Confucianism

Confucianism
Family	East Asian / Chinese
Origin region	China
Founding period	6th-5th century BCE and later classical development
Estimated adherents	Often counted as a philosophy, ethical-religious tradition, or civilizational system rather than a membership religion.

Confucianism is An East Asian ethical, ritual, and social tradition associated with Confucius, focused on humane conduct, learning, family, and social harmony.

Overview

Confucianism has shaped Chinese, Korean, Japanese, Vietnamese, and global East Asian cultures. It emphasizes moral cultivation, ritual propriety, filial piety, humane governance, education, and reverence for ancestors and sages.

Key beliefs

Ren or humane goodness
Li or ritual propriety
Xiao or filial piety
Moral cultivation through learning
Harmony between family, society, and cosmos

Practices

Ancestor rites
Study of classics
Ritual observance
Ethical self-cultivation
Commemoration of Confucius and sages

Places of worship

Confucian temple
Ancestral hall
Family altar

Sacred texts

Analects
Mencius
Great Learning
Doctrine of the Mean
Five Classics

Holidays and observances

Confucius birthday commemorations
Ancestor observances
Local ritual calendars

Branches and related traditions

Classical Confucianism - Teachings associated with Confucius, Mencius, Xunzi, and early classical texts.
Neo-Confucianism - Song dynasty and later developments integrating metaphysics, self-cultivation, and social ethics.
New Confucianism - Modern intellectual movements reinterpreting Confucian thought for contemporary life.