The ruler should think of himself as the father of his subjects, and all officials should treat the citizenry like younger brothers. A stable society must be founded upon respect for one's superiors, reverence for parents, loyalty among friends and concern for the underprivileged lower classes.
In the second place, Confucianism corrected the Buddhist monastic ideal. For Buddhists the ideal man or woman is a monk or nun, someone who has abandoned society for the sake of personal salvation. This notion was both other worldly and individualistic. By contrast, the Confucian exalted the responsible public servant. Confucianism is society-oriented. According to this view, a man is truly human when he faithfully carries out his obligations to his fellowmen.
Thirdly, the family-centered ethic of Confucianism produced a metaphysic based upon polarity. Man exists in a harmonious system of relationships. Using the ancient Chinese concept of yin-yang, Confucians stressed the fact that individuals achieve happiness as they subject their personal desires to the greater good of the whole. This principle of polarity can be seen operating at every level of society: a husband's care for his wife, a wife's loyalty to her husband, the respect of children for parents, friendship among equals and obedience to one's superiors.
Fourthly, Confucians looked forward to the final goal of history. According to the Classics, mankind is moving toward an age of justice, brotherhood, prosperity and peace on this earth.
Let me correct a mistaken notion. Probably you have read books which claim that the Judeo-Christian view of history is quite different from that of the Oriental. Whereas Asians deny that history has meaning or purpose, the Biblical view is that history has a goal, we are told. Oriental philosophy of history is cyclical and therefore pessimistic while Western philosophy of history is linear and optimistic.
However, Confucianism holds a very purposive interpretation of history.
