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The Birth of Confucius
Kong Qiu, or Confucius was born in 551 B.C.E in the small state of Lu in Ancient China. He was born in a position of low nobility. -
Confucius' School
In 522 B.C.E., Confucius started up his own school. -
The Beginning of Confucius' Adventure
After he resigned from his higher level governmental positions in 497 B.C.E., he began his journey with his disciples to find opportunities to give advice to the leaders of the opposing states. -
Confucius' Meeting with the Leaders
Also in 497 B.C.E., Confucius met with leaders from the opposing states (Shen, Qi, Wei, Sung, Zheng, Chen, and Cai). Many of them disregarded his information because they thought it was impractical with the current state of the land and people. He suggested that the rulers return to the moral ways of ruling in the early Zhou period. -
The Beginning of an End
In 484 B.C.E., he returned to Lu and taught a group of over 3,000 disciples about his philosophy. After his death in 479 B.C.E., his disciples spread his teachings throughout China. This was the beginning of the spread of Confucianism. -
Burning Books
In 213 B.C.E., the emperor of the Qin Dynasty ordered that many books of different subjects were burned. Of these books, Confucianism was one of them. Books with necessary skills and books about the history of the Qin Dynasty were the only books that were not burned. -
Executed Scholars
In 212 B.C.E., the same Qin Dynasty emperor also ordered that over 470 scholars who were Confucian were to gather at the Qin capitol, Hsien Chi, and be killed. -
Han's Establishment of Confucianism
In 202 B.C.E., Emperor Han established Confucianism as its state cult. Two schools were created. The first was the School of Old Text which mainly taught the human qualities of the text and the origin of it. The second was the School of New Text which put a supernatural connotation on the early records and figures. -
The Spread of Confucianism into Korea & Vietnam
In 141-87 B.C.E., Emperor Han Wu-Ti expanded into Vietnam and Korea and Confucianism was spread. -
Spread of Confucianism in Japan
Confucianism was able to spread to Japan around the third century when the Paekche Kingdom from Korea sent Confucian texts to the Japanese court. -
Constitution
In 604 C.E., Shotoku Taishi, Japan's Prince, issues the 17 Article Constitution. This constitution contained Confucian cosmological concepts such as Heaven, Earth, Man, and their responsibilities. -
Gukjagam School
In 682 C.E., a royal Confucian Academy was created by King Gwangjong of the Goryeo Kingdom in Korea. -
Neo-Confucianism
In 649-1127 C.E., in Japan, Neo-Confucianism revived the old teachings of Confucianism. -
The Reviver of Confucianism
Within 768-824 C.E., a man named Han Yu was considered the reviver of Confucianism. -
The Western Inscription
In 1020-1077 C.E., a Neo-Confucian scholar named Chang Tsai who attended the School of Principle wrote a famous and popular Confucian text. This text was called Hsi Ming or the Western Inscription. -
Neo-Confucianism in Korea
In 1243-1306 C.E., An Hyang, a Korean Neo-Confucian, introduced Neo-Confucianism to Korea. -
Yangban
In 1392 C.E., Yangban, a Confucian scholar class, thrived in the Joseon Dynasty in Korea. -
Bureaucratic Government
In 1603 C.E., In Japan, Shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu establishes a bureaucratic government based on Neo-Confucian principles.
