the Ji family razed the Bi city walls to the ground.{{sfnm|Dubs|1946|1pp=278–279|Chin|2007|2p=30}}

The attackers retreated after realizing that they would have to become rebels against the state and their lord. Through Confucius' actions, the Bi officials had inadvertently revolted against their own lord, thus forcing Viscount Ji Huan's hand in having to dismantle the walls of Bi—as it could have harbored such rebels—or confess to instigating the event by going against proper conduct and righteousness as an official. Dubs suggests that the incident brought to light Confucius' foresight, practical political ability, and insight into human character.{{sfn|Dubs|1946|p=279}}

When it was time to dismantle the city walls of the Meng family, the governor was reluctant to have his city walls torn down and convinced the head of the Meng family not to do so. The ''[[Zuo Zhuan]]'' recalls that the governor advised against razing the walls to the ground as he said that it made Cheng vulnerable to Qi, and cause the destruction of the Meng family. Even though Viscount Meng Yi gave his word not to interfere with an attempt, he went back on his earlier promise to dismantle the walls.{{sfnm|Dubs|1946|1p=279|Chin|2007|2p=30}}

Later in {{BCE|498}}, [[Duke Ding of Lu]] personally went with an army to lay siege to Cheng in an attempt to raze its walls to the ground, but he did not succeed. Thus, Confucius could not achieve the idealistic reforms that he wanted including restoration of the legitimate rule of the duke. He had made powerful enemies within the state, especially with Viscount Ji Huan, due to his successes so far. According to accounts in the ''[[Zuo Zhuan]]'' and the ''[[Records of the Grand Historian]]'', Confucius departed his homeland in {{BCE|497}} after his support for the failed attempt of dismantling the fortified city walls of the powerful Ji, Meng, and Shu families.{{sfn|Riegel|1986|p=13}} He left the state of Lu without resigning, remaining in self-exile and unable to return as long as Viscount Ji Huan was alive.{{sfn|Dubs|1946|pp=280–281}}

===Exile===
[[File:Journey of Confucius.png|thumb|left|300px|Map showing the journey of Confucius to various states between 497 BCE and 484 BCE]]
The ''[[Shiji]]'' stated that the neighboring [[Qi (state)|Qi state]] was worried that Lu was becoming too powerful while Confucius was involved in the government of the Lu state.{{sfn|Nylan|Wilson|2010|p=17}} According to this account, Qi decided to sabotage Lu's reforms by sending 100 good horses and 80 beautiful dancing girls to the duke of Lu.{{sfn|Nylan|Wilson|2010|p=17}} The duke indulged himself in pleasure and did not attend to official duties for three days. Confucius was disappointed and resolved to leave Lu and seek better opportunities, yet to leave at once would expose the misbehavior of the duke and therefore bring public humiliation to the ruler Confucius was serving. Confucius therefore waited for the duke to make a lesser mistake. Soon after, the duke neglected to send to Confucius a portion of the sacrificial meat that was his due according to custom, and Confucius seized upon this pretext to leave both his post and the Lu state.

After Confucius's resignation, he travelled around the [[ancient Chinese states|principality states]] of north-east and central China including [[Wei (Spring and Autumn period)|Wey]], [[Song (state)|Song]], [[Zheng (state)|Zheng]], [[Cao (state)|Cao]], [[Chu (state)|Chu]], [[Qi (state)|Qi]], [[Chen (state)|Chen]], and [[Cai (state)|Cai]] (and a failed attempt to go to [[Jin (Chinese state)|Jin]]). At the courts of these states, he expounded his political beliefs but did not see them implemented.{{sfn|Nylan|Wilson|2010|p=11–23}}

===Return home===
[[File:Confuciustombqufu.jpg|thumb|upright|Tomb of Confucius in [[Cemetery of Confucius|Kong Lin cemetery]], [[Qufu]], Shandong]]

According to the ''[[Zuozhuan]]'', Confucius returned home to his native Lu when he was 68, after he was invited to do so by Ji Kangzi, the chief minister of Lu.{{sfn|Huang|2013|pp=27–28}} The ''[[Records of the Grand Historian|Shiji]]'' depicts him spending his last years teaching 3000 pupils, with 72 or 77 accomplished [[disciples of Confucius|disciples]] that mastered the [[Six Arts]]. Meanwhile, Confucius dedicated himself in transmitting the old wisdom by writing or editing the [[Five Classics]].{{Sfn|Chan|1969|p=17}}

During his return, Confucius sometimes acted as an advisor to several government officials in Lu, including Ji Kangzi, on matters including governance and crime.{{sfn|Huang|2013|pp=27–28}}

Burdened by the loss of both his son and his favorite disciples, he died at the age of 71 or 72 from natural causes. Confucius was buried on the bank of the [[Si River|Sishui River]], to the north of [[Qufu]] City in Shandong Province. Starting as a humble tomb, the cemetery of Confucius had been expanded by emperors since the Han Dynasty. To date, the [[Cemetery of Confucius]] (孔林) covers an area of 183 hectares with more than 100,000 graves of the Kong descendants, it is included in the World Heritage List for its cultural and architectural value.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/704/|title=Temple and Cemetery of Confucius and the Kong Family Mansion in Qufu|website=UNESCO World Heritage Centre|language=en|access-date=2019-11-25|archive-date=2019-11-19|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191119105528/http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/704/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=孔林_曲阜文博网 |url=https://yx.qfwbw.cn/jd/2018-06-28/4059.html |access-date=2024-07-03 |website=yx.qfwbw.cn |archive-date=27 September 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240927095418/https://yx.qfwbw.cn/jd/2018-06-28/4059.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>

==Philosophy==
{{Confucianism}}
{{Main|Confucianism}}

In the ''[[Analects]]'', Confucius presents himself as a "transmitter who invented nothing". He puts the greatest emphasis on the importance of study, and it is the [[Chinese character]] for study (學) that opens the text. Far from trying to build a systematic or [[Religious formalism|formalist]] theory, he wanted his disciples to master and internalize older classics, so that they can capture the ancient wisdoms that promotes "harmony and order", to aid their self-cultivation to become a [[Junzi|perfect man]]. For example, the ''[[Spring and Autumn Annals|Annals]]'' would allow them to relate the moral problems of the present to past political events; the ''[[Shi Jing|Book of Odes]]'' reflects the "mood and concerns" of the commoners and their view on government; while the ''[[I Ching|Book of Changes]]'' encompasses the key theory and practice of divination.{{Sfn|Oldstone-Moore|2003|p=34–37}}<ref>{{Cite web |title=Asian Topics on Asia for Educators {{!}}{{!}} The Book of Songs and China's Literary Tradition |url=https://afe.easia.columbia.edu/at/song/song04.html |access-date=2024-07-03 |website=afe.easia.columbia.edu}}</ref>

Although some Chinese people follow Confucianism in a religious manner, many argue that its values are secular and that it is less a religion than a secular morality. Proponents of religious Confucianism argue that despite the secular nature of Confucianism's teachings, it is based on a worldview that is religious.<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Berger|first=Peter|url=http://www.the-american-interest.com/2012/02/15/is-confucianism-a-religion/|title=Is Confucianism a Religion?|magazine=The American Interest|date=February 15, 2012|access-date=August 13, 2015|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150817062142/http://www.the-american-interest.com/2012/02/15/is-confucianism-a-religion/|archive-date=August 17, 2015}}</ref> Confucius was considered more of a humanist than a spiritualist,{{sfn|Chan|1969|p=14–15}} his discussions on [[afterlife]] and views concerning [[Tian|Heaven]] remained indeterminate, and he is largely unconcerned with spiritual matters often considered essential to religious thought, such as the nature of [[Chinese soul|souls]].<ref>{{cite journal| first = D. Howard| last = Smith|jstor =3269371| title = Chinese Concepts of the Soul | journal = Numen | volume = 5| issue = 3| pages = 165–179 | doi= 10.2307/3269371 | publisher= Brill 
| date = September 1958}}</ref>

===Ethics===
{{Main|Confucian ethics}}
[[File:Rongo Analects 02.jpg|thumb|left|The ''[[Analects]]'']]
One of the deepest teachings of Confucius may have been the superiority of personal exemplification over explicit rules of behavior. His moral teachings emphasized self-cultivation, emulation of moral exemplars, and the attainment of skilled judgment rather than knowledge of rules. Confucian ethics may, therefore, be considered a type of [[virtue ethics]]. His teachings rarely rely on reasoned argument, and ethical ideals and methods are conveyed indirectly, through [[allusion]], [[innuendo]], and even [[tautology (rhetoric)|tautology]]. His teachings require examination and context to be understood. A good example is found in this famous anecdote:

{{blockquote|
{{lang|zh|廄焚。子退朝，曰：傷人乎？不問馬。| size = 110% }}

When the stables were burnt down, on returning from court Confucius said, "Was anyone hurt?" He did not ask about the horses.|''Analects'' X.11 (tr. [[Arthur Waley|Waley]]), 10–13 (tr. [[James Legge|Legge]]), or X-17 (tr. [[D.C. Lau|Lau]])}}

This remark was considered a strong manifestation of Confucius' advocacy in humanism.{{sfn|Chan|1969|p=36}}<ref>{{Cite book |last=Confucius |author-link=Confucius |title=The analects: the Simon Leys translation, interpretations |date=2014 |publisher=W. W. Norton |isbn=978-0-393-91195-4 |editor-last=Nylan |editor-first=Michael |location=New York, NY |translator-last=Leys |translator-first=Simon|pages=Note to Chapter 10, Line 10.17}}</ref>

One of his teachings was a variant of the [[Golden Rule]], sometimes called the "[[Silver Rule]]" owing to its negative form:

{{blockquote|
{{lang|zh|子貢問曰：有一言而可以終身行之者乎？子曰：其恕乎！己所不欲、勿施於人。| size = 110% }}

Zi Gong [a disciple] asked: "Is there any one word that could guide a person throughout life?" The Master replied: "How about 'reciprocity'! Never impose on others what you would not choose for yourself."|''Analects'' XV.24, tr. David Hinton}}

Often overlooked in Confucian ethics are the virtues to the self: sincerity and the cultivation of knowledge. Virtuous action towards others begins with virtuous and sincere thought, which begins with knowledge. A virtuous disposition without knowledge is susceptible to corruption, and virtuous action without sincerity is not true righteousness. For Confucius, learning about ancient rituals, practices, music, social institutions, and relationship norms is both essential and the starting point for becoming a ''[[junzi]]''. By "learning," Confucius refers to moral cultivation that transforms a student into a superior man, rather than the mere accumulation of knowledge.{{sfn|Gardner|2014|p=19-22}}

The Confucian theory of ethics as exemplified in ''[[Li (Confucian)|lǐ]]'' ({{lang|zh|禮}}) is based on three important conceptual aspects of life: (a) ceremonies associated with sacrifice to ancestors and deities of various types, (b) social and political institutions, and (c) the etiquette of daily behavior. Some believed that ''lǐ'' originated from the heavens, but Confucius stressed the development of ''lǐ'' through the actions of sage leaders in human history. His discussions of ''lǐ'' seem to redefine the term to refer to all actions committed by a person to build the ideal society, rather than those conforming with canonical standards of ceremony.{{sfn|Gardner|2014|p=25-29}}

In the early Confucian tradition, ''lǐ'' was doing the proper thing at the proper time; balancing between maintaining existing norms to perpetuate an ethical social fabric, and violating them in order to accomplish ethical good. Training in the ''lǐ'' of past sages, cultivates virtues in people that include ethical judgment about when ''lǐ'' must be adapted in light of situational contexts.

In Confucianism, the concept of ''li'' is closely related to ''yì'' ({{lang|zh|義}}), which is based upon the idea of reciprocity. ''Yì'' can be translated as [[righteousness]], though it may mean what is ethically best to do in a certain context. The term contrasts with action done out of [[selfishness|self-interest]] or profitableness ({{lang|zh|利}}). While pursuing one's own self-interest is not necessarily bad, one would be a better, more righteous person if one's life was based upon following a path designed to enhance the greater good. Thus an outcome of ''yì'' is doing the right thing for its own sake, without regarding the material gains.{{sfn|Fung|1994|pp=74-76}}

Just as action according to ''[[Li (Confucian)|lǐ]]'' should be adapted to conform to the aspiration of adhering to ''yì'', so ''yì'' is linked to the core value of ''rén'' ({{lang|zh|仁}}). ''[[Ren (Confucianism)|Rén]]'' consists of five basic virtues: seriousness, generosity, sincerity, diligence, and kindness.<ref name="Bonevac09-40">{{Harvnb|Bonevac|Phillips|2009|loc=40}}.</ref> ''Rén'' is the virtue of perfectly fulfilling one's responsibilities toward others, most often translated as "benevolence", "humaneness", or "empathy"; translator [[Arthur Waley]] calls it "Goodness" (with a capital ''G''), and other translations that have been put forth include "authoritativeness" and "selflessness". Confucius's moral system was based upon [[empathy]] and understanding others, rather than divinely ordained rules. To develop one's spontaneous responses of ''rén'' so that these could guide action intuitively was even better than living by the rules of ''yì''. Confucius asserts that virtue is a mean between extremes. For example, the properly generous person gives the right amount – not too much and not too little.<ref name="Bonevac09-40" />

===Politics===
Confucius's political thought is based upon his ethical thought. He argued that the best government is one that rules through "rites" (''lǐ'') and morality, and ''not'' by using incentives and coercion. He explained that this is one of the most important analects: "If the people be led by laws, and uniformity sought to be given them by punishments, they will try to avoid the punishment, but have no sense of shame. If they be led by virtue, and uniformity sought to be given them by the rules of propriety, they will have the sense of the shame, and moreover will become good." (''Analects'' 2.3, tr. Legge). This "sense of shame" is an internalization of duty. Confucianism prioritizes creating a harmonious society over the ruler's interests, opposes material incentives and harsh punishments, and downplays the role of institutions in guiding behavior as in [[Legalism (Chinese philosophy)|Legalism]], emphasizing moral virtues instead.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Zhou |first=Haiwen |date=2011 |title=Confucianism and the Legalism: A model of the national strategy of governance in ancient China |journal=Frontiers of Economics in China |language=en |volume=6 |issue=4 |pages=616–637 |doi=10.1007/s11459-011-0150-4 |issn=1673-3444|url=https://mpra.ub.uni-muenchen.de/81944/1/MPRA_paper_81944.pdf }}{{better source needed|date=September 2024|reason= this is an interesting toy model of governance priorities that probably has some good insights if we accept its propositions, but it's not really about this topic at all. this should be trivial to cite for people who read general histories / popular press / outdated research}}</ref>

Confucius looked nostalgically upon earlier days, and urged the Chinese, particularly those with political power, to model themselves on earlier examples. In times of division, chaos, and endless wars between feudal states, he wanted to restore the [[Mandate of Heaven]] ({{lang|zh|天命}}) that could unify the "world" ({{lang|zh|天下}}, "all under Heaven") and bestow peace and prosperity on the people. Because his vision of personal and social perfections was framed as a revival of the ordered society of earlier times, Confucius is often considered a great proponent of conservatism, but a closer look at what he proposes often shows that he used (and perhaps twisted) past institutions and rites to push a new political agenda of his own: a revival of a unified royal state, whose rulers would succeed to power on the basis of their moral merits instead of lineage. These would be rulers devoted to the well-being of their people, striving to be a role model in virtue and ritual, and such a ruler would spread his own virtues to the people instead of imposing proper behavior with laws and edicts.{{sfn|Gardner|2014|p=36-37}}

In discussing the relationship between a king and his subject (or a father and his son), he underlined the need to give due respect to superiors. This demanded that the subordinates must advise their superiors if the superiors are considered to be taking a course of action that is wrong. Confucius believed in ruling by example, if you lead correctly, orders by force or punishment are not necessary.<ref>{{cite web|last=Violatti|first=Cristian|url=http://www.worldhistory.org/Confucianism/|title=Confucianism|publisher=World History Encyclopedia|date=August 31, 2013|access-date=August 17, 2015|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150818150049/http://www.worldhistory.org/Confucianism/|archive-date=August 18, 2015}}</ref>

===Music and poetry===
{{Main|Ritual and music system}}
[[File:Kǒngzǐ Shīlùn Manuscript from Shanghai Museum 1.jpg|thumb|left|The ''Shijing'' or ''[[Classic of Poetry]]'']]
[[Music]] was one of the [[Six Arts|six arts]] that students needed to master, together with archery, charioteering, mathematics, calligraphy, and a partner to music, the purpose of rituals. Confucius heavily promoted the use of music with rituals or the rites order.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Koto from the series The Six Arts in Fashionable Guise|url=https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1985.301|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art|date=2024-01-21}}</ref> Unlike other philosophers around the world, Confucius viewed music and [[music theory]] beyond a mere art form or curriculum subject, and stated that it was intrinsically intertwined with rites in structuring man. <blockquote>"Music is that which moves man from the internal; rites are that which affects man
on the external. Music brings about harmony. Rites ensure obedience."</blockquote> To Confucius, music created the focus necessary to unite and harmonize man. Thus, music and rites together were more than beneficial but were to make people act in a manner compatible with heaven and earth.<ref name="kirkendall">{{Cite web|last=Kirkendall|first=Jensen Armstrong|title=The Well Ordered Heart: Confucius on Harmony, Music, and Ritual|url=https://s3.wp.wsu.edu/uploads/sites/998/2018/11/JensenKirkendall-TheWellOrderedHeart.pdf|publisher=Azusa Pacific University|date=2017-12-14 |access-date=2021-04-13|archive-date=2021-04-13|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210413045728/https://s3.wp.wsu.edu/uploads/sites/998/2018/11/JensenKirkendall-TheWellOrderedHeart.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> The scholar [[Li Zehou]] argued that Confucianism is based on the idea of rites. Rites serve as the starting point for each individual and that these sacred social functions allow each person's human nature to be harmonious with reality. Given this, Confucius believed that "music is the harmonization of heaven and earth; the rites is the order of heaven and earth." Therefore, the application of music in rites creates the order that makes it possible for society to prosper.<ref name=kirkendall/>

The Confucian approach to music was heavily inspired by the {{em|[[Classic of Poetry|Shijing or Classic of Poetry]]}} and the {{em|[[Classic of Music]]}}, which was said to be the sixth Confucian classic until it was lost during the [[Han dynasty]]. The {{em|Classic of Poetry}} serves as one of the current Confucian classics and is a book on poetry that contains a diversified variety of poems as well as poems meant for folk songs. Confucius is traditionally ascribed with compiling these classics within his school.<ref>{{citation
  |title = The Penguin Book of Chinese Verse
  |editor-first = Albert Richard |editor-last = Davis
  |location = Baltimore |publisher = Penguin Books |year = 1970
  |postscript = 
  }}</ref> In the Analects, Confucius described the importance of poetry in the intellectual and moral development of an individual:<ref name="Confucius, The Analects - 17">{{Cite web|title=Confucius, The Analects – 17|url=https://china.usc.edu/confucius-analects-17|date=1901-12-13|access-date=2021-04-13|archive-date=2021-04-13|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210413045737/https://china.usc.edu/confucius-analects-17|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Cai |first=Zong-qi |date=July 1999 |title=In Quest of Harmony: Plato and Confucius on Poetry  |journal=Philosophy East and West |volume=49 |issue=3 |pages=317–345 |doi=10.2307/1399898 |jstor=1399898 <!-- requires url, but for the fans: |access-date=2021-04-13 -->}}</ref>
{{poemquote|The Master said, "My children, why do you not study the {{em|Book of Poetry}}?
{{Em|The Odes}} serve to stimulate the mind.
They may be used for purposes of self-contemplation.
They teach the art of sociability.
They show how to regulate feelings of resentment.
From them you learn the more immediate duty of serving one's father, and the remoter one of serving one's prince.
From them we become largely acquainted with the names of birds, beasts, and plants."<ref name="Confucius, The Analects - 17"/>}}Confucians in later generations had conservative and mixed views on international musical influences encroaching on China, in particular those with varying styles that did not traditionally accompany rites, and some preached against sentimental tendencies from the [[Persians]], the [[Greco-Bactrians]], and the [[Mongols]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Durant |first=Will |author-link=Will Durant |title=Our Oriental Heritage: Being a History of Civilization in Egypt and the Near East to the Death of Alexander, and in India, China and Japan from the Beginning to Our Own Day; With an Introduction, on the Nature and Foundations of Civilization |title-link=The Story of Civilization#I. Our Oriental Heritage (1935) |publisher=[[Simon & Schuster]] |year=1954 |location=New York |page=[https://archive.org/details/storciviliz00dura/page/n823/mode/1up 723]}}</ref>

==Legacy==
{{More citations needed section|date=August 2018}}
[[File:Louvre Conseil Etat Confucius.jpg|thumb|Confucius together with [[Moses]] and [[Muhammad]] among the greatest legislators of the past, by [[Jean-Baptiste Mauzaisse]] (1827), [[Louvre Palace]]]]

Confucius's teachings were later turned into an elaborate set of rules and practices by his numerous disciples and followers, who organized his teachings into the ''Analects''.{{sfn|Knechtges|Shih|2010|p=645}}{{sfn|Kim|Csikszentmihalyi|2010|p=25}} Confucius's disciples and his only grandson, [[Zisi]], continued his philosophical school after his death.<ref>{{cite book|title=Focusing the Familiar: A Translation and Philosophical Interpretation of the Zhongyong|last1=Ames| first1=Roger T.|author1-link =Roger T. Ames | first2= David L. | last2=Hall|publisher=University of Hawai'i Press|year=2001|isbn=978-0-8248-2460-0|page=132}}</ref> These efforts spread Confucian ideals to students who then became officials in many of the royal courts in China, thereby giving Confucianism the first wide-scale test of its [[dogma]].<ref name=":1">{{Cite journal |last=Dubs |first=Homer H.|author-link =Homer H. Dubs|date=1938 |title=The Victory of Han Confucianism |jstor=594608 |journal=Journal of the American Oriental Society |volume=58 |issue=3 |pages=435–449 |doi=10.2307/594608 }}</ref>

Two of Confucius's most famous later followers emphasized radically different aspects of his teachings. In the centuries after his death, [[Mencius]] ({{lang|zh|孟子}}) and [[Xun Kuang|Xunzi]] ({{lang|zh|荀子}}) both composed important teachings elaborating in different ways on the fundamental ideas associated with Confucius. [[Mencius]] ({{BCE|4th century}}) articulated the innate goodness in human beings as a source of the ethical intuitions that guide people towards ''[[Ren (philosophy)|rén]]'', ''yì'', and ''[[Li (Confucianism)|lǐ]]'', while Xunzi ({{BCE|3rd century}}) underscored the realistic and materialistic aspects of Confucian thought, stressing that morality was inculcated in society through tradition and in individuals through training. In time, their writings, together with the ''Analects'' and other [[Four Books and Five Classics|core texts]] came to constitute the philosophical corpus of Confucianism.{{sfn|Gardner|2014|p=48-69}}

Towards the end of the [[Warring States period]]s, [[Legalism (Chinese philosophy)|Legalism]] gained momentum amid the intensified power struggle.{{sfn|De Bary|Bloom|Chan|Adler|1999|p=191}} Considered an "antithesis of Confucian thinking", Legalism held that humanity and righteousness were not sufficient in government, and that rulers should instead rely on statecrafts, punishments, vigorous administration of law, and warfare.{{Sfn|Chan|1969|p=22, 252–259}}{{sfn|De Bary|Bloom|Chan|Adler|1999|p=191}} Legalism seemed to "win out over the [[Hundred Schools of Thought|other school of political thoughts]]" in {{BCE|221}} when the [[Qin (state)|Qin state]] conquered all of China and adopted legalism as its official doctrine.{{sfn|De Bary|Bloom|Chan|Adler|1999|p=192, 206}} [[Li Si]], Prime Minister of the [[Qin dynasty]], convinced [[Qin Shi Huang]] to completely abolish feudal ranks and privileges of the Zhou dynasty, and to centralize power through the prefectures and county system. {{sfn|De Bary|Bloom|Chan|Adler|1999|p=207–209}}

It was not until the Han dynasty that Confucian teachings gained widespread prominence over other thinkers.{{Sfn|Gardner|2014|p=5}} Under [[Emperor Wu of Han]],  the [[Four Books and Five Classics#Five Classics|works attributed to Confucius]] were made the official imperial philosophy and required reading for civil service examinations in {{BCE|140}} which was continued nearly unbroken until the end of the imperial China in 1912.{{Sfn|Gardner|2014|p=7}} As [[Mohism]] lost support by the time of the Han, the main philosophical contenders were Legalism, which Confucian thought somewhat absorbed, the teachings of [[Laozi]], whose focus on more spiritual ideas kept it from direct conflict with Confucianism, and the new [[Buddhist]] religion, which gained acceptance during the [[Southern and Northern Dynasties]] era. Both Confucian ideas and Confucian-trained officials were relied upon in the [[Ming dynasty]] and even the [[Yuan dynasty]], although the [[Mongols|Mongol]] rulers somehow distrusted Confucian scholar-officials and excluded them from some of the top government positions.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Mongols in World History {{!}} Asia for Educators |url=https://afe.easia.columbia.edu/mongols/china/china.htm |access-date=2025-07-18 |website=afe.easia.columbia.edu}}</ref>

During the [[Song dynasty]], Confucianism was revitalized in a movement known as Neo-Confucianism. Neo-Confucianism was a revival of Confucianism that expanded on classical theories by incorporating metaphysics and new approaches to self-cultivation and enlightenment, influenced by Buddhism and Daoism.{{Sfn|Oldstone-Moore|2003|p=18}} The most renowned scholar of this period was [[Zhu Xi]]. There are clear Buddhist and Daoist influences in the Neo-Confucian advocacy of "quiet sitting" (meditation) as a technique of self-cultivation that leads to transformative experiences of insight."{{Sfn|Oldstone-Moore|2023|p=153}} In his life, Zhu Xi was largely ignored, but not long after his death, his ideas became the new orthodox view of what Confucian texts actually meant.{{sfn|Gardner|2014|p=70}} Modern historians view Zhu Xi as having created something rather different and call his way of thinking ''[[Neo-Confucianism]]''. Neo-Confucianism held sway in China, Japan, Korea, and Vietnam until the 19th century.{{Sfn|Van Norden|2011|p=86}}

[[File:LifeAndWorksOfConfucius1687.jpg|thumb|''Confucius, Philosopher of the Chinese'', published by [[Jesuit China missions|Jesuit missionaries]] at Paris in 1687]]
The works of Confucius were first translated into European languages by [[Jesuit China missions|Jesuit missionaries]] in the 16th century during the late [[Ming dynasty]]. The first known effort was by [[Michele Ruggieri]], who returned to Italy in 1588 and carried on his translations while residing in [[Salerno]]. [[Matteo Ricci]] started to report on the thoughts of Confucius, and a team of Jesuits—[[Prospero Intorcetta]], [[Philippe Couplet]], and two others—published a translation of several [[Confucian canon|Confucian works]] and an overview of [[history of China|Chinese history]] in Paris in 1687.<ref>{{citation |url=https://archive.org/stream/confuciussinarum00conf_0#page/n5/mode/2up |title=Confucius Sinarum Philosophus, sive, Scientia Sinensis Latine Exposita ''[''Confucius, Philosopher of the Chinese, or, Chinese Knowledge Explained in Latin'']'' |editor-last=Intorcetta |editor-first=Prospero |editor2=Philippe Couplet |editor3=Chrétien Herdtrich |editor4=François Rougemont |display-editors=1 |ref={{harvid|Intorcetta & al.|1687}} |date=1687 |location=Paris |publisher=Daniel Horthemels }}. {{in lang|la}}</ref><ref name=parker77-25>{{harvnb|Parker|1977|loc=25}}.</ref> [[François Noël (missionary)|François Noël]], after failing to persuade [[Pope Clement XI|Clement{{nbsp}}XI]] that [[Chinese ancestral veneration|Chinese veneration of ancestors]] and [[Confucianism|Confucius]] [[Chinese Rites controversy|did not constitute idolatry]], completed the Confucian canon at [[Prague]] in 1711, with more scholarly treatments of the other works and the first translation of the [[Mengzi (book)|collected works]] of [[Mencius]].<ref>{{citation |editor-last=Noël |editor-first=François |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=A0K0bjBLmMYC |title=Sinensis Imperii Libri Classici Sex ''[''The Six Classic Books of the Chinese Empire'']'' |location=Prague |publisher=Charles-Ferdinand University Press |date=1711 |access-date=2020-05-13 |archive-date=2020-07-14 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200714131444/https://books.google.com/books?id=A0K0bjBLmMYC |url-status=live }}. {{in lang|la}}</ref> It is thought that such works had considerable importance on European thinkers of the period, particularly among the [[Deists]] and other philosophical groups of the [[Age of Enlightenment|Enlightenment]] who were interested by the integration of the system of morality of Confucius into [[western world|Western civilization]].<ref name=parker77-25 />{{sfn|Hobson|2004|pp=194–195}}

In the modern era Confucian movements, such as [[New Confucianism]], still exist, but during the [[Cultural Revolution]], Confucianism was frequently attacked by leading figures in the [[Chinese Communist Party]]. This was partially a continuation of the condemnations of Confucianism by intellectuals and activists in the early 20th century as a cause of the ethnocentric close-mindedness and refusal of the [[Qing dynasty]] to modernize that led to the tragedies that befell China in the 19th century.{{Sfn|Van Norden|2011|pp=214–216}}

Confucian teachings, values, and practices permeated and influenced East Asian countries—particularly Korea, Japan, and Vietnam—in areas such as education systems, civil service selection, and ethical and social relations.{{sfn|Gardner|2014|p=7-9}}

Among [[Tibetans]], Confucius is often worshipped as a holy king and master of magic, divination and astrology. [[Tibetan Buddhists]] see him as learning divination from the Buddha [[Manjushri]] (and that knowledge subsequently reaching Tibet through [[Princess Wencheng]]), while [[Bon]] practitioners see him as being a reincarnation of [[Tonpa Shenrab Miwoche]], the legendary founder of Bon.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Lin|first=Shen-yu|title=The Tibetan Image of Confucius|journal=Revue d'Études Tibétaines|year=2005|number=12|pages=105–129|url=http://himalaya.socanth.cam.ac.uk/collections/journals/ret/pdf/ret_12_07.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170913230941/http://himalaya.socanth.cam.ac.uk/collections/journals/ret/pdf/ret_12_07.pdf|archive-date=13 September 2017}}</ref>

The [[Ahmadiyya]] believes Confucius was a [[Prophets of Islam|Divine Prophet]] of God, as were [[Lao-Tzu]] and other eminent Chinese personages.<ref>{{Harvnb|Ahmad|n.d.|loc=[http://www.alislam.org/library/books/revelation/part_2_section_3.html online]}}.</ref>

According to the [[Siddhar]] tradition of [[Tamil Nadu]], Confucius is one of the 18 esteemed [[Siddhar]]s of yore, and is better known as [[Kalangi Nathar]] or Kamalamuni.<ref>{{Cite web |title=SHAKING THE TREE: Kundalini Yoga, Spiritual Alchemy, & the Mysteries of the Breath in Bhogar's 7000 |url=https://www.alchemywebsite.com/bhogar3.html |access-date=2023-04-14 |website=www.alchemywebsite.com |archive-date=2023-04-14 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230414135003/https://www.alchemywebsite.com/bhogar3.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Kamala Muni Siddhar @ Kalangi Nathar @ Kanja Malai Siddhar 5.1 |url=https://www.mail-archive.com/thatha_patty@googlegroups.com/msg10214.html |access-date=2023-05-30 |website=www.mail-archive.com |archive-date=2023-05-30 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230530131831/https://www.mail-archive.com/thatha_patty@googlegroups.com/msg10214.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite thesis |author= R. N. Hema |date= December 2019 |title= Biography of the 18 Siddhars |url= https://www.researchgate.net/publication/338534110 |publisher= National Institute of Siddha |access-date= 2023-06-02 |archive-date= 2023-05-16 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20230516054945/https://www.researchgate.net/publication/338534110_BIOGRAPHY_OF_18_SIDDHARS |url-status= live }}</ref> The [[Thyagaraja Temple, Tiruvarur|Thyagaraja Temple]] in [[Thiruvarur]], Tamil Nadu is home to his [[Jiva|Jeeva]] [[Samadhi]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=18 Siddhars |url=https://soonyata.home.xs4all.nl/18siddhars.htm |access-date=2023-05-12 |website=www.satsang-darshan.com |archive-date=2023-05-12 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230512081309/https://soonyata.home.xs4all.nl/18siddhars.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>

In modern times, [[7853 Confucius|Asteroid 7853]], "Confucius", was named after the Chinese thinker.<ref>[https://minorplanetcenter.net/db_search/show_object?object_id=7853IAU IAU Minor Planet Center] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220121173846/https://minorplanetcenter.net/db_search |date=2022-01-21 }}. ''International Astronomical Union Minor Planet Center''. Accessed 12 September 2018.</ref>

===Teaching and Disciples===
{{main|Disciples of Confucius}}Confucius was regarded as the first teacher who advocated for public welfare and the spread of education in China.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Fung |first=Yu-lan |title=A short history of Chinese philosophy: a systematic account of Chinese thought from its origins to present day |publisher=The Free Press |year=1966|orig-date=1948 |isbn=978-0-684-83634-8 |editor-last=Bodde |editor-first=Derk |location=New York |page=48 |author-mask= Feng Youlan | author-link= Feng Youlan | editor-link= Derk Bodde}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Y. |first=L. S. |date=1949 |title=Review of Confucius, The Man and The Myth |journal=Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies |volume=12 |issue=3/4 |pages=537–540 |doi=10.2307/2718104 |jstor=2718104 |issn=0073-0548}}</ref> Confucius devoted his entire life, from a relatively young age, to teaching. He pioneered private education adopting a curriculum known as the [[Six Arts]], aimed at making education accessible to all social classes, and believed in its power to cultivate character rather than merely vocational skills. Confucius not only made teaching his profession but also contributed to the development of a distinct class of professionals in ancient China—the gentlemen who were neither farmers, artisans, merchants, nor officials but instead dedicated themselves to teaching and potential government service.{{sfn|Chan|1969|p=17}}{{sfn|Fung|1994|pp=47-49}}[[File:The Classic of Filial Piety (開宗明義章 畫).jpg|thumb|[[Zengzi]] (right) kneeling before Confucius (center), as depicted in a painting from the ''Illustrations of the [[Classic of Filial Piety]]'', [[Song dynasty]]]]

Confucius began teaching after he turned 30, and taught more than 3,000 students in his life, about 70 of whom were considered outstanding. His disciples and the early Confucian community they formed became the most influential intellectual force in the [[Warring States period]].{{sfn|Shen|2013|p=86}} The [[Han dynasty]] historian [[Sima Qian]] dedicated a chapter in his ''[[Records of the Grand Historian]]'' to the biographies of Confucius's disciples, accounting for the influence they exerted in their time and afterward. Sima Qian recorded the names of 77 disciples in his collective biography, while ''[[Kongzi Jiayu]]'', another early source, records 76, not completely overlapping. The two sources together yield the names of 96 disciples.{{sfn|Shen|2013|p=87}} Twenty-two of them are mentioned in the ''[[Analects]]'', while the ''[[Mencius (book)|Mencius]]'' records 24.{{sfn|Creel|1949|p=30}}

Confucius did not charge any tuition, and only requested a symbolic gift of a bundle of dried meat from any prospective student. According to his disciple [[Duanmu Ci|Zigong]], his master treated students like doctors treated patients and did not turn anybody away.{{sfn|Shen|2013|p=87}} Most of them came from [[Lu (state)|Lu]], Confucius's home state, with 43 recorded, but he accepted students from all over China, with six from the state of [[Wey (state)|Wey]] (such as Zigong), three from [[Qin (state)|Qin]], two each from [[Chen (state)|Chen]] and [[Qi (state)|Qi]], and one each from [[Cai (state)|Cai]], [[Chu (state)|Chu]], and [[Song (state)|Song]].{{sfn|Shen|2013|p=87}} Confucius considered his students' personal background irrelevant, and accepted noblemen, commoners, and even former criminals such as Yan Zhuoju and [[Gongye Chang]].{{sfn|Shen|2013|p=88}} His disciples from richer families would pay a sum commensurate with their wealth which was considered a ritual donation.{{sfn|Shen|2013|p=87}}

Confucius's favorite disciple was [[Yan Hui]], most probably one of the most impoverished of them all.{{sfn|Creel|1949|p=30}} Sima Niu, in contrast to Yan Hui, was from a hereditary noble family hailing from the Song state.{{sfn|Creel|1949|p=30}} Under Confucius's teachings, the disciples became well learned in the principles and methods of government.{{sfn|Creel|1949|p=32}} He often engaged in discussion and debate with his students and gave high importance to their studies in history, poetry, and ritual.{{sfn|Creel|1949|p=32}} Confucius advocated loyalty to principle rather than to individual acumen, in which reform was to be achieved by persuasion rather than violence.{{sfn|Creel|1949|p=32}} Even though Confucius denounced them for their practices, the aristocracy was likely attracted to the idea of having trustworthy officials who were studied in morals as the circumstances of the time made it desirable.{{sfn|Creel|1949|p=32}} In fact, the disciple [[Zhong You|Zilu]] even died defending his ruler in [[Wey (state)|Wey]].{{sfn|Creel|1949|p=32}}

Yang Hu, who was a subordinate of the [[Ji (Zhou dynasty ancestral surname)|Ji family]], had dominated the Lu government from 505 to 502 and even attempted a coup, which narrowly failed.{{sfn|Creel|1949|p=32}} As a likely consequence, it was after this that the first disciples of Confucius were appointed to government positions.{{sfn|Creel|1949|p=32}} A few of Confucius's disciples went on to attain official positions of some importance, some of which were arranged by Confucius.{{sfn|Creel|1949|p=31}} By the time Confucius was 50 years old, the Ji family had consolidated their power in the Lu state over the ruling ducal house.{{sfn|Creel|1949|p=33}} Even though the Ji family had practices with which Confucius disagreed and disapproved, they nonetheless gave Confucius's disciples many opportunities for employment.{{sfn|Creel|1949|p=33}} Confucius continued to remind his disciples to stay true to their principles and renounced those who did not, all the while being openly critical of the Ji family.{{sfn|Creel|1949|pp=32–33}}

===In the West===
The influence of Confucius has been observed on multiple [[Western philosophy|Western thinkers]], including [[Niels Bohr]],<ref>{{Cite web|last=Allinson|first=Robert E.|title=Complementarity as a Model for Eastwest Integrative Philosophy |url=https://philarchive.org/archive/ROBCAA-5v1|date=December 1998}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|title=Christianity and Confucianism: Culture, Faith and Politics|date=2020|publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xKYFEAAAQBAJ&q=niels+bohr+confucius+schiller+only+wholeness+leads+to+clarity&pg=PA382|location=London, England|page=382|isbn=9780567657688|access-date=2021-05-03|archive-date=2021-08-09|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210809162059/https://books.google.com/books?id=xKYFEAAAQBAJ&q=niels+bohr+confucius+schiller+only+wholeness+leads+to+clarity&pg=PA382|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Holton|first=Gerald|title=Niels Bohr and the Integrity of Science: Integrity in science involves not merely the avoidance of dishonorable behavior but also some principles of action that are exemplified in the life and work of Niels Bohr|journal=American Scientist|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/27854096|date=June 1986|volume=74|issue=3|pages=237–243|jstor=27854096|access-date=2021-04-12|archive-date=2021-08-09|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210809161834/https://www.jstor.org/stable/27854096|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Benjamin Franklin]],<ref>{{Cite web|last=Wang|first=Dave|title=Benjamin Franklin and China|url=http://www.benfranklin300.org/_etc_pdf/franklinchina.pdf|access-date=2021-04-11|archive-date=2021-04-11|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210411003104/http://www.benfranklin300.org/_etc_pdf/franklinchina.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Hornung|first=Alfred|title=Confucius and Benjamin Franklin: Chinese Ideas in the Foundation of the United States|url=https://owllife.kennesaw.edu/event/2893541|date=November 2018|access-date=2021-04-11|archive-date=2021-04-11|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210411003104/https://owllife.kennesaw.edu/event/2893541|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Confucius and Benjamin Franklin|url=https://larouchepub.com/eiw/public/2017/eirv44n17-20170428/33-34_4417.pdf|date=2017-04-28|access-date=2021-04-11|archive-date=2021-07-25|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210725073702/https://larouchepub.com/eiw/public/2017/eirv44n17-20170428/33-34_4417.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Allen Ginsberg]],<ref>{{Cite web|title=Ginsberg and China|url=https://allenginsberg.org/2017/09/s-s-9/|date=9 September 2017|access-date=12 April 2021|archive-date=12 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210412010951/https://allenginsberg.org/2017/09/s-s-9/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Jackson|first=Brian|title=Modernist Looking: Surreal Impressions in the Poetry of Allen Ginsberg|journal=Texas Studies in Literature and Language|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/40928069|date=September 2010|volume=52|issue=3|pages=298–323|doi=10.1353/tsl.2010.0003|jstor=40928069|s2cid=162063608|access-date=2021-04-12|archive-date=2021-08-09|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210809161613/https://www.jstor.org/stable/40928069|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Chan|first=Tsz Shan|title=Visions of Enlightenment: Aspects of Buddhism in Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg and Gary Snyder|url=https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/48550408.pdf|date=January 2011|access-date=2021-04-12|archive-date=2021-04-12|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210412010948/https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/48550408.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref> [[Thomas Jefferson]],<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Burstein|first=Andrew|title=Review: Jefferson in Confucian Relief|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/25096753|date=October 2007|jstor=25096753|journal=[[William and Mary Quarterly]]|access-date=2021-04-12|archive-date=2021-08-09|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210809161930/https://www.jstor.org/stable/25096753|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Confucius influenced America's founding fathers: scholar|url=http://www.china.org.cn/arts/2017-09/26/content_41649958.htm|date=2017-09-26|access-date=2021-04-12|archive-date=2021-08-09|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210809161834/http://www.china.org.cn/arts/2017-09/26/content_41649958.htm|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Thompson|first=Kirill|title=Traditional Chinese Concepts and 17th–18th Century Enlightenment Ideals: Reflections on the IHS Conference on Freedom, Equality, Democracy, and the Rise of Market Economy, October 2015|url=http://homepage.ntu.edu.tw/~ntuihs/10publications02_3806kirill.htm|date=October 2015|access-date=2021-01-01|archive-date=2021-04-12|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210412010950/http://homepage.ntu.edu.tw/~ntuihs/10publications02_3806kirill.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref> [[Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz]], [[Robert Cummings Neville]], [[Alexander Pope]],<ref>{{Cite web|last=Warburton|first=William|title=The works of Alexander Pope ... With notes by Dr. Warburton, and illustrations on steel by eminent artists. From designs by Weigall, Heath, & others.|url=https://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/t/text/text-idx?c=moa&cc=moa&view=text&rgn=main&idno=ABJ8179.0001.001|date=1779|access-date=2021-04-11|archive-date=2022-01-21|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220121173839/https://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/t/text/text-idx?c=moa&cc=moa&view=text&rgn=main&idno=ABJ8179.0001.001|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Feng|first=Dong|title=The Great Harmony: An Essay on Man and Confucianism|url=https://nccur.lib.nccu.edu.tw/bitstream/140.119/86514/1/2(1)p53-97.pdf|date=December 2008|access-date=2021-04-11|archive-date=2021-04-11|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210411181331/https://nccur.lib.nccu.edu.tw/bitstream/140.119/86514/1/2(1)p53-97.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Ezra Pound]], [[François Quesnay]], [[Friedrich Schiller]],<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Danton|first=George|title=Schiller and Confucius|journal=The German Quarterly|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/400763|date=November 1943|volume=16|issue=4|pages=173–182|doi=10.2307/400763|jstor=400763|access-date=2021-04-12|archive-date=2021-08-09|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210809161803/https://www.jstor.org/stable/400763|url-status=live|url-access=subscription}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Schiller|first=Friedrich|title=Proverbs of Confucius|journal=The Open Court|url=https://opensiuc.lib.siu.edu/ocj/vol1905/iss5/9/|date=2010-11-18|volume=1905|issue=5|access-date=2021-04-12|archive-date=2021-04-12|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210412010950/https://opensiuc.lib.siu.edu/ocj/vol1905/iss5/9/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Von Schiller|first=Johann Christian Friedrich|title=Proverbs of Confucius|url=https://www.poetrynook.com/poem/proverbs-confucius-1access=date-2021-03-02}}{{Dead link|date=May 2021 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> [[Voltaire]],<ref>{{Cite web|title=China, the Confucian Ideal, and the European Age of Enlightenment|url=https://moodle2.units.it/pluginfile.php/198219/mod_resource/content/1/Davis_China%2C%20the%20Confucian%20Ideal%2C%20and%20the%20European%20Age%20of%20Enlightenment_JHI_1983.pdf|date=December 1983|access-date=2021-04-10|archive-date=2021-04-10|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210410160144/https://moodle2.units.it/pluginfile.php/198219/mod_resource/content/1/Davis_China,%20the%20Confucian%20Ideal,%20and%20the%20European%20Age%20of%20Enlightenment_JHI_1983.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Rowbotham|first=Arnold H.|title=Voltaire, Sinophile|journal=PMLA|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/457929|date=December 1932|volume=47|issue=4|pages=1050–1065|doi=10.2307/457929|jstor=457929|s2cid=251028175 |access-date=2021-04-10|archive-date=2021-05-03|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210503044603/https://www.jstor.org/stable/457929|url-status=live|url-access=subscription}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Bailey|first=Paul|title=Voltaire and Confucius: French attitudes towards China in the early twentieth century|journal=History of European Ideas|url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/019165999290168C|date=2002-07-19|volume=14|issue=6|pages=817–837|doi=10.1016/0191-6599(92)90168-C|access-date=2021-04-10|archive-date=2021-04-10|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210410160142/https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/019165999290168C|url-status=live|url-access=subscription}}</ref> and [[Christian Wolff (philosopher)|Christian Wolff]].

===Visual portraits===
[[File:孔子聖蹟圖.png|thumb|Portrait by [[Qiu Ying]] (1494–1552), [[Ming dynasty]]]] 
No contemporary painting or sculpture of Confucius survives, and it was only during the [[Han dynasty]] that he was portrayed visually. Carvings often depict his legendary meeting with [[Laozi]]. Since that time there have been many portraits of Confucius as the ideal philosopher. An early verbal portrayal of Confucius is found in the chapter "External Things" ({{lang-zh|labels=no|c=外物|p=Wàiwù}}) of the book ''[[Zhuangzi (book)|Zhuangzi]]'' ({{lang-zh|labels=no|c=莊子|p=Zhuāngzǐ}}), finished in about 3rd BCE, long after Confucius's death.<ref>''Zhuangzi'', "External Things". [https://ctext.org/zhuangzi/what-comes-from-without#n2947 Chinese original] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221011205422/https://ctext.org/zhuangzi/what-comes-from-without#n2947 |date=2022-10-11 }}: 「老萊子之弟子出薪，遇仲尼，反以告曰： 『有人於彼，'''修上而趨下，末僂而後耳，'''視若營四海，不知其誰氏之子。 』老萊子曰：『 是丘也，召而來！』」. [[Burton Watson]]'s [https://terebess.hu/english/chuangtzu3.html#26 translation] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221027094515/https://terebess.hu/english/chuangtzu3.html#26 |date=2022-10-27 }}: "A disciple of Lao Lai-tzu was out gathering firewood when he happened to meet Confucius. He returned and reported, 'There's a man over there '''with a long body and short legs, his back a little humped and his ears set way back''', who looks as though he were trying to attend to everything within the four seas. I don't know who it can be.' Lao Lai-tzu said, 'That's Kung Ch'iu. Tell him to come over here!'"</ref> The oldest known portrait of Confucius has been unearthed in the tomb of the [[Han dynasty]] ruler [[Marquis of Haihun]] (died {{BCE|59}}). The picture was painted on the wooden frame to a polished bronze mirror.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.kaogu.cn/en/News/New_discoveries/2017/0221/57185.html |title=Confucius depicted on mirror |language=en |website=The Institute of Archaeology, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences |access-date=22 February 2017 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170222200723/http://www.kaogu.cn/en/News/New_discoveries/2017/0221/57185.html |archive-date=22 February 2017 }}</ref>

In former times, it was customary to have a portrait in [[Temple of Confucius|Confucius Temples]]; however, during the reign of [[Hongwu Emperor]] (Taizu) of the [[Ming dynasty]], it was decided that the only proper portrait of Confucius should be in the [[Temple of Confucius, Qufu|temple]] in his home town, [[Qufu]] in Shandong. In other temples, Confucius is represented by a memorial tablet. In 2006, the China Confucius Foundation commissioned a standard portrait of Confucius based on the [[Tang dynasty]] portrait by [[Wu Daozi]].

The South Wall [[Frieze]] in the courtroom of the [[Supreme Court of the United States]] depicts Confucius as a teacher of harmony, learning, and virtue.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.supremecourt.gov/about/northandsouthwalls.pdf|title=US Supreme Court Courtroom Friezes|access-date=19 February 2019|archive-date=13 July 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190713031226/https://www.supremecourt.gov/about/northandsouthwalls.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Fictional portrayals===
There have been two film adaptations of Confucius' life: the 1940 film [[Confucius (1940 film)|''Confucius'']] starring Tang Huaiqiu,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1616538/ |title=Kong Fuzi |publisher=[[IMDb]] }}</ref> and the 2010 film [[Confucius (2010 film)|''Confucius'']] starring [[Chow Yun-fat]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1397498/ |title=Confucius |publisher=[[IMDb]] }}</ref>

Confucius appears as a leader in ''[[Civilization VII]]'', leading China.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://gamerant.com/historical-leaders-confirmed-civilization-7/|title=8 Historical Leaders Confirmed for Civilization 7|last=Hitchcock|first=John|date=September 19, 2024|access-date=December 1, 2024|publisher=Game Rant}}</ref>

===Memorials===
[[File:First Entrance Gate of the Temple of Confucius, Ching-hai.jpg|thumb|First entrance gate of the [[Temple of Confucius]] in [[Zhenhai]]]]
[[File:20130918-嘉定孔庙-2.jpg|thumb|The [[Temple of Confucius]] in [[Jiading District|Jiading]], now a suburb of Shanghai. The Jiading Temple of Confucius now operates a museum devoted to the [[imperial exam]] formerly administered at the temples.]]

Throughout the imperial periods, [[Qufu]], Confucius' birthplace and burial site, remained a place of devotion and reverence.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |last1=Billioud |first1=Sébastien |last2=Thoraval |first2=Joël |date=2009-12-31 |title=Lijiao: The Return of Ceremonies Honouring Confucius in Mainland China |url=https://journals.openedition.org/chinaperspectives/4927 |journal=China Perspectives |language=fr |volume=2009 |issue=4 |doi=10.4000/chinaperspectives.4927 |issn=2070-3449}}</ref>{{rp|82–83}} The ''[[Records of the Grand Historian]]'' records the first state sacrifice by [[Emperor Gaozu of Han]] at Confucius' tomb, followed by worship of ministers, dukes, and scholar politicians.<ref>{{Cite web |title=史記 : 世家 : 孔子世家 - 中國哲學書電子化計劃 |url=https://ctext.org/shiji/kong-zi-shi-jia/zh |access-date=2025-07-24 |website=ctext.org |language=zh-TW}}</ref> From the [[Tang dynasty]] onward, [[Temple of Confucius|temples]] honoring Confucius and Confucian sages were erected across the country by imperial decree.<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":0" />{{rp|83}} These temples have been used for ceremonies paying tribute to Confucius as the master of teachers, as well as the [[Confucianism|Confucian virtues]] that have shaped the Chinese civilization.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |title=文庙祀典与文化权威的建构 - 孔子研究院 |url=https://www.kongziyjy.org/nd.jsp?id=459 |access-date=2025-07-24 |website=www.kongziyjy.org |language=zh}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=古屿鑫︱礼乐并举视野下祭孔仪式的人文阐释 - 孔子研究院 |url=https://www.kongziyjy.org/nd.jsp?id=2566 |access-date=2025-07-25 |website=www.kongziyjy.org |language=zh}}</ref>

When the Communist regime take control of mainland China in 1949, this tradition was interrupted for at least three decades during the Maoist Era in the campaign purging the [[Four Olds]], and the subsequent [[Criticize Lin, Criticize Confucius|campaign denouncing Lin Biao and Confucius]].<ref name=":0" />{{rp|85}} The official stance of the [[Chinese Communist Party]] during the [[Cultural Revolution]] was that Confucius and Confucianism represented reactionary ideologies of the slave-owning aristocracy.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Spence |first=Jonathan D. |title=The search for modern China |date=2013 |publisher=W.W. Norton & Company |isbn=978-0-393-93451-9 |edition=3rd |location=New York |pages=572}}</ref> All Confucian ceremonies and rites were therefore banned, and Confucius tomb attacked by the [[Red Guards]]. In the early 1980s, the anti-Confucius sentiments were over, and Confucius veneration was resumed with Communist officials in attendance. By the 21st century, Confucius' birthday in Qufu becomes a week long celebration attended by diplomats, scholars, and government representatives.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Jaffe |first=Gabrielle |date=2013-10-07 |title=China's Enthusiastic Re-Embrace of Confucius |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/china/archive/2013/10/chinas-enthusiastic-re-embrace-of-confucius/280326/ |access-date=2025-07-24 |website=The Atlantic |language=en}}</ref>

In Taiwan, where the Nationalist Party ([[Kuomintang]]) strongly promoted Confucian beliefs in ethics and behavior, the tradition of the memorial ceremony of Confucius is supported by the government and has continued without interruption. In May 2025, Confucius' birthday - September 28 - previously designated as "Teacher' Day", was made a public holiday by legislation.<ref>{{Cite web |last=中央通訊社 |date=2025-05-09 |title=立院三讀增「4+1」放假日 今年教師節光復節全民放假 {{!}} 政治 |url=https://www.cna.com.tw/news/aipl/202505090126.aspx |access-date=2025-07-23 |website=中央社 CNA |language=zh-Hant-TW}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Department of Civil Affairs |first=Taipei City Government |date=2024-05-15 |title=Confucius Ceremony |url=https://english.ca.gov.taipei/News_Content.aspx?n=6B1D71C209542985&s=9E0D85C0377BF3A4&sms=2FEF05CA8AF24ECF |access-date=2025-07-23 |website=Department of Civil Affairs |language=English}}</ref>

In [[South Korea]], a grand-scale memorial ceremony called [[Seokjeon Daeje]] is held twice a year on Confucius's birthday and the anniversary of his death, at [[Hyanggyo|Confucian academies]] across the country and [[Sungkyunkwan]] in Seoul.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Dunbar|first1=Jon|title=Sungkyunkwan Confucian Ceremony|url=http://www.raskb.com/content/confirmed-pls-pay-upon-registration-sungkyunkwan-confucian-ceremony|website=RASKB|publisher=Royal Asiatic Society Korea Branch|accessdate=8 April 2015|archive-date=18 April 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150418040456/http://www.raskb.com/content/confirmed-pls-pay-upon-registration-sungkyunkwan-confucian-ceremony|url-status=dead}}</ref>

===Descendants===
{{See also|Family tree of Confucius in the main line of descent}}

Confucius's descendants were repeatedly identified and honored by successive imperial governments with titles of nobility and official posts. They were honored with the rank of a [[marquess|marquis]] 35 times since [[Gaozu of Han|Gaozu]] of the [[Han dynasty]], and they were promoted to the rank of [[duke]] 42 times from the [[Tang dynasty]] to the [[Qing dynasty]]. [[Emperor Xuanzong of Tang]] first bestowed the title of "Duke Wenxuan" on Kong Suizhi of the 35th generation. In 1055, [[Emperor Renzong of Song]] first bestowed the title of "[[Duke Yansheng]]" on Kong Zongyuan of the 46th generation.<ref>{{Cite web |title=元代以前孔庙释典的沿革 |url=https://www.chinakongzi.org/zt/qqtjk/jkyl/201609/t20160922_50289.htm? |access-date=2025-08-13 |website=www.chinakongzi.org}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Christopher S. |first=Agnew |title=The Descendants of Confucius in Late Imperial China |date=2019 |publisher=University of Washington Press |location=Seattle, WA |pages=xi, 241}}</ref>

During the [[Southern Song dynasty]], the Duke Yansheng Kong Duanyou fled south with the Song Emperor to [[Quzhou]] in Zhejiang, while the newly established [[Jin dynasty (1115–1234)]] in the north appointed Kong Duanyou's brother Kong Duancao who remained in Qufu as Duke Yansheng.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.npm.gov.tw/hotnews/9910seminar/download/en/B10.pdf |title=Descendants and Portraits of Confucius in the Early Southern Song  |access-date=2016-05-03 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160913134503/http://www.npm.gov.tw/hotnews/9910seminar/download/en/B10.pdf |archive-date=2016-09-13 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://aas2.asian-studies.org/absts/1995abst/china/csess45.htm |title=AAS Abstracts: China Session 45 |first=B. Paul |last=Banning |website=aas2.asian-studies.org |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161006175402/http://aas2.asian-studies.org/absts/1995abst/china/csess45.htm |archive-date=2016-10-06 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.asian-studies.org/absts/1995abst/china/csess45.htm | title=On Sacred Grounds: The Material Culture and Ritual Formation of the Confucian Temple in Late Imperial China | website=Association for Asian Studies | access-date=2014-08-05 | url-status=dead | archive-url=https://archive.today/20150318220616/https://www.asian-studies.org/absts/1995abst/china/csess45.htm | archive-date=2015-03-18 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/248653434|title=The Ritual Formation of Confucian Orthodoxy and the Descendants of the Sage|website=ResearchGate|access-date=2016-05-03|archive-date=2018-10-25|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181025071014/https://www.researchgate.net/publication/248653434|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://academics.hamilton.edu/asian_studies/home/CultTemp/sitePages/temple.html|title=Cult of Confucius|first=Thomas A.|last=Wilson|website=academics.hamilton.edu|access-date=2016-05-03|archive-date=2016-03-18|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160318225825/http://academics.hamilton.edu/asian_studies/home/culttemp/sitePages/temple.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://en.chinatefl.com/Platform/cityfeature_241_5_48.html|title= Quzhou City Guides |website=China TEFL Network|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304065123/http://en.chinatefl.com/Platform/cityfeature_241_5_48.html|archive-date=2016-03-04}}</ref><!-- Self-published source: <ref>{{cite web|url=http://kfz.freehostingguru.com/article20.php|title=Confucianism|website=kfz.freehostingguru.com|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160313043230/http://kfz.freehostingguru.com/article20.php|archive-date=2016-03-13}}</ref> --><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.china.org.cn/english/2006/Sep/182656.htm|title=Confucius Anniversary Celebrated |website=China Internet Information Center|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150914162656/http://www.china.org.cn/english/2006/Sep/182656.htm|archive-date=2015-09-14}}</ref><!-- Incomprehensible due to invalid encoding: <ref>{{cite web |url=http://book.mihua.net/book/4/4190/798538.html |title=Archived copy |access-date=2016-05-03 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160610090321/http://book.mihua.net/book/4/4190/798538.html |archive-date=2016-06-10 }}</ref> --> From that time up until the [[Yuan dynasty]], there were two Duke Yanshengs, one in the north in Qufu and the other in the south at Quzhou. An invitation to come back to Qufu was extended to the southern Duke Yansheng Kong Zhu by the Yuan-dynasty Emperor Kublai Khan. The title was taken away from the southern branch after Kong Zhu rejected the invitation,{{sfn|Jansen|Klein|Meyer|2014|pp=[https://books.google.com/books?id=GNlXAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA187 187–188]}} so the northern branch of the family kept the title of Duke Yansheng. The southern branch remained in Quzhou where they live to this day. Confucius's descendants in Quzhou alone number 30,000.<ref>{{cite news|title=Confucius Anniversary Celebrated|url=http://www.china.org.cn/english/2006/Sep/182656.htm|agency=China Daily|date=September 29, 2006|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150914162656/http://www.china.org.cn/english/2006/Sep/182656.htm|archive-date=September 14, 2015}}</ref>{{Unreliable source?|date=November 2021}} The [[Hanlin Academy]] rank of Wujing boshi [[w:zh:五經博士|五經博士]] was awarded to the southern branch at Quzhou by a Ming Emperor while the northern branch at Qufu held the title Duke Yansheng.<ref name="Wilson2002">{{cite book|author=Thomas A. Wilson|title=On Sacred Grounds: Culture, Society, Politics, and the Formation of the Cult of Confucius|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=T4XXAAAAMAAJ&q=wujing+boshi+descendant|year=2002|publisher=Harvard University Asia Center|isbn=978-0-674-00961-5|pages=69, 315|access-date=2016-04-21|archive-date=2021-08-09|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210809161803/https://books.google.com/books?id=T4XXAAAAMAAJ&q=wujing+boshi+descendant|url-status=live}}</ref>{{sfn|Jansen|Klein|Meyer|2014|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=GNlXAwAAQBAJ&q=wujing+boshi+descendant&pg=PA188 188]}} The leader of the southern branch was 孔祥楷 Kong Xiangkai.{{sfn|Jansen|Klein|Meyer|2014|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=GNlXAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA189 189]}}

In 1351, during the reign of Emperor [[Toghon Temür]] of the [[Yuan dynasty]], 54th-generation Kong Shao ({{lang|zh|孔昭}}) moved from China to Korea during the [[Goryeo|Goryeo dynasty]], and was received courteously by [[Princess Noguk]] (the Mongolian-born queen consort of the future king [[Gongmin of Goryeo|Gongmin]]). After being naturalized as a subject of Goryeo, he changed the [[hanja]] of his name from "昭" to "紹" (both pronounced ''so'' in Korean),<ref>Due to a [[naming taboo]] regarding the birth name of the fourth king of Goryeo [[Gwangjong of Goryeo|Gwangjong]], born "Wang So" ({{Korean|왕소|王昭}}).</ref> married a Korean woman and bore a son (Gong Yeo ({{Korean|공여|孔帤}}), 1329–1397), therefore establishing the Changwon Gong clan ({{Korean|창원 공씨|昌原 孔氏}}), whose ancestral seat was located in [[Changwon]], South Gyeongsang Province.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.qz.gov.cn/English/Recent/201405/t20140519_278510.htm|archive-url=https://archive.today/20150204113943/http://www.qz.gov.cn/English/Recent/201405/t20140519_278510.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=2015-02-04|title=Descendants of Confucius in South Korea Seek Roots in Quzhou|date=2014-05-19|website=Quzhou.China|access-date=February 4, 2015}}</ref> In 1794, during the reign of King [[Jeongjo of Joseon|Jeongjo]], the clan then changed its name to [[Qufu Kong clan|Gokbu Gong clan]] ({{Korean|곡부 공씨|曲阜 孔氏}}) in honor of Confucius's birthplace [[Qufu]] ({{ko-hhrm|곡부|曲阜|Gokbu}}).<ref>{{Cite book|title=Doosan Encyclopedia 공 孔|publisher=[[Doosan Encyclopedia]]|url=http://terms.naver.com/entry.nhn?docId=1062982&cid=200000000&categoryId=200000185&mobile|access-date=2017-10-20|archive-date=2022-01-21|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220121173837/https://terms.naver.com/entry.naver?docId=1062982&mobile=&cid=40942&categoryId=31639|url-status=live}}</ref>

Famous descendants include actors such as [[Gong Yoo]] (real name Gong Ji-cheol (공지철)) and [[Gong Hyo-jin]] (공효진); and artists such as male idol group [[B1A4]] member [[Gongchan]] (real name Gong Chan-sik (공찬식)), singer-songwriter [[Minzy]] (real name Gong Min-ji (공민지)), as well as her great-aunt, traditional folk dancer {{ill|Gong Ok-jin|ko|공옥진}} (공옥진).

Despite repeated dynastic change in China, the title of Duke Yansheng was bestowed upon successive generations of descendants until it was abolished by the [[Nationalist government]] in 1935. The last holder of the title, [[Kung Te-cheng]] of the 77th generation, was appointed [[Sacrificial Official to Confucius]]. Kung Te-cheng died in October 2008, and his son, Kung Wei-yi, the 78th lineal descendant, died in 1989. Kung Te-cheng's grandson, [[Kung Tsui-chang]], the 79th lineal descendant, was born in 1975; his great-grandson, Kung Yu-jen, the 80th lineal descendant, was born in Taipei on 1 January 2006. Te-cheng's sister, Kong Demao, lives in mainland China and has written a book about her experiences growing up at the family estate in Qufu. Another sister, Kong Deqi, died as a young woman.<ref name="Demao">{{Harvnb|Kong|Ke|Roberts|1988|loc=}}.{{Page needed|date=March 2012}}</ref> Many descendants of Confucius still live in Qufu today.

A descendant of Confucius, [[H. H. Kung]], was the [[Premier of the Republic of China]]. One of his sons, {{ill|Kong Lingjie|zh|孔令傑}} (孔令傑), married [[Debra Paget]]<ref name=i>{{cite news|last1=Bacon|first1=James|title=Debra Paget Weds Oilman, Nephew of Madame Chiang|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/2595390/independent/|location=Long Beach, California|newspaper=Independent|date=April 21, 1962|page=11|via=[[Newspapers.com]]|access-date=June 11, 2015|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150613031957/http://www.newspapers.com/clip/2595390/independent/|archive-date=June 13, 2015}}</ref> who gave birth to Gregory Kung ({{lang|zh|孔德基}}).

Confucius's family, the Kongs, have the longest recorded extant pedigree in the world today. The father-to-son family tree, now in its 83rd generation,<ref>{{Harvnb|China Economic Net|2009|loc=[http://en.ce.cn/National/culture/200901/04/t20090104_17866318.shtml online]}}.</ref> has been recorded since the death of Confucius. According to the [[Confucius Genealogy Compilation Committee]] (CGCC), he has two million known and registered descendants, and there are an estimated three million in all.<ref name=yanl>{{Harvnb|Yan|2008|loc=[https://web.archive.org/web/20080226170803/http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-02/16/content_7616027.htm online]}}.</ref> Of these, several tens of thousands live outside of China.<ref name=yanl /> In the 14th century, a Kong descendant went to Korea, where an estimated 34,000 descendants of Confucius live today.<ref name=yanl /> One of the main lineages fled from the Kong ancestral home in [[Qufu]] during the [[Chinese Civil War]] in the 1940s and eventually settled in Taiwan.<ref name="Demao" /> There are also branches of the Kong family who have converted to Islam after marrying Muslim women, in Dachuan in Gansu province in the 1800s,<ref>{{cite book|last1=Jing|first1=Jun|title=The Temple of Memories: History, Power, and Morality in a Chinese Village|date=1998|publisher=Stanford University Press|isbn=978-0-8047-6492-6|page=26|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3leAld7M7p0C&pg=PA26|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151017235941/https://books.google.com/books?id=3leAld7M7p0C&pg=PA26|archive-date=2015-10-17}}</ref> and in 1715 in [[Xuanwei]] in Yunnan province.<ref name="Zhou">{{cite web|url=http://www.china.org.cn/china/features/content_16696029_3.htm|title=New Confucius Genealogy out next year|last=Zhou|first=Jing|publisher=china.org.cn|access-date=2010-06-28|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161010100750/http://www.china.org.cn/china/features/content_16696029_3.htm|archive-date=2016-10-10}}</ref> Many of the Muslim Confucius descendants are descended from the marriage of Ma Jiaga ({{Lang|zh-hant|馬甲尕}}), a Muslim woman, and Kong Yanrong ({{Lang|zh-hant|孔彥嶸}}), 59th generation descendant of Confucius in the year 1480, and are found among the [[Hui people|Hui]] and [[Dongxiang people|Dongxiang]] peoples.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://culture.people.com.cn/n/2014/1214/c172318-26204615.html|title=孔子后裔中有14个少数民族 有宗教信仰也传承家风 – 文化 – 人民网|website=People's Daily|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160819191838/http://culture.people.com.cn/n/2014/1214/c172318-26204615.html|archive-date=2016-08-19}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://big5.taiwan.cn/zppd/MMWZ/201412/t20141215_8361279.htm|title=孔子後裔有14個少數民族 外籍後裔首次入家譜_台灣網|last=李典典|website=big5.taiwan.cn|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161006175521/http://big5.taiwan.cn/zppd/MMWZ/201412/t20141215_8361279.htm|archive-date=2016-10-06}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://culture.people.com.cn/GB/7158766.html|title=西北生活着孔子回族后裔 – 文化 – 人民网|website=People's Daily|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160409143206/http://culture.people.com.cn/GB/7158766.html|archive-date=2016-04-09}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://unn.people.com.cn/GB/7119528.html|title=孔子后裔有回族 – 地方 – 人民网|website=People's Daily|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160828231811/http://unn.people.com.cn/GB/7119528.html|archive-date=2016-08-28|access-date=2016-03-29}}</ref> The new genealogy includes the Muslims.<ref>[http://www.rmhb.com.cn/chpic/htdocs/english/200704/9-1.htm rmhb.com.cn]( {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304035317/http://www.rmhb.com.cn/chpic/htdocs/english/200704/9-1.htm |date=4 March 2016 }})</ref> Kong Dejun ({{lang|zh-Hant|孔德軍}}) is a prominent Islamic scholar and Arabist from Qinghai province and a 77th generation descendant of Confucius.

Because of the huge interest in the Confucius family tree, there was a project in China to test the DNA of known family members of the collateral branches in mainland China.<ref>{{Harvnb|Ministry of Commerce of the PRC|2006|loc=[http://ye2.mofcom.gov.cn/aarticle/chinanews/200606/20060602462372.html online]}}.</ref> Among other things, this would allow scientists to identify a common Y chromosome in male descendants of Confucius. If the descent were truly unbroken, father-to-son, since Confucius's lifetime, the males in the family would all have the same Y chromosome as their direct male ancestor, with slight mutations due to the passage of time.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.china.org.cn/english/culture/171840.htm | title=DNA Testing Adopted to Identify Confucius Descendants | publisher=China Internet Information Center | date=19 June 2006 | access-date=31 May 2009 | archive-date=12 January 2012 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120112213638/http://www.china.org.cn/english/culture/171840.htm | url-status=live }}</ref> The aim of the genetic test was to help members of collateral branches in China who lost their genealogical records to prove their descent. However, in 2009, many of the collateral branches decided not to agree to DNA testing.<ref name=seedmagazine>{{Harvnb|Qiu|2008|loc=[https://web.archive.org/web/20090722140229/http://seedmagazine.com/content/article/inheriting_confucius/ online]}}.</ref> [[Bryan Sykes]], professor of genetics at [[Oxford University]], understands this decision: "The Confucius family tree has an enormous cultural significance ... It's not just a scientific question."<ref name=seedmagazine /> The DNA testing was originally proposed to add new members, many of whose family record books were lost during 20th century upheavals, to the Confucian family tree.<ref>{{Harvnb|Bandao|2007|loc=[http://eng.bandao.cn/newsdetail.asp?id=4644 online]}}.</ref> The main branch of the family which fled to Taiwan was never involved in the proposed DNA test at all.

In 2013, a DNA test performed on multiple different families who claimed descent from Confucius found that they shared the same Y chromosome as reported by [[Fudan University]].<ref>{{cite news |last= Chen |first= Stephen |date= 13 November 2013|title= Study finds single bloodline among self-claimed Confucius descendants |url= https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/technology/article/1354787/study-finds-single-bloodline-among-self-claimed-confucius |newspaper= South China Morning Post |url-status=live |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20150403044929/http://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/technology/article/1354787/study-finds-single-bloodline-among-self-claimed-confucius |archive-date= 3 April 2015 }}</ref>

The fifth and most recent edition of the Confucius genealogy was printed by the CGCC.<ref name=zhouccgc09 /> It was unveiled in a ceremony at Qufu on 24 September 2009.<ref name=zhouccgc09>{{Harvnb|Zhou|2008|loc=[http://www.china.org.cn/china/features/content_16696029.htm online]}}.</ref> Women are now included for the first time.<ref>{{Harvnb|China Daily|2007|loc=[http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2007-02/02/content_800011.htm online]}}.</ref>

==Criticism==
===During the Cultural Revolution===
During the [[Cultural Revolution]], criticism of Confucius increased, coming to a head when [[Red Guard]] soldiers removed the body of Kong Jingyi, a 76th generation [[Duke Yansheng]], from his grave at the [[Cemetery of Confucius]]. His body was then hung naked from a tree.<ref>{{cite web|author=Hung|first=Jeni|date=April 5, 2003|title=Children of confucius|url=http://archive.spectator.co.uk/article/5th-april-2003/26/children-of-confucius|url-access=subscription|url-status=live|publisher=The Spectator|quote=....during the... Cultural Revolution, the grave of the 76th Duke... was opened by Red Guards, his body stripped naked and hung from a tree in front of the palace.|authorlink=|accessdate=2007-03-04|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160614215216/http://archive.spectator.co.uk/article/5th-april-2003/26/children-of-confucius |archive-date=2016-06-14 }}</ref> 

This sentiment continued to bubble come 1973, where [[Mao Zedong]] started a [[Criticize Lin, Criticize Confucius]] ({{Zh|s=批林批孔运动|t=批林批孔運動|p=pī lín pī kǒng yùndòng}}) campaign, branding Confucius with the name "Kong Lao'er" 孔老二, a pun on a Mandarin word for penis.<ref name="klr">吉林大学学报 [Jilin University Press]. 1974. 林彪与孔老二 [Lin Bao and Kong Lao'er]. Zhonghua Book Company. pp. 3-15.</ref> It persisted until 1976 as the Cultural Revolution subsided. 

During this time, Confucius was perceived as a reflection of [[Xia dynasty|Xia]] and [[Zhou dynasty]] slavedriving practice. Specifically, by promoting the upkeep of the ''[[Rites of Zhou]]'', which itself involved the keeping of slave, he was seen as complicit in its persistence across the ages. This position was justified through entries in ''[[Records of the Grand Historian]]''. With this context, the ''[[Spring and Autumn Annals]]'' attributed to Confucius were seen as his attempt to defend the [[State of Lu]] as a slave state.<ref name="klr" /> Furthermore, the execution of [[Shao Zhengmao]] was seen as a reflection of bourgeois power games, the charges against the minister being seen as trumped-up.<ref name="klr" /><ref>{{cite book|last=Sullivan|first=Lawrence R.|title=Historical Dictionary of the Chinese Communist Party|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=g0PjFe5i0iEC|year=2012|publisher=Scarecrow Press|isbn=978-0-8108-7225-7|page=14}}</ref> It was from this that Confucian principles such as [[Ren (philosophy)|ren]] 仁 and Zhong 忠 were abstracted as symbols of elitism. <ref>{{Cite book |last=Han |first=Dongping |url= |title=The Unknown Cultural Revolution: Life and Change in a Chinese Village |date=2008 |isbn=978-1-58367-180-1 |location=New York |pages=123 |oclc=227930948}}</ref><ref name="klr" />

==References==
{{notelist}}

===Citations===
{{Reflist|20em}}

===Bibliography===
{{refbegin|30em}}
* {{cite web | last=Ahmad | first=Mirza Tahir | title=Confucianism | url=http://www.alislam.org/library/books/revelation/part_2_section_3.html | publisher=Ahmadiyya Muslim Community | date=n.d. | access-date=7 November 2010 | archive-date=3 October 2012 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121003035638/http://www.alislam.org/library/books/revelation/part_2_section_3.html | url-status=live }}
* {{cite book | last1=Bonevac | first1=Daniel | last2=Phillips | first2=Stephen | title=Introduction to world philosophy | year=2009 | publisher=Oxford University Press | location=New York | isbn=978-0-19-515231-9 }}
*  {{Cite book |title=A source book in Chinese-specific philosophy |date=1969 |publisher=Princeton Univ. Press |isbn=0-691-07137-3 |editor-last=Chan |editor-first=Wing-Tsit |location=Princeton, NJ }}
* {{cite book | last=Chin | first=Ann-ping | title=The Authentic Confucius: A Life of Thought and Politics | year=2007 | publisher=Scribner | location=New York | isbn=978-0-7432-4618-7 | url=https://archive.org/details/authenticconfuci00chin }}
* {{cite web | url=http://eng.bandao.cn/newsdetail.asp?id=4644 | title=Confucius Descendants Say DNA Testing Plan Lacks Wisdom | publisher=Bandao | date=21 August 2007 | ref={{harvid|Bandao|2007}} | url-status=dead | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110707013208/http://eng.bandao.cn/newsdetail.asp?id=4644 | archive-date=7 July 2011 }}
* {{cite news | url=http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2007-02/02/content_800011.htm | title=Confucius Family Tree to Record Female Kin | newspaper=China Daily | date=2 February 2007 | ref={{harvid|China Daily|2007}} | access-date=30 May 2009 | archive-date=2 June 2013 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130602095336/http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2007-02/02/content_800011.htm | url-status=live }}
* {{cite news | url=http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2009-09/24/content_8733256.htm | title=Confucius' Family Tree Recorded Biggest | newspaper=China Daily | date=24 September 2009 | ref={{harvid|China Daily|2009}} | access-date=24 September 2009 | archive-date=24 October 2012 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121024075013/http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2009-09/24/content_8733256.htm | url-status=live }}
* {{cite book | last=Creel | first=H. G. | title=Confucius: The Man and the Myth | url=https://archive.org/details/confuciusmanmyth00cree | url-access=registration | year=1949 | publisher=John Day Company | location=New York | author-link=Herrlee Glessner Creel }}
* {{cite journal | last=Dubs | first=Homer H. | title=The political career of Confucius | journal=Journal of the American Oriental Society | year=1946 | volume=66 | issue=4 | pages=273–282 | author-link=Homer H. Dubs | jstor=596405 | doi=10.2307/596405 }}
* {{Cite book |last=Gardner |first=Daniel K. |title=Confucianism: a very short introduction |date=2014 |publisher=Oxford Univ. Press |isbn=978-0-19-539891-5 |series= |location=Oxford}}
* {{cite book | last=Hobson | first=John M. | title=The Eastern origins of Western civilisation | year=2004 | publisher=Cambridge University Press | location=Cambridge | isbn=978-0-521-54724-6 | edition=Reprinted }}
* {{cite book | last=Hunter | first=Michael | title=Confucius Beyond the Analects | year=2017 | publisher=[[Brill Publishers|BRILL]] | isbn=978-9-004-33902-6 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nI72DQAAQBAJ&pg=PA50 | access-date=2021-04-09 | archive-date=2021-08-09 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210809161736/https://books.google.com/books?id=nI72DQAAQBAJ&pg=PA50 | url-status=live }}
* {{cite book
|last1=Huang|first1=Yong
|title=Confucius: A Guide for the Perplexed
|date=2013
|publisher=A&C Black
|isbn=978-1-4411-9653-8
}}
* {{cite book | last=Karlgren| first=Bernhard | author-link =Bernhard Karlgren| title= Analytic Dictionary of Chinese and Sino-Japanese| year=1972 | orig-year =1923| publisher= [[Dover Publications|Dover Books]]}}
* {{cite web | title=Confucius family tree revision ends with 2 mln descendants | url=http://en.ce.cn/National/culture/200901/04/t20090104_17866318.shtml | publisher=China Economic Net | date=4 January 2009 | ref={{harvid|China Economic Net|2009}} | access-date=30 May 2009 | archive-date=1 November 2012 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121101092536/http://en.ce.cn/National/culture/200901/04/t20090104_17866318.shtml | url-status=live }}
* {{cite book |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SBHHBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA21 |first1=Tae Hyun |last1=Kim |first2=Mark |last2=Csikszentmihalyi |chapter=Chapter 2 |title=Dao Companion to the Analects |editor-first=Amy |editor-last=Olberding |pages=21–36 |isbn=978-94-007-7112-3 |publisher=Springer |year=2010 |access-date=2018-10-27 |archive-date=2019-12-25 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191225135029/https://books.google.com/books?id=SBHHBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA21 |url-status=live }}
* {{cite book | first1=David R. | last1=Knechtges | author-link=David R. Knechtges | first2=Hsiang-ling | last2=Shih | chapter=''Lunyu'' 論語 | editor-first=David R. | editor-last=Knechtges | editor-first2=Taiping | editor-last2=Chang | title=Ancient and Early Medieval Chinese Literature: A Reference Guide, Part One | chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mED9Vx10WokC&pg=645 | location=Leiden | publisher=Brill | year=2010 | pages=645–650 | isbn=978-90-04-19127-3 | access-date=2018-10-27 | archive-date=2021-06-20 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210620161629/https://books.google.com/books?id=mED9Vx10WokC&pg=645 | url-status=live }}
* {{Cite book |last1=De Bary |first1=Wm Theodore |title=Sources of Chinese tradition |last2=Bloom |first2=Irene |last3=Chan |first3=Wing-tsit |last4=Adler |first4=Joseph |last5=Lufrano |first5=Richard John |publisher=Columbia University Press |year=1999 |isbn=978-0-231-10938-3 |edition=2nd |series=Introduction to Asian civilization |volume=1 |location=New York}}
*  {{Cite book |last=Fung |first=Yu-lan |author-mask= Fung Yu-lan |  author-link= Feng Youlan|title=A History of Chinese Philosophy, Vol.1 The Period of the Philosophers |publisher=[[George Allen & Unwin Ltd.]] |year=1994 |orig-date=1952 |isbn=978-0-691-02021-1 |language=en}}
* {{cite book |last=Fung |first=Yiu-ming |editor-first=Jeffrey |editor-last=Richey |year=2008 |title=Teaching Confucianism |chapter=Problematizing Contemporary Confucianism in East Asia |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-804256-3 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=w8vSE2lN0H4C |access-date=2021-02-21 |archive-date=2021-04-15 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210415083241/https://books.google.com/books?id=w8vSE2lN0H4C |url-status=live }}
* {{cite encyclopedia |last=Hutton |first=Eric L. |date=11 June 2019 |orig-date=26 May 2016 |encyclopedia=[[Oxford Bibliographies Online|Oxford Bibliographies]]: Philosophy |title=Confucius |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |location=Oxford |doi=10.1093/OBO/9780195396577-0290 |url=https://www.oxfordbibliographies.com/view/document/obo-9780195396577/obo-9780195396577-0290.xml |url-access=subscription |access-date=8 March 2022 |archive-date=8 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220308003431/https://www.oxfordbibliographies.com/view/document/obo-9780195396577/obo-9780195396577-0290.xml |url-status=live }}{{subscription required}}
* {{cite book |last1=Jansen |first1=Thomas |last2=Klein |first2=Thoralf |last3=Meyer |first3=Christian |year=2014 |title=Globalization and the Making of Religious Modernity in China: Transnational Religions, Local Agents, and the Study of Religion, 1800–Present |publisher=Brill |isbn=978-90-04-27151-7 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GNlXAwAAQBAJ |access-date=2016-04-21 |archive-date=2021-10-25 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211025215513/https://books.google.com/books?id=GNlXAwAAQBAJ |url-status=live }}
* {{cite book | last1=Kong | first1=Demao | last2=Ke | first2=Lan | last3=Roberts | first3=Rosemary | title=The house of Confucius | year=1988 | publisher=Hodder & Stoughton | location=London | isbn=978-0-340-41279-4 | edition=Translated }}
* {{citation |last=Legge |first=James |author-link=James Legge |contribution=[[:s:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition/Confucius|Confucius]] |title=Encyclopaedia Britannica, ''9th ed., Vol. VI'' |date=1887 |pages=258–265 |title-link=:s:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition/Volume VI }}.
* {{cite web | url=http://ye2.mofcom.gov.cn/aarticle/chinanews/200606/20060602462372.html | title=DNA test to clear up Confucius confusion | publisher=Ministry of Commerce of the People's Republic of China | date=18 June 2006 | ref={{harvid|Ministry of Commerce of the PRC|2006}} | access-date=31 May 2009 | archive-date=7 July 2011 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110707040804/http://ye2.mofcom.gov.cn/aarticle/chinanews/200606/20060602462372.html | url-status=dead }}
* {{cite book | last=Nivison | first=David Shepherd | author-link=David Shepherd Nivison | chapter=The Classical Philosophical Writings – Confucius | editor-first1=Michael | editor-last1=Loewe | editor-link1=Michael Loewe | editor-first2=Edward | editor-last2=Shaughnessy | editor-link2=Edward Shaughnessy | title=The Cambridge History of Ancient China | url=https://archive.org/details/cambridgehistory00loew | url-access=limited | location=Cambridge | publisher=Cambridge University Press | year=1999 | pages=[https://archive.org/details/cambridgehistory00loew/page/n782 752]–759 | isbn=978-0-521-47030-8 }}
* {{cite book |last1 = Nylan |first1 = Michael |first2 = Thomas A. |last2 = Wilson |year = 2010 |title = Lives of Confucius: Civilization's Greatest Sage through the Ages |publisher = Doubleday |isbn = 978-0-385-51069-1 |url = https://archive.org/details/livesofconfucius00nyla | author1-link = Michael Nylan}}
* {{Cite book |title=the Oxford Handbook of Confucianism |date=2023 |publisher=Oxford University Press |editor-last=Oldstone-Moore |editor-first=Jennifer |location=New York, NY}}
*  {{Cite book |last=Oldstone-Moore |first=Jennifer |title=Understanding Confucianism: Origins, Beliefs, Practices, Holy Texts, Sacred Places |date=2003 |publisher=Duncan Baird |isbn=1904292127 |location=London, England}}
* {{cite book | last=Parker | first=John | title=Windows into China: The Jesuits and their books, 1580–1730 | year=1977 | publisher=Trustees of the Public Library of the City of Boston | location=Boston | isbn=978-0-89073-050-8 | url=https://archive.org/details/windowsintochina00park_0 }}
* {{cite book | last=Phan | first=Peter C. | title=Catholicism and interreligious dialogue | year=2012 | publisher=Oxford University Press | location=New York | isbn=978-0-19-982787-9 | chapter=Catholicism and Confucianism: An intercultural and interreligious dialogue }}
* {{cite book | last=Rainey | first=Lee Dian | title=Confucius & Confucianism: The essentials | year=2010 | publisher=Wiley-Blackwell | location=Oxford | isbn=978-1-4051-8841-8 }}
* {{cite encyclopedia |last=Richey |first=Jeffrey L. |date=28 August 2018 |encyclopedia=[[Oxford Bibliographies Online|Oxford Bibliographies]]: Chinese Studies |title=Confucius |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |location=Oxford |doi=10.1093/OBO/9780199920082-0163 |url=https://www.oxfordbibliographies.com/view/document/obo-9780199920082/obo-9780199920082-0163.xml |url-access=subscription |access-date=8 March 2022 |archive-date=8 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220308003435/https://www.oxfordbibliographies.com/view/document/obo-9780199920082/obo-9780199920082-0163.xml |url-status=live }}{{subscription required}}
* {{cite journal | last=Riegel | first=Jeffrey K. | title=Poetry and the legend of Confucius's exile | journal=Journal of the American Oriental Society | year=1986 | volume=106 | issue=1 | pages=13–22 | jstor=602359 | doi=10.2307/602359 }}
* {{cite journal | last=Riegel | first=Jeffrey | title=Confucius | url=http://plato.stanford.edu/archives/spr2012/entries/confucius/ | website=The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy | year=2012 | publisher=Stanford University | access-date=2012-03-25 | archive-date=2013-12-02 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131202061214/http://plato.stanford.edu/archives/spr2012/entries/confucius/ | url-status=live }}
* {{cite web | last=Qiu | first=Jane | author-link=Jane Qiu | url=http://seedmagazine.com/content/article/inheriting_confucius/ | title=Inheriting Confucius | publisher=Seed Magazine | date=13 August 2008 | access-date=31 May 2009 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090722140229/http://seedmagazine.com/content/article/inheriting_confucius/ | archive-date=22 July 2009 | url-status=usurped }}
* {{cite book|last=Shen|first=Vincent|title=Dao Companion to Classical Confucian Philosophy|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cgDFBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA86|year=2013|publisher=Springer|isbn=978-90-481-2936-2|access-date=2018-12-04|archive-date=2019-10-11|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191011233113/https://books.google.com/books?id=cgDFBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA86|url-status=live}}
* {{cite book | first=Endymion | last=Wilkinson | author-link=Endymion Wilkinson | title=Chinese History: A New Manual | edition=4th | year=2015 | location=Cambridge, Mass. | publisher=Harvard University Asia Center | isbn=978-0-674-08846-7 }}
* {{Cite book |last=Van Norden |first=Bryan William |title=Introduction to classical Chinese Philosophy |date=2011 |publisher=Hackett Publishing Company Inc. |isbn=978-1-60384-468-0}}
* {{cite web | last=Yan | first=Liang | title=Updated Confucius family tree has two million members | url=http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-02/16/content_7616027.htm | publisher=Xinhua | date=16 February 2008 | access-date=30 May 2009 | archive-date=22 October 2012 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121022002217/http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-02/16/content_7616027.htm | url-status=dead }}
* {{cite book | last=Yao | first=Xinzhong | title=Confucianism and Christianity: A Comparative Study of Jen and Agape | publisher=Sussex Academic Press | location=Brighton | year=1997 | isbn=978-1-898723-76-9 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BN47m0BHtLkC | access-date=2015-11-07 | archive-date=2020-10-21 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201021150349/https://books.google.com/books?id=BN47m0BHtLkC | url-status=live }}
* {{cite book | last=Yao | first=Xinzhong | title=An Introduction to Confucianism | publisher=Cambridge University Press | location=Cambridge | year=2000 | isbn=978-0-521-64430-3 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tAE2OJ9bPG0C | access-date=2015-11-07 | archive-date=2020-07-29 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200729120529/https://books.google.com/books?id=tAE2OJ9bPG0C | url-status=live }}
* {{cite news | last=Zhou | first=Jing | title=New Confucius Genealogy out next year | url=http://www.china.org.cn/china/features/content_16696029.htm | date=31 October 2008 | publisher=China Internet Information Center | access-date=1 November 2008 | archive-date=3 November 2008 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081103060844/http://www.china.org.cn/china/features/content_16696029.htm | url-status=live }}
{{refend}}

==Further reading==
''See {{harvnb|Richey|2018}} and {{harvnb|Hutton|2019}} for extensive bibliographies''
{{refbegin}}
* [[Jonathan Clements|Clements, Jonathan]] (2008). ''Confucius: A Biography''. Stroud, Gloucestershire, England: Sutton Publishing. {{ISBN|978-0-7509-4775-6}}.
* Confucius (1997). ''Lun yu'', (in English ''The Analects of Confucius''). Translation and notes by Simon Leys. New York: W.W. Norton. {{ISBN|0-393-04019-4}}.
* Confucius (2003). ''Confucius: Analects – With Selections from Traditional Commentaries''. Translated by E. Slingerland. Indianapolis: Hackett Publishing. (Original work published c. {{BCE|551–479}}) {{ISBN|0-87220-635-1}}.
* [[Herrlee Glessner Creel|Creel, Herrlee Glessner]] (1949). ''Confucius and the Chinese Way''. New York: Harper.
* {{cite book|last=Creel|first=Herrlee Glessner|author-link=Herrlee Glessner Creel|title=Chinese Thought from Confucius to Mao Tse-tung|url=https://archive.org/details/chinesethoughtfr00cree|url-access=registration|year=1953|publisher=University of Chicago Press|location=Chicago}}
* Csikszentmihalyi, M. (2005). "Confucianism: An Overview". In Encyclopedia'' of Religion'' (Vol. C, pp.&nbsp;1890–1905). Detroit: MacMillan Reference
* {{cite book|last=Dawson|first=Raymond|title=Confucius|year=1982|publisher=Oxford University Press|location=Oxford|isbn=978-0-19-287536-5}}
* {{cite book|last=Fingarette|first=Hebert|title=Confucius : the secular as sacred|year=1998|publisher=Waveland Press|location=Long Grove, Ill.|isbn=978-1-57766-010-1|url=https://archive.org/details/confuciussecular00fing}}
* {{cite book|last=Kaizuka|first=Shigeki|title=Confucius. His life and thought|year=1956|publisher=G. Allen and Unwin|location=London}}
* {{cite book|last=Levi |first=Jean|title=The Assassins of Confucius: Some Recent Trends in Sinology|year=2023|publisher=Hermits United|location=London and Paris|others=Mingyuan Hu, trans |isbn=978-1-9998833-6-2}}. 
* {{cite book|last=Ssu-ma Ch'ien|title=Records of the Historian|year=1974|publisher=Commercial Press|location=Hong Kong|others=Yang Hsien-yi and Gladys Yang, trans}}
* Sterckx, Roel. ''Chinese Thought. From Confucius to Cook Ding.'' London: Penguin, 2019.
* Van Norden, B.W., ed. (2001). ''Confucius and the Analects: New Essays''. New York: Oxford University Press. {{ISBN|0-19-513396-X}}.
{{Refend}}

==External links==
{{Sister project links|v=no|n=no|s=Author:Confucius|b=Saylor.org's Ancient Civilizations of the World/Confucius and Confucianism|c=Category:Confucius}}
* {{cite SEP |url-id=confucius |title=Confucius |last=Csikszentmihalyi |first=Mark}}
* {{cite IEP |url-id=confuciu |title=Confucius}}
* {{In Our Time|Confucius|p00547k8|Confucius}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20130124210603/http://confucius.org/ Multilingual web site on Confucius and the Analects]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20171020011747/http://faculty.vassar.edu/brvannor/Mypapers/DaoofKongzi.pdf The Dao of Kongzi], introduction to the thought of Confucius.
* {{Gutenberg author |id=1180}}
* {{Internet Archive author}}
* {{Librivox author |id=3104}}
* [http://digital.library.upenn.edu/webbin/gutbook/lookup?num=4094 Confucian Analects] (Project Gutenberg release of James Legge's Translation)
* [http://www.wfu.edu/~moran/zhexuejialu/Analects_PEM.html Core philosophical passages] in the ''Analects of Confucius''.

{{Navboxes
|title=Links to related articles
|list1=
{{Chinese philosophy}}
{{philosophy of language}}
{{Ethics}}
{{Social and political philosophy}}
{{Political philosophy}}
{{Qin list}}
{{Religious Confucianism}}
}}
{{Portal bar|China|Biography|Philosophy}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Confucius| ]]
[[Category:551 BC births]]
[[Category:479 BC deaths]]
[[Category:6th-century BC historians]]
[[Category:6th-century BC Chinese philosophers]]
[[Category:6th-century BC Chinese writers]]
[[Category:6th-century BC religious leaders]]
[[Category:6th-century BC musicians]]
[[Category:5th-century BC historians]]
[[Category:5th-century BC Chinese philosophers]]
[[Category:5th-century BC Chinese writers]]
[[Category:5th-century BC musicians]]
[[Category:5th-century BC religious leaders]]
[[Category:Aphorists]]
[[Category:Chinese educational theorists]]
[[Category:Chinese ethicists]]
[[Category:Chinese logicians]]
[[Category:Chinese political philosophers]]
[[Category:Classical humanists]]
[[Category:Confucianism]]
[[Category:Deified Chinese men]]
[[Category:Education theory]]
[[Category:Educators from Shandong]]
[[Category:Founders of religions]]
[[Category:Gokbu Gong clan]]
[[Category:Guqin players]]
[[Category:Historians from Shandong]]
[[Category:People from Qufu]]
[[Category:Philosophers from Lu (state)]]
[[Category:Philosophers from Shandong]]
[[Category:Philosophers of culture]]
[[Category:Philosophers of education]]
[[Category:Philosophers of law]]
[[Category:Politicians from Jining]]
[[Category:Social philosophers]]
[[Category:Writers from Jining]]
[[Category:Zhou dynasty historians]]
[[Category:Zhou dynasty government officials]]
[[Category:Zhou dynasty philosophers]]
[[Category:Zhou dynasty musicians]]
[[Category:Zhou dynasty writers]]