Confucius, surnamed Kong, named Qiu, was born in Lu (now Qufu, Shandong Province) in the Spring and Autumn Period, and his ancestral home was in Song (now Xiayi County, Henan Province). He was a great thinker, politician and educator in ancient China, the founder of Confucian school and the "Great Sage". Confucius initiated private lectures and advocated benevolence, righteousness, courtesy, wisdom and faith. There are 3,000 disciples, including 72 sages. He led some disciples to travel around the world for fourteen years, and revised the six classics (poetry, calligraphy, ceremony, music, Yi, Spring and Autumn) in his later years.
After his death, his disciples and re-disciples recorded the words, deeds and thoughts of Confucius and his disciples and compiled The Analects. This book is regarded as a Confucian classic. Confucius was one of the most learned scholars in the society at that time. When he was alive, he was honored as "the sage of heaven" and "the muduo of heaven", and even as the sage of Confucius, the most holy teacher, the master of Wang Xuan and the teacher of all ages by later rulers. His thoughts have a far-reaching influence on China and the world, and he is listed as the first of the "Top Ten Cultural Celebrities in the World".
The main influence of Confucius:
1, moral theory
Confucius constructed a complete ideological system of "virtue and virtue": he advocated the virtue and virtue of "benevolence and courtesy" at the individual level. The ideological system of virtue and Taoism is based on the theory of goodness of human nature ("one yin and one yang refers to the Tao, and those who follow it are also good, and those who succeed are also people"), with the aim of establishing human pole ("three-pole Tao"), and with the integration of human nature and heaven, the doctrine of the mean becomes the full ideological system of methodology in due course.
2. Political theory
The core content of Confucius' political thought is "courtesy" and "benevolence". In the general plan of governing the country, he advocated "governing the country by virtue", which is the noblest way to govern the country. This strategy of governing the country is also called "rule by virtue" or "rule by courtesy". This strategy applies morality and politeness to the people, strictly follows the hierarchical system, and divides nobles and civilians into rulers and ruled. Broke the original important boundary between nobles and civilians.
3. Economic theory
The most important economic thoughts of Confucius are "emphasizing righteousness over profit" and "enriching the people". This is also the main content of Confucian economic thought, which has a great influence on later generations.
Confucius' so-called "righteousness" is a social moral standard, and "profit" refers to people's pursuit of material interests. In the relationship between "righteousness" and "benefit", Confucius put "righteousness" in the first place. He said, "See what you want." People are required to consider how to conform to "righteousness" in the face of material interests. He believes that "righteousness follows", that is, it can only be obtained if it conforms to "righteousness". Confucius even argued in The Analects of Confucius, Zi Han, that it is necessary to talk less about profits, but don't shy away from them.