The history of Chinese civilisation spans thousands of years and encompasses countless ideas, beliefs, societal, and political doctrines. For the past two thousand years, the teachings of Confucius have been the basic fundamentals and origins of the entire Confucian Thought System and the behavioural patterns of his followers. However, Confucius himself only adapted several ideas from the ancient dynasties that ruled China, and focused on these practices as his core beliefs. After Confucius, two main Schools of Thought formed; those who chose to follow the adapted teachings of Mancius; and those who adopted those of Hsun-Tzu. Following the development of these two Schools, Neo-Confucianism took a stronghold in China, blending together the old ways of Confucius with the moral teachings of Buddhism.

Before endeavouring to understand Confucianism and its connection with China, it is necessary to develop an understanding of China in its pre-Confucius era, in which the philosophy evolved. The most ancient evidence of Chinese religions dates back to the Shang dynasty, around 1500 BCE. In this early society, there is evidence of some

Kung Fu-Tzu – or Confucius (552-479 BCE) – was the main figurehead of Confucianism, hence its name. He is thought to have been born in the principality of Lu, now known as the Shantung Province in North-East China. This however, is the only information about Confucius known to be unyielding fact.

The development of Confucian Thought continued to flourish in China long after the Schools of Mancius and Hsun-Tzu. Around the tenth century, a great rival of the original Confucian Thought swept across China, triggered by two philosopher brothers, Cheng Hao and Cheng Li. These two brothers would be the sparks that ignited the development of Neo-Confucianism. This new revolution blended the old Confucian way with Buddhism, which already had a significant following in China. From traditional Confucianism, it derived and emphasis on moral principles, moral order, rule governed behaviour, and harmonious human relationships. But these ideas were filtered through a Buddhist perspective, creating the notion that all thought, ordinary experience, and performance of rituals are based on a single, absolute, ultimate reality. The absolute was called Li, though it had a different meaning than the original use of the word – the principle of social conduct to be observed by the moral personality that assumes the form of ritual and social order. In Neo-Confucianism, Li comprised of the ideas of reason, principle, and order – Li was reality itself.

Confucius is said to have embarked on his quest for knowledge, order, and harmony in an effort to dispel the conflict and dissension that existed in his time. Throughou

Some topics in this essay:
Neo-Confucianism Li, Schools Neo-Confucianism, Confucian Buddhism, Five Classics, Heaven Tian-Ming, North-East China, God Confucius, Hsun-Tzu Hsun-Tzu, Confucian System, Confucianism China, development confucianism, chinese history, schools formed, basic fundamentals, mancius believed,