Confucius

While the Analects of Confucius were likely written by Confucius’s disciples years after his death, they center on the teachings of the Chinese philosopher and sage, Confucius. Confucius’s father is thought to have been an army commander who died when Confucius was three years old. He was then raised by his mother, and at 19, he married and had three children. As a child, Confucius belonged to a social class between the aristocrats and the commoners, and he went to a school for commoners where he learned the six arts: the rites (common cultural practices), music, archery, charioteering, calligraphy, and mathematics. Of these, he went on to champion the rites and music in his philosophical teachings. As a young man, Confucius is said to have worked in various government posts, while informally giving philosophical and ethical teachings. Around 500 B.C.E., he had acquired significant recognition for these teachings and was appointed governor of a small town in his province. He later was promoted to Minister of Crime in that same province. However, believing that the family in rule in the state of Lu had unethically taken power from the former duke, Confucius participated in a failed rebellion against the family. Shortly after, continuing to disagree politically with Lu’s powerful politicians, Confucius exiled himself in the neighboring state of Qi. He continued with his teachings and returned to his home state at the age of 68, where he dedicated himself to teaching his disciples, who numbered around 70. Confucius died of natural causes in his early 70s.