Confucius was a sage,
or a very wise man. He was not well known when he was alive, but
today he is the most remembered person from ancient China. 
Confucius
was born in 551BC,
in a period of Chinese history known as the Age of Warring States.
China was divided into many small kingdoms. The kings fought each
other and were often cruel to the people they ruled. Confucius understood
that there could be peace and justice under a good government. But
he knew that good government was only possible when there were good
leaders.
Confucius
was concerned with how people treat one another. Confucius said,
"What you do not want done to yourself, do not do to others."
He stressed that any person, rich or poor, could become superior.
The Chinese word jen
refers to the kindness and love each person should have for all
others and for nature. Confucius taught that the person who develops
jen becomes superior. Confucius
taught that government officials should earn their jobs through
education and talent. They should not use family connections to
get their positions, as many Chinese people of his time did. Many
years after Confucius died, China set up an examination system.
Students had to show they read and wrote well. They also had to
know about Confucius
and his philosophy.
Confucius
believed that society functioned best if 
everyone
respected laws and behaved according to their positions. He taught
that parents were superior to children, men superior to women, and
rulers superior to subjects. He believed that society functioned
best if every person respected laws and behaved according to his
or her position. Confucius said, "Let the ruler rule as he
should and the minister be a minister as he should. Let the father
act as the father should and the son act as the son should."
Despite his obscure
life, Confucius left an amazing legacy. A legacy is something handed
down from the past. Confucius never wrote down his philosophy, but
he made an enormous impact on many people. His students compiled
a book known as the Analects after Confucius died. The Analects
became the model for official and personal behavior for many Chinese
people. The teachings of Confucius remained an important part of
Chinese education until the Communist Revolution in 1945.
