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Most people recognize his name
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and know that he is famous
for having said something,
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but considering the long-lasting impact
his teachings have had on the world,
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very few people know
who Confucius really was,
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what he really said,
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and why.
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Amid the chaos of 6th Century BCE China,
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where warring states fought
endlessly among themselves for supremacy,
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and rulers were frequently assassinated,
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sometimes by their own relatives,
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Confucius exemplified benevolence
and integrity,
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and through his teaching,
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became one of China's
greatest philosophers.
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Born to a nobleman but raised in poverty
from a very young age
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following the untimely
death of his father,
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Confucius developed what would become
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a lifelong sympathy
for the suffering of the common people.
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Barely supporting his mother
and disabled brother
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as a herder
and account keeper at a granary,
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and with other odd jobs,
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it was only with
the help of a wealthy friend
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that Confucius was able
to study at the Royal Archives,
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where his worldview would be formed.
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Though the ancient texts there
were regarded by some
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as irrelevant relics of the past,
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Confucius was inspired by them.
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Through study and reflection,
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Confucius came to believe that
human character is formed in the family
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and by education in ritual,
literature and history.
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A person cultivated in this way
works to help others,
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guiding them by moral inspiration
rather than brute force.
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To put his philosophy into practice,
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Confucius became an advisor to the ruler
of his home state of Lu.
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But after another state sent Lu's ruler
a troop of dancing girls as a present
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and the ruler ignored his duties
while enjoying the girls in private,
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Confucius resigned in disgust.
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He then spent the next few years
traveling from state to state,
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trying to find a worthy ruler to serve,
while holding fast to his principles.
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It wasn't easy.
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In accordance with his philosophy,
and contrary to the practice of the time,
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Confucius dissuaded rulers from relying
on harsh punishments and military power
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to govern their lands
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because he believed that a good ruler
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inspires others
to spontaneously follow him
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by virtue of his ethical charisma.
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Confucius also believed
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that because the love and respect
we learn in the family
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are fundamental to all other virtues,
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personal duties to family sometimes
supersede obligations to the state.
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So when one Duke bragged
that his subjects were so upright
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that a son testified
against his own father
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when his father stole a sheep,
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Confucius informed the Duke
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that genuinely upright fathers
and sons protected one another.
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During his travels,
Confucius almost starved,
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he was briefly imprisoned,
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and his life was threatened
at several points.
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But he was not bitter.
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Confucius had faith that heaven
had a plan for the world,
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and he taught that a virtuous person
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could always find joy
in learning and music.
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Failing to find the ruler he sought,
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Confucius returned to Lu
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and became a teacher and philosopher
so influential,
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that he helped shaped Chinese culture
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and we recognize his name worldwide,
even today.
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For the disciples of Confucius,
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he was the living embodiment of a sage
who leads other through his virtue,
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and they recorded his sayings,
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which eventually were edited into a book
we know in English as The Analects.
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Today, millions of people worldwide adhere
to the principles of Confucianism,
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and though the precise meaning of
his words has been debated for millennia,
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when asked to summerize
his teachings in a single phrase,
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Confucius himself said,
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"Do not inflict upon others
that which you yourself would not want."
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2,500 years later, it's still sage advice.