Confucius was born in 551 BCE in Qufu. A Chinese philosopher and teacher from the state of Lu, Confucius, whose name Kong Fuzi means Master Kong, lived at a time of political disorder and tried without lasting success to gain office to put his ideas into practice. He taught the importance of ethical conduct, ritual propriety, respect for family and learning, and good government by moral example. His sayings were collected by his disciples in the Analects, and he is not known to have written down his teachings himself. Confucianism became the official ideology of imperial China and shaped the culture, education and social values of East Asia for more than two thousand years.
Before and after
- 564 BCEDeath of Aesop
- from 553 BCE to 428 CEKingdom of Armenia
- c. 550s BCEConstruction of Circus Maximus
- 551 BCEDeath of Zoroaster
- 551 BCEBirth of Confucius
- 550 BCEFounding of Verona
- from 550 BCE to 366 BCEFounding of Peloponnesian League
- from 550 BCE to 330 BCEAchaemenid Empire
- 550 BCEBirth of Darius I
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- c. 20 BCEVirgil's Aeneid is published
- 48 CEPublication of Epistle to the Galatians
The era
This moment belongs to the Ancient civilizations (3,200 BCE to 500 CE), writing, cities and empires. You can also browse everything in the 6th century BCE.