1 00:00:09,110 --> 00:00:11,232 Most people recognize his name 2 00:00:11,232 --> 00:00:15,693 and know that he is famous for having said something, 3 00:00:15,693 --> 00:00:19,832 but considering the long-lasting impact his teachings have had on the world, 4 00:00:19,832 --> 00:00:24,043 very few people know who Confucius really was, 5 00:00:24,043 --> 00:00:25,720 what he really said, 6 00:00:25,720 --> 00:00:27,612 and why. 7 00:00:27,612 --> 00:00:31,248 Amid the chaos of 6th Century BCE China, 8 00:00:31,248 --> 00:00:35,574 where warring states fought endlessly among themselves for supremacy, 9 00:00:35,574 --> 00:00:38,175 and rulers were frequently assassinated, 10 00:00:38,175 --> 00:00:40,491 sometimes by their own relatives, 11 00:00:40,491 --> 00:00:44,245 Confucius exemplified benevolence and integrity, 12 00:00:44,245 --> 00:00:45,563 and through his teaching, 13 00:00:45,563 --> 00:00:48,902 became one of China's greatest philosophers. 14 00:00:48,902 --> 00:00:52,857 Born to a nobleman but raised in poverty from a very young age 15 00:00:52,857 --> 00:00:55,520 following the untimely death of his father, 16 00:00:55,520 --> 00:00:57,348 Confucius developed what would become 17 00:00:57,348 --> 00:01:01,557 a lifelong sympathy for the suffering of the common people. 18 00:01:01,557 --> 00:01:04,377 Barely supporting his mother and disabled brother 19 00:01:04,377 --> 00:01:07,204 as a herder and account keeper at a granary, 20 00:01:07,204 --> 00:01:08,875 and with other odd jobs, 21 00:01:08,875 --> 00:01:11,446 it was only with the help of a wealthy friend 22 00:01:11,446 --> 00:01:15,302 that Confucius was able to study at the Royal Archives, 23 00:01:15,302 --> 00:01:18,122 where his worldview would be formed. 24 00:01:18,122 --> 00:01:20,913 Though the ancient texts there were regarded by some 25 00:01:20,913 --> 00:01:23,362 as irrelevant relics of the past, 26 00:01:23,362 --> 00:01:25,859 Confucius was inspired by them. 27 00:01:25,859 --> 00:01:27,334 Through study and reflection, 28 00:01:27,334 --> 00:01:31,829 Confucius came to believe that human character is formed in the family 29 00:01:31,829 --> 00:01:36,458 and by education in ritual, literature and history. 30 00:01:36,458 --> 00:01:39,831 A person cultivated in this way works to help others, 31 00:01:39,831 --> 00:01:43,946 guiding them by moral inspiration rather than brute force. 32 00:01:43,946 --> 00:01:46,442 To put his philosophy into practice, 33 00:01:46,442 --> 00:01:51,496 Confucius became an advisor to the ruler of his home state of Lu. 34 00:01:51,496 --> 00:01:56,018 But after another state sent Lu's ruler a troop of dancing girls as a present 35 00:01:56,018 --> 00:02:00,664 and the ruler ignored his duties while enjoying the girls in private, 36 00:02:00,664 --> 00:02:03,533 Confucius resigned in disgust. 37 00:02:03,533 --> 00:02:06,650 He then spent the next few years traveling from state to state, 38 00:02:06,650 --> 00:02:12,334 trying to find a worthy ruler to serve, while holding fast to his principles. 39 00:02:12,334 --> 00:02:14,066 It wasn't easy. 40 00:02:14,066 --> 00:02:17,947 In accordance with his philosophy, and contrary to the practice of the time, 41 00:02:17,947 --> 00:02:23,465 Confucius dissuaded rulers from relying on harsh punishments and military power 42 00:02:23,465 --> 00:02:25,228 to govern their lands 43 00:02:25,228 --> 00:02:26,996 because he believed that a good ruler 44 00:02:26,996 --> 00:02:30,075 inspires others to spontaneously follow him 45 00:02:30,075 --> 00:02:33,124 by virtue of his ethical charisma. 46 00:02:33,124 --> 00:02:34,445 Confucius also believed 47 00:02:34,445 --> 00:02:37,557 that because the love and respect we learn in the family 48 00:02:37,557 --> 00:02:40,131 are fundamental to all other virtues, 49 00:02:40,131 --> 00:02:45,263 personal duties to family sometimes supersede obligations to the state. 50 00:02:45,263 --> 00:02:48,834 So when one Duke bragged that his subjects were so upright 51 00:02:48,834 --> 00:02:51,889 that a son testified against his own father 52 00:02:51,889 --> 00:02:53,719 when his father stole a sheep, 53 00:02:53,719 --> 00:02:55,617 Confucius informed the Duke 54 00:02:55,617 --> 00:03:00,460 that genuinely upright fathers and sons protected one another. 55 00:03:00,460 --> 00:03:03,127 During his travels, Confucius almost starved, 56 00:03:03,127 --> 00:03:04,794 he was briefly imprisoned, 57 00:03:04,794 --> 00:03:07,979 and his life was threatened at several points. 58 00:03:07,979 --> 00:03:09,548 But he was not bitter. 59 00:03:09,548 --> 00:03:13,082 Confucius had faith that heaven had a plan for the world, 60 00:03:13,082 --> 00:03:14,881 and he taught that a virtuous person 61 00:03:14,881 --> 00:03:18,763 could always find joy in learning and music. 62 00:03:18,763 --> 00:03:21,080 Failing to find the ruler he sought, 63 00:03:21,080 --> 00:03:23,137 Confucius returned to Lu 64 00:03:23,137 --> 00:03:26,319 and became a teacher and philosopher so influential, 65 00:03:26,319 --> 00:03:29,008 that he helped shaped Chinese culture 66 00:03:29,008 --> 00:03:32,991 and we recognize his name worldwide, even today. 67 00:03:32,991 --> 00:03:34,567 For the disciples of Confucius, 68 00:03:34,567 --> 00:03:39,680 he was the living embodiment of a sage who leads other through his virtue, 69 00:03:39,680 --> 00:03:41,499 and they recorded his sayings, 70 00:03:41,499 --> 00:03:46,986 which eventually were edited into a book we know in English as The Analects. 71 00:03:46,986 --> 00:03:51,547 Today, millions of people worldwide adhere to the principles of Confucianism, 72 00:03:51,547 --> 00:03:55,584 and though the precise meaning of his words has been debated for millennia, 73 00:03:55,584 --> 00:03:59,018 when asked to summerize his teachings in a single phrase, 74 00:03:59,018 --> 00:04:00,886 Confucius himself said, 75 00:04:00,886 --> 00:04:06,720 "Do not inflict upon others that which you yourself would not want." 76 00:04:06,720 --> 00:04:10,866 2,500 years later, it's still sage advice.