Birth of Confucius
A teaching of virtue shapes China for two millennia
Kong Qiu (Confucius) was born in the state of Lu. Teaching benevolence, filial piety and rule by virtue, he founded Confucianism, which shaped the state and society of China and East Asia for over two millennia.
Wikipedia (Russian) · Wikipedia (English) · 6th century BC
Did you know
By traditional dating, the Buddha, Confucius and Pythagoras were contemporaries: all three lived in the 6th century BC.
Meanwhile around the world (±25 years)
Middle East
- 550 BC Cyrus the Great founds the Achaemenid Empire — 1 year later
- 539 BC Fall of Babylon to Cyrus — 12 years later
Alive at the time
- Cyrus the Great (aged 49)
- Pythagoras (aged 19)
- Gautama Buddha (aged 12)
- Confucius (aged 0)
- Thales of Miletus (aged 73)
- Mahavira (aged 48)