Confucius

551 BCE–479 BCE

Nationality: Chinese

Historical Period: Ancient Asia

Confucius is China’s most famous teacher, philosopher, and political theorist. In a time of great political upheaval, he sought an intellectual basis for a stable political and social order which he believed lay with a ruler who would rule with wisdom and virtue and would be opposed to force and violence.

For additional information about Confucius see the following:

• in the Forum: the Goodrich Seminar Room entry on Confucius

• Author: The Analects
• Author: The Ethics of Confucius
• Author: The Shi King, the Old “Poetry Classic” of the Chinese