When he was twelve he took to reading St. Augustine and Aquinas, then Lao-tse, Confucius, Mencius, Suzuki, Hindu tomes by endless Krishnaists and numerous socio-archaeological papers.

He also was a promoter of the New Text school, which considered Confucius as a divine figure and a spiritual ruler of China, who foresaw and started the evolution of the world towards the Universal Peace.

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 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.

Although Confucius claimed that he never invented anything but was only transmitting ancient knowledge ( see Analects VII, 1 ), he did produce a number of new ideas.

Matteo Ricci was among the very earliest to report on the thoughts of Confucius, and father Prospero Intorcetta wrote about the life and works of Confucius in Latin in 1687.

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

He also was a promoter of the New Text school, which considered Confucius as a divine figure and a spiritual ruler of China, who foresaw and started the evolution of the world towards the Universal Peace.

Confucius ( 551 – 479 BCE ) was a Chinese teacher, editor, politician, and philosopher of the Spring and Autumn Period of Chinese history.

Confucius ' family and personal name respectively was " Kong Qiu " ( 孔丘 Kǒng ​ Qiū ).

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.

In 1 AD, Confucius was given his first posthumous name, the " Laudably Declarable Lord Ni " ( 褒成宣尼公 ).

Confucius was said to have been a descendant of the Shang kings or priests through the Dukes of Song.

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

Kong He died when Confucius was three years old.

As a child, Confucius was raised by his mother in poverty.

A year later, the couple had their first child, Kong Li ( 孔鯉 ), both of whom Confucius was to abandon to develop his ideologies.

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

Zhong You was one of the disciples of Confucius and was arranged the position of govenor at the Ji family by Confucius.

Soon after, the Duke neglected to send to Confucius a portion of the sacrificial meat that was his due according to custom, and Confucius seized upon this pretext to leave both his post and the Lu state.

' He took leave of Confucius to become commandant of Xin-yang ( 信陽宰 ), when the master said to him, ' In dealing with your subordinates, there is nothing like impartiality ; and when wealth comes in your way, there is nothing like moderation.

On spirituality, Confucius said to Chi Lu, one of his students, that " You are not yet able to serve men, how can you serve spirits?

According to tradition, three generations before Confucius ' time, his ancestors had migrated from the Song state to the Lu state.

The Shiji states that the neighboring Qi state was worried that Lu was becoming too powerful while Confucius was involved in the government of the Lu state.

Most of Confucius ' disciples were from the Lu state, while others were from neighboring states.

By the time Confucius was 50 years old, the Ji family had consolidated their power in the Lu state over the ruling ducal house.

In the East, Confucius ( 551-479 ), of the State of Lu, was China's most influential ancient philosopher, whose educational outlook continues to influence the societies of China and neighbours like Korea, Japan and Vietnam.

Lu, however, became renowned for being the home of Confucius and hence its cultural influence came to eclipse that of the State of Qi.

Lu is noted for being the home of Confucius.

# The Spring and Autumn Annals, a historical record of Confucius ' native state, Lu, from 722 to 479 BCE.

Its name comes from the Spring and Autumn Annals, a chronicle of the state of Lu between 722 and 479 BC, which tradition associates with Confucius.

In the reign of Emperor Jing of Han ( r. 157-141 BC ), a third version ( the " old text version ") was discovered hidden in a wall of the home then believed to be Confucius ' when the home was in the process of being destroyed by King Gong of Lu ( r. 153-128 BC ) in order to expand the king's palace.

Within two years after the death of Confucius, his former house in Qufu was already consecrated as a temple by the Prince of Lu.

Min Sun (), styled Zi-qian (), was one of Confucius ' students from the kingdom of Lu in the Spring and Autumn Period of the Zhou Dynasty.

" It has been noted in the life of Confucius that it was by the influence of Zi-you that he was finally restored to Lu.

He was a native of Pian ( 卞 ) in Lu and only nine years younger than Confucius.

He was a native of Lu, and, according to different accounts, thirty, forty, and forty-nine years younger than Confucius.

Next to that of Mieming is the tablet of Yuan Xian, styled Zi-si ( 原憲, 子思 ) a native of Song or according to Zhang Xuan, of Lu, and younger than Confucius by thirty-six years.

The place next Gao Chai is occupied by Fan Xu, styled Zi-chi ( 樊須, 子遲 ), a native of Qi, or, according to others, of Lu, and whose age is given as thirty-six and forty-six years younger than Confucius.

Gongxi Chi, styled Zi-hua ( 公西赤, 子華 ), a native of Lu, younger than Confucius by forty-two years, whose place is the fourth, west, in the outer court.

Wuma Shi Qi, styled Zi-Qi ( 巫馬施 期, 子期 子旗 ), a native of Chan, or, according to Zhang Xuan, of Lu, thirty years younger than Confucius.