During the Spring and Autumn Period of Confucius' life, the political system based on blood clan in the Western Zhou Dynasty had collapsed, and the "Zhu Xia" national community based on cultural identity was taking shape. This is the era when China people's cultural awareness first occurred. Classicism became fashionable, and some people began to think about the problems of heaven, life and world order. Cultural education, which was originally monopolized by nobles, is gradually flowing into the people. Confucius is the representative and master of the spirit of this era. He initiated a hundred schools of thought during the Warring States Period.

The Analects of Confucius is the main work to understand his thoughts.

[Editor] Ideological core

What is the core of Confucius' thought? Three views: benevolence, courtesy, benevolence and courtesy.

[Editor] Metaphysics

Zi Gong said, "The nature of Confucius' words and the nature of heaven are unknown. "This seems to give people the impression that Confucius avoids metaphysics. When he asked Luz, "If you don't know life, how can you know death? When he told Fan Chi to "stay away from ghosts and gods", Confucius really paid more attention to the world and the coast. At this point, he is like a moderate skeptic. However, "the unity of heaven and man" is a very important proposition of early Confucianism, which can be described as the origin of the discussion on the relationship between heaven and man in later generations. Many people think that Confucius' way of life has been integrated into Yi Zhuan, but it is still inconclusive whether Yi Zhuan was written by Confucius.