Confucius, pronounced Kong Fu"zi, was born in the village of Zou, a small mercantilist town in the province of Lu. He was born in a war-torn society in 551 B.C, and as a poor descendant of lower aristocrats, called shihs. .
To many people today he is merely a set up to a one line joke, yet his ancient teachings still resonate now when they are heard, because they developed in accordance with how society was during his life-and our times are still very much like this today. .
The days in which Confucius lived, compared to the past, were a time of moral chaos, in which common values were widely rejected. Crime rate was high, with robbery and theft a major problem in rural areas and murder on the rise in the cities. The divide between rich and poor was broad, with the rich living lavishly in enormous mansions while some couldn't even get food on the next street. Government was corrupted and many citizens failed to put trust or faith in them. They refused to see that society was falling apart. Economy during these times changed as well. Productive class-farmers, peasants, etc was shrinking, while mercantilist production was growing. Marketplaces were filled with things that had no real purpose that only the rich could afford. .
While reformers such as Confucius existed, they were a minority. Society existed of mainly pessimists, who withdrew from public when they disagreed, and conservatives, who stayed to them and had no cares about society. In our society today this probably sounds all too familiar, because we have the same issues now as China did centuries ago. Confucianism not only took root during this time, it spread, eventually transforming Chinese society with its values and still dominates it and much of other countries beliefs today. .
Some people say that Confucius was an orphan while others say he was raised with his siblings by his mother. as a child, Confucius held make believe temple rituals, and soon after he soon gained a reputation for fairness politeness and wisdom.