ABSTRACT
Kongzi 孔子 is the polite term of address for Kong Qiu 孔丘 (courtesy name Zhongni 仲尼), one of the leading thinkers and educators towards the end of the Spring and Autumn Period (BCE) and (reputedly) the founder of Ruism. 8 Born in what would be present-day Qufu, he grew up poor and worked as a minor official in charge of first accounting and then animal husbandry in the State of Lu (in present-day Shandong Province, east China). He did not study under any particular teacher, but legend has it that he once consulted the famous Laozi 老子, author of the Tao-te-ching 道德經 (The Book of Tao and De), 9 on the issue of the code of conduct of the Zhou Dynasty (c. eleventh century-256 BCE). He served as Minister of Justice and was Acting Chief Minister for a short while. Later, he traveled for more than a decade with his disciples in the States of Song, Wei, Chen, Cai, Qi and Chu trying to win support for his teachings on government, but without success. Believing that the world around him was fast going downhill, he devoted his energy to teaching and writing for the rest of his life. 10 He is said to have had over three thousand students, seventy-two of whom were his prominent disciples. 11 His consolidation of ancient texts paved the way for the elevation to canonical status of what are referred to as the Five Classics. 12 Lunyu 論語 (often translated as the Analects), which is a collection of his sayings and those of his disciples, was handed down through the ages, exerting widespread influence. Rén 仁 (a term used by Kongzi to mean growing humanity between self and other, and variously translated into English as “humanity”, “humaneness”, “human-heartedness”, “benevolence”, “kindness”, “love”, “charity”, “generosity”, and “altruism”) forms the core of his teachings, while lǐ 禮 (translated into English as “rites”, “rituals”, “etiquette” or “rules of propriety” but meaning also the regulations and code of conduct set down by the founders of the Western Zhou Dynasty [c. eleventh century-771 BCE]), is the main prop of his ideas. Kongz emphasized human values and harmony in social life. In education, he stressed the importance of combining studying with thinking. It was Kongzi who initiated private schooling and he emphasized the importance of meeting the different needs of the students. From the Western Han (206 BCE - 8 CE) to modern China, the teachings of Kongzi constituted the orthodoxy of mainstream traditional Chinese ideology and culture. The influence of Kongzi and his disciples also became widespread in Japan, Korea and Vietnam.
