What is Confucius

Another name is Kong Fuzi who lived between 551 and 479 BC in China. He advanced Confucianism, which is still being applied/practiced in Confucius-Heritage countries.

Confucius (551 – 479 BC), Chinese “Master Kong,” but most frequently referred to as Kongzi, was a famous Chinese thinker and social philosopher, whose teachings and philosophy have deeply influenced East Asian life and thought. His philosophy emphasized personal and governmental morality, correctness of social relationships, justice, and sincerity. These values gained prominence in China over other doctrines, such as Legalism or Daoism during the Han Dynasty. Confucius’s thoughts have been developed into a system of philosophy known as Confucianism. His teachings are known primarily through the Analects of Confucius, a collection of “brief aphoristic fragments,” which was compiled many years after his death. Modern historians do not believe that any specific documents can be said to have been written by Confucius, but for nearly 2,000 years he was thought to be the editor or author of all the Five Classics such as the Classic of Rites (editor), and the Spring and Autumn Annals (author). From his books, one can tell that Confucius launched the theory of transformative learning 25 centuries ago in China. He taught his followers to be authentic human beings and he emphasized “silent reflection” and “the rectification of the mind,” and “one’s inner experience.” These concepts are closely related to Mezirow’s “critical reflection” in the theory of transformative learning.

A Chinese social philosopher whose teachings have deeply influenced East Asian life and thought.