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CONFUCIUS
As a young man, Confucius had been to many of the
principalities of the time, advocating his political views
and seeking to have his service accepted by the princes in
administering their states. But his views and opinions
seemed to have fallen on deaf ears and consequently
Confucius made up his mind to devote all his energies to
education.
Confucius was the first man in the history of Chinese
education to start a private school to accept common people
as pupils. He taught his students politics, music, archery,
charioteering, calligraphy, and mathematics with the aim of
promoting all-round development. Confucius often lectured to
his students on the theme of "benevolence", preaching the
importance of loving others. Legend has it that Confucius
had 3,000 students throughout his lifetime, 72 of who became
well known for their excellence. Through educational work,
Confucius succeeded in propagating his political views.
Eventually he and his students emerged as an independent
school of thought, the Confucian school which exerted a
tremendous impact on feudalist China that lasted thousands
of years.
Confucius lived until he was seventy-three
and his death was deeply mourned by his students. After his
death, his disciples wrote down their memories of
conversations with him, which were later brought together as
the Analects.
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