Confucius

Confucius(551BC-479BC)was the most influential philosopher in ancient China whose theory has influenced uncountable generations of Chinese people. Except the identity of philosopher, he was also a teacher and politician,living in the Spring and Autumn Period of Chinese history. Confucius abandoned his wife and his first child to develop his ideologies in his twenties. His social ascendancy linked him to the growing class of Shi, a class intermediate between the aristocracy and the common people. Because he lived in wartime, his political ideas were seldom accepted by the King of Qi. So in his rest life, he made a great contribution to education, creating Chinese private education form.
The philosophy of Confucius emphasized personal and governmental morality, correctness of social relationships, justice and sincerity. His followers competed successfully with many other schools during the Hundred Schools of Thought Era only to be suppressed in favor of the Legalists during the Qin Dynasty. Following the victory of Han over Chu after the collapse of Qin, Confucius's thoughts received official sanction and were further developed into a system known as Confucianism. Confucius is traditionally credited with having authored or edited many of the Chinese classic texts including all of the Five Classics. Aphorisms concerning his teachings were compiled in the Analects composed by Confucius' students. He championed family loyalty, ancestor worship, respect of elders by their children and of husbands by their wives. One of the deepest teachings of Confucius may have been the superiority of personal exemplification over explicit rules of behavior. His moral teachings emphasized self- cultivation and emulation of moral exemplars. His discussions of li seemed to redefine the term to refer to all actions committed by a person to build the ideal society.