Confucius (Kong Fuzi)
• Was born to an impoverished noble family in Shandong in 551 BCE.
• Held various lower positions for many years.
• Obtained an official position only at 50 years
of age.
• Passed his teachings on to disciples.
• Held conversations with rulers and ministers of state.
• He died in 479 BCE.
Confucius’ writings: the “Analects”
• Called Lun yu, “collected words”, they are a collection of sayings, anecdotes and conversations.
• They were not written by himself but were compiled by his disciples.
• For Confucianism, the following
five classics are also normative.
