Confucius

Confucius

Confucius
Reading Level

	edHelper's suggested reading level:	grades 5 to 7
	Flesch-Kincaid grade level:	7.6

Vocabulary

	challenging words:		backdrop, benevolence, doctrine, fruitful, ideology, low-ranking, mainstream, reciprocity, reverent, spilt, recording, on-going, teaching, philosophy, dynasty, ultimate
	content words:		Eastern Zhou, Autumn Period, Throughout Confucius, Lun Yu, Western Han, Kong Qiu, Kong Zi, Kong Fu Zi, Master Kong

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Confucius
By Vickie Chao

¹     In the long history of China, there is one dominant school of thought that Chinese have followed closely for more than 2,000 years. That school of thought was established by Confucius (551 B.C. - 479 B.C.), the most respected teacher and philosopher in China.

²     Confucius was born during an era of chaos. At the time, the emperor of the Eastern Zhou dynasty became a mere figurehead. He did not have full control of the country. Instead, he was like a puppet domineered by hundreds of warlords. These military powerhouses spilt China into smaller states and fought among themselves endlessly. The on-going wars put the society in disarray. Moral values were low. Divides between rich and poor were wide. And crime rates were high. Historians call this chaotic time the Spring and Autumn Period (770 B.C. - 476 B.C.)

³     It was against this backdrop that Confucius formed his philosophy and set out to publicize it.

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