The Life of Confucius
| 551 BCE | Confucius was born in the village of Zou in the Chinese state of Lu, near present-day Qufu, Shandong Province. |
| 548 BCE | When Confucius was three, his father died. He was raised by his mother, in poverty. |
| 532 BCE | Aged 19, he married Qi Guan and they had a son and two daughters. He worked as a shepherd, cowherd, clerk and book keeper. Due to his ability to read and write, he secured a job with the Duke of Lu, as a clerk. |
| 528 BCE | His mother died and he spent the next three years in mourning. During that time, he studied philosophy. He wanted to create harmony among people in his home country of China which was in conflict and fighting many wars. |
| 519 BCE | Confucius began teaching ancient customs. His teachings were based upon moral and ethical principles for day-to-day living. He believed that there were five different relationships in the world. |
| 518 BCE | He travelled to the imperial capital, Lo-yang, and studied the traditions of the empire. |
| 517 BCE | When there was war in the state of Lu, the Duke of Lu and Confucius escaped to the neighbouring state of Qi. Confucius learned the art of music. |
| 500 BCE | At the age of 51, he was appointed as the Minister of Justice of the state of Lu. He was promoted to Prime Minister. |
| 495 BCE | Confucius left the state of Lu and his position in the government. He spent the following years travelling from one region to another hoping to put his principles into practice. |
| 483 BCE | He returned to the state of Lu and refused any offer of a Government position. |
| 479 BCE | Confucius died aged 72, in the state of Lu. |
c .470 BCE–399 BCE
the great Greek philosopher
My greatest belief, and one that guided me my whole life, was a simple one. If you have a problem and want to find the solution that is right for you, you have to make sure you ask the right questions.
I was born in the city of Athens, Greece in 470 BCE. My father, Sophroniscus, was a stonemason – someone who cuts stone for building work – and sculptor and my mother, Phaenarete, was a midwife. As you can imagine, we were not wealthy and we lived a simple life. I had the most basic education and then when I had finished school, my father taught me his trade. I also learned a great deal by watching him as he worked. Being a practical man, my father let his hands, rather than his mouth, do the talking. I trained myself to pay attention to detail and I tried to be a good apprentice, working hard.
Even though I tried, I was not very interested in becoming a stonemason. My real passion was listening to the stories the elders in our village told. Each day, I would hear these wise old men sharing their views with whoever would listen. They talked about what they knew, and their opinions differed depending on how they saw life. They would discuss problems of the present, such as how our way of life could be improved. They would look at examples from the past to help them reach conclusions. Ideas for the future were also considered, for example, whether new laws should be introduced to improve society and if so, which ones. Apart from practical issues, they also discussed more abstract topics, such as whether truth and certainty actually existed. Each would try to convince the others that their view was the correct one. Those who were respected for their attitude and contributions – for they were not all judged equally – usually had the most success.
To me, these debates were at the centre of reality. Unlike the lifeless stone and wood that I worked with every day, people were warm and alive and were capable of thought. I believed that it was our duty to share and compare what was in our minds in order to improve and develop as human beings. This and only this would lead to happiness and a contented, rich life. I had seen that wealthy people were not necessarily happier than the rest of us.
I had noticed that there are times in our lives when difficult decisions have to be made and we don’t know which direction to take to get the best result. Let me explain what I mean. From an early age I had seen people – my mother is a good example – worry about areas of their lives that they thought were problematic. As with all families, we had plenty of disagreements. My mother found it difficult to keep the peace and be fair at the same time. At times I am sure that I was responsible for making her upset and angry but often she didn’t ask me why I was behaving badly. Instead, she would decide for herself what was troubling me and would act accordingly. She wasn’t always right and I discovered how important it was to share thoughts and ideas.
A Greek chariot
In 431 BCE, the Peloponnesian War between Athens and Sparta began. I was a soldier at the time, doing my military service. In the heat of battle there was little time for debate and sharing one’s thoughts – differences were settled by fighting – but having a set of principles did help to guide me. I tried to be brave and fearless. People later told me that I was. I was lucky enough to be able to save the life of an Athenian general called Alcibiades, who was respected and well-liked in Athens.
Greek society in the 4th century BCE was divided up into cities, each functioning as a state with its own government and rules. It was normal for them all to be in conflict with each other, but there was an alternative way of dealing with such conflicts – a great competition that we called the Olympic Games. The original Olympics were held in honour of Zeus, who, according to Greek mythology, was one of the twelve gods who lived in the temple of the gods at Mount Olympus. Zeus was the father and king of the gods. In the town of Olympia a huge, impressive statue of him was built and Greeks from all over the country came to see it. It was here that the Games were first held.
All the Greek city states sent representatives to compete in the games. Everyone taking part had to swear an oath to the king of the gods, and had to be able to speak Greek. It was important not only for the athletes to compete in sporting competitions,