Knowra Confucius Confucius Confucius was a Chinese teacher and philosopher whose teachings on ethical conduct, family relationships, ritual, and government became the foundation of Confucianism.
Confucianism : A Chinese ethical and philosophical tradition shaped by Confucius and later thinkers. His teachings became the tradition’s point of departure, though later Confucianism developed beyond his own words.
Analects : A collection of sayings and dialogues attributed to Confucius and his disciples. It preserves many of the teachings through which his ethical method is known.
Spring and Autumn period : A period of Chinese history, conventionally dated 770–481 BCE, marked by declining Zhou authority and competing states. Confucius lived amid political fragmentation and sought renewed moral and political order.
Confucian classics : A set of texts that became central to Confucian learning, education, and state examinations. Confucius’s legacy became attached to a textual curriculum that shaped later scholarship.
Laozi : A legendary Chinese sage traditionally associated with the foundational text of Daoism, the Tao Te Ching. Daoist teachings often favor natural spontaneity where Confucius stresses ritual and cultivated social conduct.
Ren : A Confucian virtue expressing humaneness, benevolence, and care for others. Confucius treated humaneness as a central quality of exemplary conduct.
Confucian ritual : Practices and formal conduct that express and cultivate Confucian social and moral values. For Confucius, performing ritual with sincerity shaped feeling as well as outward behavior.
Lu state : An ancient state in eastern China during the Zhou dynasty, associated with Confucius’s life and teaching. Confucius was born in Lu and served there before seeking office elsewhere.
Imperial examination : A system of civil-service examinations used in imperial China to select government officials. Confucian texts and learning became central to examinations for generations of officials.
Mozi : A Chinese philosopher who founded Mohism and criticized costly ritual and partiality toward family. Mozi challenged Confucian priorities with universal care and practical tests of social benefit.
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