The Analects, the main source of the Confucianism of Confucius, actually has little to say on the matter of filial piety and some sources believe the concept was focused on by later thinkers as a response to Mohism.

The French philosopher Voltaire was also influenced by Confucius, seeing the concept of Confucian rationalism as an alternative to Christian dogma.

Although meritocracy as a term is a relatively recent invention, the concept of a government based on standardized examinations originates from the works of Confucius, along with other Legalist and Confucian philosophers.

The concept originates at least by the 6th century BC, when it was advocated by the Chinese philosopher Confucius, who " invented the notion that those who govern should do so because of merit, not of inherited status.

The Zhou Dynasty not only preceded the full unification of early China under the Qin Dynasty, the first empire whose realm would subsequently be considered to extend broadly enough to be national in the context of the territorial concept of China, the Zhouli, Rites of Zhou were subsequently canonized by Confucius among his Confucian Chinese classics as a model precedent in principles of government, so ranks of nobility in later regimes both in periods of unified sovereignty and of competing smaller states would typically draw from its catalog of peerage.

Oher agent-centered theories amongst contemporary thinkers such as Bernard Williams seek to revive the old concept ( associated for example with Aristotle and Confucius, that the right action is the action that a person of good character ( the " great-souled man " as Aristotle said ) will perform.

He talked about the importance of cultural exchange between east and west, and claimed that the whole world was heading toward a common ' datong ' 大同 ( great unity-a utopian concept used by Confucius ).

Ren is one of the basic virtues promoted by Confucius, and is an obligation of altruism and humaneness for other individuals within a community.

* " Teaching of Confucius " ()

In the centuries after his death, Mencius () and Xun Zi () both composed important teachings elaborating in different ways on the fundamental ideas associated with Confucius.

The Chinese have a tradition of holding spectacular memorial ceremonies of Confucius () every year, using ceremonies that supposedly derived from Zhou Li () as recorded by Confucius, on the date of Confucius ' birth.

Kung's father was () ( 1861 – 1911 ), a 74th generation descendant of Confucius, indicated by the generation name fan ( 繁 ).

Thus, although modern Chinese read " Confucius " () as Kǒng Fūzǐ, the same title would have been Khuwng Pjutsi in the Tang dynasty and was probably something like an atonal Khongʔ Patsəʔ during his lifetime.

Han Fei is his name, while zi (, meaning " Master ") was often added to philosophers ' names as an honorific — such as Kong Fuzi () for Confucius — thus Han Feizi () can denote the book written by him, but is also used in reference to the person himself.

The Criticize Lin ( Biao ), Criticize Confucius Campaign () ( also called the Anti-Lin Biao, Anti-Confucius campaign ) was a political propaganda campaign started by Mao Zedong and his wife, Jiang Qing, the leader of the Gang of Four.

The most venerated Confucians, some of them direct disciples of Confucius, are often grouped as the " Four Correlates " () and the " Twelve Philosophers " ().

The phrase harmonious society () can relate as back as the time of Confucius when music could bring about harmony by maintaining balance in the society.

Confucius emphasized the role of the arts and humanities ( especially music and poetry ) in broadening human nature and aiding li ( etiquette, the rites ) in bringing us back to what is essential about humanity.

Go is also mentioned in the Analects of Confucius ( c. 5th century BC ).

Confucianism is a Chinese ethical and philosophical system developed from the teachings of the Chinese philosopher Confucius ( 孔夫子 Kǒng Fūzǐ, or K ' ung-fu-tzu, lit.

Although Confucius the man may have been a believer in Chinese folk religion, Confucianism as an ideology is humanistic and non-theistic, and does not involve a belief in the supernatural or in a personal god.

Confucius never stated whether man was born good or evil, noting that ' By nature men are similar ; by practice men are wide apart ' — implying that whether good or bad, Confucius must have perceived all men to be born with intrinsic similarities, but that man is conditioned and influenced by study and practise.

It is particularly relevant for the social class to which most of Confucius ' students belonged, because the only way for an ambitious young scholar to make his way in the Confucian Chinese world was to enter a ruler's civil service.

The main source of our knowledge of the importance of filial piety is the Classic of Filial Piety, a work attributed to Confucius and his son but almost certainly written in the 3rd century BCE.

The great exemplar of the perfect gentleman is Confucius himself.

Confucianism is a philosophical school developed from the teachings of the sage collected in the Analects of Confucius.

Confucius is traditionally credited with having authored or edited many of the Chinese classic texts including all of the Five Classics, but modern scholars are cautious of attributing specific assertions to Confucius himself.

The Latinized name " Confucius " is derived from " Kong Fuzi ", which was first coined by 16th-century Jesuit missionaries to China, most probably by Matteo Ricci.

It is generally thought that Confucius was born in 551 BCE.

Confucius is reported to have worked as a shepherd, cowherd, clerk, and a book-keeper.

When his mother died, Confucius ( aged 23 ) is reported to have mourned for three years as was the tradition.

Confucius believes that there is a duty to family and friends before there is a duty to community.

Confucius asserts that virtue is a means between extremes.

Confucius ' political thought is based upon his ethical thought.

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 their people, striving for personal and social perfection, and such a ruler would spread his own virtues to the people instead of imposing proper behavior with laws and rules.

There is not much known of Confucius ' disciples and a little over half of them had their surnames recorded in the Zuo Zhuan.

Confucius ' favorite disciple was Yan Hui, most probably one of the most impoverished one of them all.

Confucius believed that ren could best be cultivated by those who had already learned self-discipline, and that self-discipline was best learned by practicing and cultivating one's understanding of li: rituals and forms of propriety through which people demonstrate their respect for others and their responsible roles in society ( Analects 3. 3 ).

Confucius believed there was a natural harmony between the body and mind and therefore, whatever actions were expressed through the body would be transferred over to the mind.

The importance of filial piety can be expressed in this quote from " The Analects of Confucius ", " Yu Tzu said, ‘ It is rare for a man whose character is such that he is good as a son and obedient as a young man to have the inclination to transgress against his superiors ; it is unheard of for one who has no such inclination to be inclined to start a rebellion.

It is said that he and another youth, called Kong Xuan ( 孔琁 ), attended by turns with their pencils, and acted as amanuenses to the sage, and when Mang Wubo expressed a doubt of their competency, Confucius declared his satisfaction with them.