Eastern Philosopher

Confucious

Confucius was a Chinese philosopher who had big impact on Chinese, Japanese, and Vietnamese thought and life. Confucius lived from 551 BCE- 479 BCE. Confucius was a social philosopher and mostly emphasized his work on personal and governmental morality, correctness of social relationships, justice, and sincerity. Confucius’s ideas were so wide spread and widely accepted that his teachings and philosophies began to be known as Confucianism. A man named Jesuit Matteo Ricci Latinised the name “Confucius”. His teachings first took off because his ideas were very closely linked with Chinese traditions and beliefs. He praised strong family loyalties, ancestor worship, respect of elders by their children, and the family as a basis for an idea government.


Confucius’s teachings have been related to some Chinese religions but in reality he has little to do with religion. The contexts of his work lack any reference to an after-life, and it does not really concern itself with spiritual subjects such as the existence of souls.

Confucius’s most famous teaching is very similar to the golden rule and is seen in many religions: “Do not do unto others what you do not want done to yourself”.