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Confucius, whose given name was Qiu and courtesy name was Zhongni, was born
in the State of Lu during the Spring and Autumn Period. He was hailed as the
paragon of Chinese sages and is also one of the world-famous cultural figures.
He founded a private school and upheld education for all, as he believed that
"In teaching there should be no distinction of classes".
He advocated
benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom, and trustworthiness and revised
the six classics, namely the Book of Songs, the Book of Documents, the Book of
Etiquette and Ceremonial, the Classic of Music, the Book of Changes, and the
Spring and Autumn Annals. He was the founding father in the inheritance of
primitive cultures.
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Laozi, whose full name was Li Er and courtesy name was Dan, and
who was once named Boyang, was an ancient Chinese philosopher in
the late Spring and Autumn Period.
He is worshipped under the
name "Supreme Old Lord" or Taishang Laojun. His thoughts are
far-reaching in many disciplines and fields. Laozi proposed
the highest philosophical concept Dao or the way and introduced
profound dialectics thoughts to the development of Chinese
philosophy. Confucius once asked him about propriety. Later,
Laozi lived a seclusive life. He wrote Laozi or Tao Te Ching,
which is a classic with about 5,000 Chinese characters.
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Mencius, whose given name was Ke and courtesy name was Ziyu,
was born in the State of Zou during the Warring States Period.
He was a great Confucianist who had inherited and carried
forward Confucius’ thoughts and brought Confucianism to a new
level. He was the Confucianism representative after Confucius
and before Xunzi. In China, Mencius and Confucius are
collectively called "Kong Meng" (literally Confucius and
Mencius). Mencius’ conversations and works are collected in
the Mencius. Intellectual Zhu Xi in the Song Dynasty selected
the Mencius, the Analects, the Great Learning, and the
Doctrine of the Mean as the Four Books illustrating the core
value and belief systems of Confucianism.
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Zhuang Zhou, commonly known as Zhuangzi, was born in the town of
Meng in the State of Song during the Warring States Period.
He and Laozi are collectively called "Lao Zhuang" (literally
Laozi and Zhuangzi). Zhuangzi inherited and carried forward
Taoism as well as created his unique philosophical thoughts
and styles of learning and writing. His works are collected
in the Zhuangzi, which was given the honorific title Scripture
of Southern Florescence or Nanhuajing after the Han Dynasty,
thus Zhuangzi is praised as "Nanhua Zhenren (Daoist spiritual
master)". The Zhuangzi, Tao Te Ching, and the Book of Changes
are collectively called Sanxuan or Three Mystic Learnings.
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Confucius, whose given name was Qiu and courtesy name was Zhongni, was born in the State of Lu during the Spring and Autumn Period. He was hailed as the paragon of Chinese sages and is also one of the world-famous cultural figures. He founded a private school and upheld education for all, as he believed that "In teaching there should be no distinction of classes".
Laozi, whose full name was Li Er and courtesy name was Dan, and who was once named Boyang, was an ancient Chinese philosopher in the late Spring and Autumn Period.
Mencius, whose given name was Ke and courtesy name was Ziyu, was born in the State of Zou during the Warring States Period.
Zhuang Zhou, commonly known as Zhuangzi, was born in the town of Meng in the State of Song during the Warring States Period.
