Kongfuzi biography examples

May 8, 2021 © Ulrich Theobald

Confucius (latinized from Chinese Kongzi 孔子 or Kongfuzi 孔夫子 "Master Kong", 551-479 BCE), Chinese name Kong Qiu 孔丘, courtesy name Zhongni 中尼, was the most important Chinese philosopher.

He is traditionally seen as the father of the philosophical school of Confucianism (rujiao 儒教), although the tradition of the experts on rituals (ru 儒) - sometimes rendered in English as "ruists" is much older than Confucius himself.

His teachings were elevated to a state doctrine during the Former Han period 前漢 (206 BCE-8 CE). Confucianism was reinterpreted by adopting concepts of cosmology during the Song period 宋 (960-1279). In this shape it is known in the West as Neo-Confucianism (the most important Chinese terms for "Neo-Confucianism" are lixue 理學 or daoxue 道學).

During the 20th century, Confucianism was, especially among academicians, made liable for China's backwardness. Only with the discarding of socialist ideology in the late 1990s, Confucianism ag