Ranked #7 in Confucianism
First formulated in the sixth century BCE, the teachings of Confucius came to dominate Chinese society, politics, economics, and ethics. In this Very Short Introduction, Daniel K. Gardner explores the major ideas of the Confucian tradition, showing their profound impact on life in China over the last twenty-six centuries. Gardner focuses on two of the Sage's most crucial philosophical questions—what makes for a good person and what constitutes good government—and traces how the great thinkers within the Confucian tradition responded, often quite differently, to these questions. As Gardner... more