Zhong Ni was born in Lu, a great thinker, educator and founder of Confucianism in the late Spring and Autumn Period. Confucius was an aristocrat in the Song Dynasty. In order to avoid civil strife, he moved to Lu. His father and his mother, Yan Shi and Lu Xianggong, were born in Lu City (now Qufu, Shandong Province) in 22 years (55 1). Lu is the son of Duke Zhou. Rites and music are still intact. Lu's deep-rooted tradition of rites and music has a profound influence on Confucius. When Confucius was young, he often played with Chen Naidou. He lost his father in his early years and his family was poor. When he was young, he was a small official in charge of granary and grazing. In his thirties, he began to give lectures.
In the twenty-sixth year of Lu Zhaogong (5 16), there was civil strife in Lu, and Confucius was dissatisfied with the Sanhuan forces headed by Ji. He once left Lu for Qi, and soon came back. He began to organize poems, books, rituals and music. The more disciples he recruited, the greater his influence. After nine years (50 1), Lu Dinggong became the leader of Zhongduzai with considerable achievements. Recover the land occupied by Qi. In the 13th year of Ding Dynasty, in order to keep his official position, Confucius suggested destroying the three capitals, namely, uncle and surname. After the destruction of Shu and Fei, the teacher confronted him by force, and Confucius' plan failed. After the political situation in Lu changed, Confucius saw that his ideal was difficult to realize, so he led his disciples to leave Lu and began to travel around the world. Confucius was 55 years old. 14 years, Confucius went to Wei, Chen, Song, Cai, Chu and other countries to publicize his political views to various governors, but to no avail. In the eleventh year (484 BC), Ji Kangzi welcomed Confucius with money, and Confucius returned to Shandong at the age of 68. Although Lu Aigong and Ji Kangzi often asked Confucius about politics, it was useless.
Confucius devoted himself to education in his later years, sorting out ancient classics such as poems and books, and deleting Chunqiu. His students recorded their thoughts and words in The Analects. Philosophy Confucius lived in the Spring and Autumn Period, which was a period of transition from slave society to feudal society. His thoughts are full of contradictions between the old and the new, reflecting the spiritual outlook of the era of great change. Confucius inherited the traditional view of destiny and ghosts, and regarded heaven as the master of all things and personality. He believes that fate dominates people's life and death, and also determines social chaos. He advocated that "a gentleman has three fears: fear of fate, fear of adults, and fear of the words of saints", and "I don't know fate, but I don't think a gentleman is also". But at the same time, it denied the prevailing divination activities in the Zhou Dynasty, and put forward that "the words of heaven, the actions of time, how long the grain grows", and believed that the destiny was contained in the operation of natural things. So he advocated ".
The doctrine of the mean is the highest standard of Confucius. He said, "The golden mean is also a virtue, and the people are fresh for a long time." He advocates that when dealing with affairs, we should neither overstep our responsibilities nor fall behind, that is, "the more moderate." According to the Analects of Confucius, Confucius put forward that "quality is better than literature and wildness" and "literature is better than quality and history is also". Advocate "combining morality with punishment" and "combining leniency with severity"; Confucius opposed radical words and deeds, but at the same time opposed unprincipled "homesickness" behavior, "following the customs, conforming to the world, being loyal, being honest, pleasing everyone and being self-righteous", that is, "homesickness is a thief of virtue".
Confucius attached great importance to social ethics, and regarded ceremony as an important means to maintain the hierarchical system, which was a sign to distinguish China people from foreigners. He condemned the destruction of "Zhou Li" and was extremely indignant at Ji's stealing of the ceremony of the Emperor of Lu, saying that "it is tolerable, but it is intolerable". Confucius advocated "correcting the name" and tried to correct the changed social reality with the courtesy of Zhou. On the premise of not violating the basic principles of Zhou Li, Confucius agreed to choose the specific content of Zhou Li in combination with the changes of the times. The concept of benevolence was widely used in the Spring and Autumn Period, and Confucius gave it a new meaning, making it one of the most important categories in the history of China's philosophy.
Confucius' theory is extensive and profound. Although there are some traditional conservative ideological factors, their mainstream is conducive to social progress at that time. Therefore, it was further developed in the Warring States period and became one of the outstanding schools in the pre-Qin period. However, due to historical reasons, the rulers did not pay special attention to it before the Han Dynasty.
After the Han Dynasty, centralized feudal rule was established, and Confucius' thought was suitable for the needs of the ruling class, so it was valued. Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty adopted Dong Zhongshu's strategy to "oust a hundred schools of thought and respect Confucianism alone", which formally established the dominant position of Confucius and his theory in China's ideological circle. Since then, successive rulers have further deified Confucius and advocated Confucianism, thus consolidating Confucius' supreme position.
Confucius' thoughts had a great influence on the philosophy, literature, art, education and history of China feudal society. As an outstanding representative of China's traditional culture, this influence has spread to East Asia and even the whole world. However, in the long feudal society, the ruling class unilaterally developed the conservative aspects of Confucius' thought for its own needs and bound people's thoughts. Since the May 4th Movement, the conservatism of Confucius' thought has been criticized by progressive thinkers. After the May 4th Movement, some scholars in China.
Confucius' thoughts and theories are mainly collected in The Analects of Confucius written by Confucius disciples, and there are also records of Confucius' words and deeds in Zuo Zhuan and Historical Records Confucius Family.