Complete Works of Confucius (PDF)

Confucius was China’s most influential and respected philosopher.  He lived between 551BC and 479BC.  He examined the ideas of right and wrong and was interested in how people related to one another.  His concern for the Chinese living in densely populated cities was very real.  His ideas, Confucianism, explained acceptable social behavior in all situations.  Confucianism set up strict guidelines for proper behavior between people.
The most basic concept in Confucian philosophy uses the idea of jen.  Confucius defined jen as the human quality that leads people to live harmoniously in society.  The idea of jen is partly to the idea of sympathy with other people and partly the idea of, “That which you do not want done to you, do not do to others,” as Confucius said.  There is no word in English that quite has the same meaning.
Confucius believed that the family was very important.  In families, people learned how to act in society.  The Chinese state was considered to be a large family with the emperor as father.
In the two thousand years that Confucianism dominated Chinese thought, its basic principles were adapted to meet new challenges.  Disciples of Confucianism often developed new ideas to offset other religious or philosophical ideas that challenged the basic system of Confucian thought.  During the Tang Dynasty, for instance, Confucian thought was challenged by beliefs of Chinese Buddhists and Daoists.  Eventually Confucianism incorporated many Daoist and Buddhist ideas.