Confucianism

Confucianism, also known as Ruism or Ru classicism, is a system of thought and behavior originating in ancient China, and is variously described as a tradition, philosophy, religion, theory of government, or way of life. Founded by Confucius in the Hundred Schools of Thought era (c. 500 BCE), Confucianism integrates philosophy, ethics, and social governance, with a core focus on virtue, social harmony, and familial responsibility. Confucianism emphasizes virtue through self-cultivation and communal effort. Key virtues include ren (仁, "benevolence"), yi (義; "righteousness"), li (禮; "propriety"), zhi (智; "wisdom"), and xin (信; "sincerity"). These values, deeply tied to the notion of tian (天; "Heaven"), present a worldview where human relationships and social order are manifestations of sacred moral principles. While Confucianism does not emphasize an omnipotent deity, it upholds tian as a transcendent moral order. Confucius regarded himself as a transmitter of cultural values from the preceding Xia, Shang, and Western Zhou dynasties. Suppressed during the Legalist Qin dynasty (c. 200 BCE), Confucianism flourished under the Han dynasty (c. 130 BCE), displacing the proto-Taoist Huang–Lao tradition to become the dominant ideological framework, while blending with the pragmatic teachings of Legalism. The Tang dynasty (c.¶

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Confucianism is Chinese ethical and philosophical system, according to the structured record cited below. This entry was generated automatically from that record and has not yet been reviewed by a person familiar with the tradition.¹¶

The source record links this tradition to 64 external registers, which can be verified through the citation.¹¶