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Thinker · 551–479 BCE

Confucius

Teacher whose ethics of ren (humaneness), li (ritual propriety), and zhi (wisdom) shaped East Asian civilization for two millennia. He believed virtue, not birth, made a noble person.

Contributions
  • Founded Confucian ethical tradition
  • Articulated the Golden Rule
  • Reframed nobility as moral cultivation
Words that traveled
"
It does not matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop.
— Confucius
"
When it is obvious that the goals cannot be reached, do not adjust the goals — adjust the action steps.
— Confucius
"
Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.
— Confucius
"
Great souls have wills; feeble ones have only wishes.
— Confucius
"
Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated.
— Confucius