Confucius 4

Confucianism, the philosophical system founded on the teaching of Confucius, who lived from 551 BC to 479 BC, dominated Chinese sociopolitical life for most of the Chinese history and largely influenced the cultures of Korea, Japan, and Indochina. The Confucian school functioned as a recruiting ground for government positions, which were filled by those scoring highest on examinations in the Confucian classics. It also blended with popular and important religions and became the vehicle for presenting Chinese …

…His commentaries on the four scriptures of Confucianism were required study for the imperial civil service examinations. From the beginning of the 1200's to about 1949 and the communist era in China, Confucianism was the belief that told the peasants of China that the mandate of heaven said that emperors were to rule the Chinese Empire. Because of this philosophy, westerners often viewed the Chinese lifestyle as odd and referred to the Chinese officials as inscrutable.