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语载哲思:孔子与儒家思想的千年征程


Confucius was born in 551 BCE during the Spring and Autumn Period (770 - 476 BCE). During this period, many rulers and warlords were fighting across the country. Because of all the fighting, life was difficult for the poor. They worked hard for their rulers and received little money in return. Confucius’ father was a great warrior during this time. However, his father died when Confucius was only three years old. Because of this, he grew up in poverty, with only his mother to support him. 

As he grew up, Confucius worked to help his mother earn extra money. When he wasn’t working, he would read. His favorite thing to do was learning. His mother saw this and did her best to help him learn. Eventually, wealthy families noticed how smart he was and offered him jobs counting their money and keeping track of their crops. Confucius did this until he was 30 years old, but he always wanted to do more. He didn’t like the way rulers treated their subjects (臣民). He began reading again. He wanted to find a way to help people who were less fortunate than he was. 
Through many hours of studying, he founded the philosophy that would become known as “Confucianism.” Confucianism states that by educating yourself, loving your family, and respecting tradition, you could become a better person. Confucius believed a person could achieve these things by practicing self-discipline. In teaching self-discipline, he encouraged his followers to control their actions and emotions so that they could focus on improving themselves and the lives of the people around them. He believed that these teachings would stop wars, bring peace, and save their country.
For the rest of his life, Confucius traveled and taught people about self-discipline and the importance of education. He even opened China’s first school that taught both the poor and the wealthy as equals. Although he became very famous among the lower classes, the rulers never accepted his teachings. Self-discipline and education didn’t sound as good to them as power and wealth did.
In 479 BCE, Confucius died at the age of 72. When he died, he believed that he had not saved his country. Little did he know, just 200 years later, all of China would accept his teachings.
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