Who Was Confucius?

Confucius, a Chinese philosopher and founder of the Confucian school of thought, lived from 551–479 B.C. He was one of the most influential people in all of history, specializing politically and socially. Hundreds and hundreds of millions of people continue to rely on Confucius' writings as a guide to living, on account of their inability to relate to his teachings. All the way up until the twentieth century, Confucianism was the state religion of China. Confucius' birth name was K'ung Ch'iu, and had been raised into a humble and poor family, working as a tax collector for the Chinese government. Eventually, he became frustrated with leaders who put personal desires above the needs of the common people, many of whom suffered from intense poverty. Confucius finally quit his post and became a traveling sage (teacher), preaching that good leaders must be ethical. Hoping to put his thoughts and teachings to work immediately, he first became an agricultural manager to one of the nobles in his village, until he could find the opportunity to continue onto his dream.