China has a vast cultural and historical background with different religions
and philosophies of its own. Confucius is one of the great heroes who contributed
a lot to Chinese culture. He was born in 551 B.C at the end of the Chou
dynasty as a descendent of a dispossessed noble family. During the time
of Confucius, China was divided into small feudal states which were constantly
making war upon each other. Therefore, during his time Confucius set out
to bring peace in his country. He had a strong political mission but most
of the times he was unsuccessful in that field. instead he is highly recognized
as the first professional teacher in China.
Confucius’s teachings gave rise to the new school of thought known as Confucianism.
The major philosophies of Confucianism are selected in The Analects. Confucius’s
philosophies are based on the principle of good conduct, wisdom and proper
social relationships. His philosophies mainly offered the solution for
the ills and evils of his day by giving the ideas of humanity, benevolence,
or perfect virtue to people in society. Later Confucianism provided the
background for the Chinese political theory and influenced the Chinese
attitude towards life as many emperors started to follow Confucius’s philosophies
to bring peace to their states. |
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