Confucianism

Confucius lived from 551BC to 479 BC, during the Chou Dynasty, where in fact imperial rule was breaking down. High principled men originally founded then ran the Chou Dynasty, but by Confucius' time, China was going through a very difficult period where conflicts and attacks had controlled the dynasty, while usurpers took over land, this dynasty was corrupt. Worth mentioning in your term paper that this period of political turmoil (770 BC-221 BC) started a new era of a "hundred schools" where teachers, such as Confucius, would move from state to state teaching their other people about their ideas and morals. This was also the time though, where prisoners were put to death in mass executions, soldiers were paid when they presented the severed heads of the enemy, whole populations that were captured were beheaded and there were accounts of the conquered being boiled to death in a 'soup' and the family being forced to drink the 'human soup'. There was something seriously wrong with the justice and equality in this dynasty that the philosophy of Confucius could help.

The development of Confucianism came to an 'all of a sudden' stop during the Chin dynasty (221 BC-206 BC) where the First Emperor didn't approve of the Confucian ideas, therefore declared that anyone who differed with the state in their ideas, were killed, and all of Confucius' teachings and books were to be burnt. After the death of the Emperor, the Chin dynasty was overthrown by the Han dynasty, where Confucianism was not only re-introduced, but became the dominant school of thought among imperial officials. But not long after this happening, the new leaders were convinced that having a foot in Confucian philosophy, is leading you the right way in life. Custom essay hint: Confucius believed that he didn't achieve anything in life and that he was a failure, but if this was so, the legend and teachings of Confucius, and Confucianism would have died, but it didn't, instead it lived on through the analects, through Mencius and through Neo-Confucianism.