Confucianism

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Confucianism
Early history Spring and Autumn period Confucius Warring States period Mencius Xunzi Western Han Dong Zhongshu Gongsun Hong
Fundamental concepts Tian Ganying Zhengming Xiao Sangang Wuchang Li Ren Xin Yi
Schools Neo-Confucianism Han Learning Taigu school Lingnan Confucianism New Confucianism Progressive Confucianism Hermeneutic schools Old Text New Text
Confucianism by country Korea Japan Vietnam Indonesia United States
Confucian texts Ruzang Five Classics Classic of Poetry Book of Documents Book of Rites Book of Changes Spring and Autumn Annals Four Books Analects Mencius Doctrine of the Mean Great Learning Other texts Three Commentaries Rites of Zhou Ceremonial Rites Classic of Filial Piety Erya
Organization Confucian ritual religion Confucian royal ancestral shrine Temple of Confucius Confucian churches and sects Holy Confucian Church Indonesian Confucian Church Universal Church of the Way and its Virtue Phoenix churches Xuanyuanism Shengdao
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Confucianism, also known as Ruism or Ru classicism,^[1] is a system of thought and behavior originating in ancient China, and is variously described as a tradition, philosophy, religion, theory of government, or way of life.^[2] Founded by Confucius in the Hundred Schools of Thought era (c. 500 BCE), Confucianism integrates philosophy, ethics, and social governance, with a core focus on virtue, social harmony, and familial responsibility.^[3]

Confucianism emphasizes virtue through self-cultivation and communal effort.^[4] Key virtues include ren (benevolence), yi (righteousness), li (propriety), zhi (wisdom), and xin (sincerity).^[5] These values, deeply tied to the notion of tian (heaven), present a worldview where human relationships and social order are manifestations of sacred moral principles.^[6][7][8] While Confucianism does not emphasize an omnipotent deity, it upholds tian as a transcendent moral order.^[9][10][11]

Confucius regarded himself as a transmitter of cultural values from the preceding Xia, Shang, and Western Zhou dynasties.^[12] Suppressed during the Legalist Qin dynasty (c. 200 BCE), Confucianism flourished under the Han dynasty (c. 130 BCE), displacing the proto-Taoist Huang–Lao tradition to become the dominant ideological framework, while blending with the pragmatic teachings of Legalism.^[13] The Tang dynasty (c. 600 CE) witnessed a response to the rising influence of Buddhism and Taoism in the development of Neo-Confucianism, a reformulated philosophical system that became central to the imperial examination system and the scholar-official class of the Song dynasty (c. 1000 CE).

The abolition of the imperial examination system in 1905 marked the decline of state-endorsed Confucianism. In the early 20th century, Chinese reformers associated Confucianism with China's Century of Humiliation, and embraced alternative ideologies such as the "Three Principles of the People" and Maoism. Nevertheless, Confucianism endured as a cultural force, influencing East Asian economic and social structures into the modern era. Confucian work ethic was credited with the rise of the East Asian economy in the late twentieth century.^[13]

Confucianism remains influential in China, Korea, Japan, Vietnam, and regions with significant Chinese diaspora.^[14][15] A modern Confucian revival has gained momentum in academic and cultural circles, culminating in the establishment of a national Confucian Church in China in 2015, reflecting renewed interest in Confucian ideals as a foundation for social and moral values.^[16][17]

American philosopher Herbert Fingarette describes Confucianism as a philosophical system which regards "the secular as sacred".^[18]