Ancient philosopher from China. His common English name is a corruption of his actual name, Kongfuzi. The best historical records tell us that he lived from 551-479 BC. Unfortunately, the Western perspective on this great philosopher has been totally ruined by fortune cookies. Confucius and his second-generation disciple, Mencius, are the primary originators of Confucianism. It is ironic that this great educator of statesmen was never able to actually attain any kind of high position in a Chinese kingdom. Only after his death did his philosopohy come into vogue. It was during the Han Dynasty in China that Confucianism became the state philosophy.