Confucius

Also known as Confucio, Konfuzius

Confucius (), born Kong Qiu, was a Chinese philosopher of the Spring and Autumn period who is traditionally considered the paragon of Chinese sages. Much of the shared cultural heritage of the Sinosphere originates in the philosophy and teachings of Confucius. His philosophical teachings, called Confucianism, emphasized personal and governmental morality, harmonious social relationships, righteousness, kindness, sincerity, and a ruler's responsibilities to lead by virtue.

OverviewAI-generated

Confucius, born Kong Qiu on September 28, 551 BCE, was a philosopher, teacher, and writer from Lu. He was the son of Shuliang He and the father of Kong Li. A male figure of the Confucianism movement, he spoke Old Chinese and Chinese. He worked in Lu and is described in sources such as the Records of the Grand Historian and the Encyclopædia Britannica 11th edition.

He died of natural causes on the Si River in 479 BCE and is buried in the Cemetery of Confucius. His notable works include The analects of Confucius, 論語話解, and Confucio. He also appears in the Classic of Filial Piety. His students included Zilu, Zengzi, Yan Hui, and Duanmu Ci. He is known by the name 孔夫子 in his native language.

Synthesized by Vinony from 27 facts across 3 sources: Wikidata, Open Library, Europeana Sparql. Generated from structured data (not the Wikipedia text) and checked against those facts — may still contain errors.

Person · Open Library

Born: September 28, 551 BCE
Died: 479 BCE
Works: 307

Top works

論語話解
Confucio
宋本論語註疏
Luận ngữ
The analects of Confucius

via Open Library + Wikidata

Key facts

Chinese.y: Húng Jí
Chinese.wuu: Khon-tzy
Philosopher.name: Confucius
Philosopher.region: Chinese philosophy
Philosopher.image: Confucius Tang Dynasty.jpg
Philosopher.caption: Depiction of Confucius by Wu Daozi, 8th century CE
Philosopher.birth_name: Kong Qiu
Philosopher.birth_place: Zou, Lu
Philosopher.death_date: (aged 71–72)
Philosopher.death_place: Si River, Lu
Philosopher.resting_place: Cemetery of Confucius, Lu
Philosopher.school_tradition: Confucianism
Chinese.child: yes
Chinese.pic: Kongzi (Chinese characters).svg
Chinese.piccap: "Confucius ()" in seal script (top) and regular script (bottom) characters
Chinese.picupright: 0.4
Chinese.c: 孔子
Chinese.l: "Master Kong"

via Wikipedia infobox

Wikidata facts

Instance of: human
Gender: male
Citizenship: Lu
Place of birth: Qufu
Place of death: Si River
Father: Shuliang He
Occupation: writer
Languages spoken: Chinese
Religion: Confucianism
Notable work: Analects
Field of work: ethics
Movement: Confucianism
Image: Confucio saludo.JPG
Number of children: 3
Work location: Lu

Show 16 more facts

Commons category: Confucius
topic's main category: Category:Confucius
Commons gallery: 孔子
date of birth: 0551-00-00
date of death: 0479-00-00
Commons Creator page: Confucius
birth name: 孔丘
place of burial: Cemetery of Confucius
manner of death: natural causes
name in native language: 孔夫子
on focus list of Wikimedia project: Wikipedia:Vital articles/Level/4
present in work: Classic of Filial Piety
courtesy name: 仲尼
name in kana: こうし
time period: Spring and Autumn period
P8168: Tanout

Sources (7)

via Wikidata · CC0

Works in European collections

10 objects attributed to Confucius, held across European museums, libraries & archives · via Europeana

Confucius sinarum philosophus, sive scientia sinensis latine exposita

Untitled

~49 min read

Encyclopedic overview

24 sections

Contents

Name
Life
Early life
Political career
Exile
Return home
Philosophy
Ethics
Politics
Music and poetry
Legacy
Teaching and Disciples
In the West
Visual portraits
Fictional portrayals
Memorials
Descendants
Criticism
During the Cultural Revolution
References
Citations
Bibliography
Further reading
External links

Confucius considered himself a transmitter for the values of earlier periods which he claimed had been abandoned in his time. He advocated for filial piety, endorsing strong family loyalty, ancestor veneration, and the respect of elders by their children and of husbands by their wives. Confucius recommended a robust family unit as the cornerstone for an ideal government. He championed the Silver Rule, or a negative form of the Golden Rule, advising, "Do not do unto others what you do not want done to yourself."

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Confucius” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.