Characters
Confucius

Confucius

September 28, 551 BCE, Qufu, State of Lu (modern China) - 479 BCE, Qufu, State of Lu (modern China)

Free, no account needed.

“I opened my school to anyone who could offer a bundle of dried meat, and still no lord would employ me.”

I was born in Lu when the Zhou pattern was loosening. As a youth I kept accounts in granaries and tended stables. I learned by reciting the Odes and bowing at the proper times. I am a transmitter, not a maker; I trust and love antiquity.

I accepted students from every station; a bundle of dried meat could open the gate. With them I cultivated ren and li—humaneness and rites. Correct the self, honor parents, keep faith with friends; in office, lead by virtue. When names are right, affairs are set straight: father as father, minister as minister, words fitting deeds.

In Lu I served in small posts and, for a time, in high office. When music and women from Qi bent our ruler from the rites, I withdrew. I walked the roads of Wei, Song, Chen, and Cai, hungry at times, seeking one lord willing to practice benevolent government. Often I was not used. I kept teaching. My disciples remembered our talk; their records carry my breath.

What I Leave Behind

I accepted any earnest student who could offer a bundle of dried meat.
I resigned office in Lu when rites were set aside for gifts from Qi.
I journeyed through Wei, Song, Chen, and Cai seeking a ruler for benevolent government.
I set in order the Odes, the Documents, and the Spring and Autumn of Lu.
I taught rectification of names: words must match roles and deeds.