Confucius and the Analects

Kong Fuzi, known in the West as Confucius (551–479 BCE), lived in the state of Lu during a time of disorder, as the Zhou kings' authority collapsed and rival states fought. He saw himself not as an innovator but as a transmitter of the wisdom of earlier sage-kings. He held only modest official posts, traveled seeking a ruler who would adopt his ideas, and spent much of his life teaching students from varied backgrounds. His conversations and sayings were collected by disciples after his death in the Analects (Lunyu).

Confucius argued that social order depends on moral cultivation: if rulers and individuals practiced virtue and proper conduct, society would become harmonious without heavy reliance on punishments. Scholars debate whether Confucianism is a religion, a philosophy or an ethical tradition, since it says little about gods or the afterlife yet includes rituals, reverence for Heaven and temples to Confucius himself.