Confucian Revival

Priest paying homage to Confucius's tablet, c. 1900

What Is Confucianism?

What Is Confucianism? Confucianism (儒家, rújiā, literally “The School of the Scholars“; or, less accurately, 孔教 kŏng jiào, “The Religion of Kong”) is an East Asian school of ethical, philosophical, and (more contentiously) religious thought originally developed from the teachings of the early Chinese sage Confucius (551 – 479 B.C.E.). As a school of thought, it...

The gates of the Temple of Confucius in Datong, Shanxi.

Confucianism Explained

Confucianism Explained By Confucianism is meant the complex system of moral, social, political, and religious teaching built up by Confucius on the ancient Chinese traditions, and perpetuated as the State religion down to the present day. Confucianism aims at making not simply the man of virtue, but the man of...

Temple of Confucius of Jiangyin, Wuxi, Jiangsu. This is a wénmiào (文庙), that is to say a temple where Confucius is worshipped as Wéndì (文帝), "God of Culture".

Confucianism

Confucianism Confucianism, also known as Ruism, is described as tradition, a philosophy, a religion, a humanistic or rationalistic religion, a way of governing, or simply a way of life. Confucianism developed from what was later called the Hundred Schools of Thought from the teachings of the Chinese philosopher Confucius (551–479 BCE), who considered himself a recodifier...