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Confucius No other philosopher in the world has had more enduring influence than Confucius. For over two thousand years, his concept of government, and his ideas about personal conduct and morality pervaded Chinese life and culture. Even today, his thoughts remain influential. Confucius was born in a small town in northeastern China and grew up in poverty. He had no formal education; however, through self-study he became a learned man. For a while he held a minor government post; but he soon resigned his position and spent most of his life teaching. The most important teachings of Confucius were collected in a book, the Analects, compiled by his disciples. The two cornerstones of his system of personal conduct were ren and li. Ren might be defined as"benevolent concem for one's fellow men. "Li is a term less easily translated: it combines the notions of etiquette, good manners, and due concern for rituals and customs. Confucius believed that a man should seek truth and virtue rather than wealth. In addition, he was the first philosopher to state the Golden Rule, which he phrased as "Do not do unto others that which you would not have them do unto you." Confucius believed that children owe respect and obedience to their parents, wives to their husbands, and subjects to their rulers. But he was never a defender of tyranny. On the contrary, he held that the state should work for the benefit of the people, and that a leader should govern by moral example rather than by force. At the time of his death, Confucius was a respected, but not yet greatly influential, teacher and philosopher. Gradually, though, his ideas became widely accepted throughout the country. In the third century B.C. Shih Huang Ti, the first emperor of Qin Dynasty, united China. He decided to reform the country entirely and make, a complete break with the past. The Emperor therefore suppressed Confucian teachings and ordered the burning of all copies of Confucian works. Most Confucian works were indeed destroyed, but some copies survived, and a few years later, after the dynasty founded by the"First Emperor""had fallen, Confucianism re-emerged. In the Han dynasty, it became the official state philosophy, a position it maintained throughout most of the next two millennia. Indeed, for much of that period, the civil service examinations in China were based primarily on knowledge of Confucian classics. Since those examinations were the main route by which common people could enter the administration and achieve political power, the governing class of China was largely composed of men who had carefully studied the works of Confucius and absorbed his principles.
I. INTRODUCTION: CONFUCIUS'INFLUENCE(PARA. 1)
A. THE WORLD'S MOST ENDURING INFLUENTIAL PHILOSOPHER 
B THESIS: CONFUCIUS'CONCEPT OF GOVERNMENT AND HIS IDEAS ABOUT PERSONAL CONDUCT AND MORALITY PERVADED CHINESE LIFE AND CULTURE.
II. CONFUCIUS' LIFE AND CAREER(PARA. 2) 
A. HIS FAMILY BACKGROUND 
B. HIS CAREER 
C. HIS TEACHINGS IN THE ANALECTS 
III. CONFUCIUS' SYSTEM OF PERSONAL CONDUCT(PARA. 3-4) 
A. TWO CORNERSTONES: REN AND LI 
B. SOME BASIC BELIEFS 
IV. RECEPTION OF CONFUCIANISM AT DIFFERENT PERIODS OF HISTORY(PARA. 5-7) 
A. INCREASING INFLUENCE AFTER HIS DEATH 
B. SUPPRESSION AND DESTRUCTION OF CONFUCIAN BOOKS BY SHIH HUANG TI 
C. THE OFFICIAL STATE PHILOSOPHY SINCE THE HAN DYNASTY 
