I am a high school student. When did Confucianism originate? How has it developed? How much impact has it caused?

Confucianism, also known as Confucianism and Taoism, is one of hundred schools of thought's theories in the pre-Qin period. Its founder is Confucius, who initially refers to the master of ceremonies engaged in funeral industry, and later gradually developed into a Confucian ideology with benevolence, honesty and filial piety as its core values, which is the mainstream of China's traditional culture and has a far-reaching influence on later generations. Today we will do the necessary analysis to find out its origin, function and influence.

Confucianism, founded by Confucius, was born out of the ritual and music tradition of the Zhou Dynasty. Confucianism is a complete ideological system formed by Confucius' summary, perfection and inheritance of traditional culture in past dynasties. Simply put, Confucianism is a system that absorbs the cultural elements of predecessors and raises them to the theoretical level of the system.

The development of Confucianism can be roughly divided into three important stages:

The first is Confucianism in the pre-Qin period. Its main representative is Confucius and Mencius. The biggest shortcoming of Confucius' theory is to maintain the rites of Zhou. Mencius put forward the idea of "implementing benevolent government" and "valuing the people and neglecting the monarch", which is the biggest difference from Confucius' thought.

Second, the development of Confucianism in the Han Dynasty. In order to meet the needs of the emperor's centralization, Dong Zhongshu, on the basis of Confucianism, borrowed and absorbed the experience of a hundred schools of thought, and founded the new Confucian thought. Its ideological core has become "divine right of monarchy". It turned Confucianism into an ideological system dedicated to serving the king.

Then there is Neo-Confucianism in Song and Ming Dynasties, which is also called Neo-Confucianism by many people in the history of Confucianism. It is characterized by absorbing some thoughts such as Buddhism and Taoism and establishing its own set of ideological system. It establishes a conceptual thing-"rationality". This is the biggest difference from pre-Qin Confucianism.

Since Dong Zhongshu put forward that "one hundred schools of thought should be deposed and Confucianism should be the only one", Confucianism has become the most influential theory in China. Confucianism is of great significance to the governance of modern society and the development and cultivation of individuals. In addition, the ideas advocated by Confucianism contribute to the peace and development of the modern world society, conform to the theme of the current historical process, and have guiding significance for the development of China's ideology and culture.