The Impact Confucius Had on the Development of Chinese Thought and Culture Confucianism has been a part of Chinese culture for over a thousand years. Many who have studied Confucianism would say that it is not a religion. It is best described as a philosophy or moral code. The philosophy of Confucianism derives primarily from the speeches and writings of Confucius, a great Chinese thinker and educator. He believed that humanity, ritual, neutrality, virtue, education, and cultivation were the basis of human behavior. Furthermore, Confucius believed that this philosophy was the best way for people to behave and interact with others in society. Confucius, (551-479 BC), the Chinese social philosopher, was best known for creating one of the world's oldest philosophies, Confusianism. It has provided stability to the Chinese imperial system for over two thousand years and has been the official philosophy of China. (136 BC-1991). (Huang, 2013) Although it has many followers it is not a religion. According to Judith A. Berling, author of the book Focus on Asian Studies, “it was built on ancient religious foundations intended to establish the social values, institutions and transcendent ideals of traditional Chinese society.” (Berling, 2013) Confucius was born in 551 BC in Lu, China. Interestingly, the name Confucius was given to him by Jesuit missionaries years later. He was a very intelligent child and liked to learn. He married at the age of 19 and at 35 worked as a minor official. However, after realizing that he would never reach a higher position, he left Lu, hoping that he could find a place that would give him the government position he desired. He traveled for 10 years in northern China, but the position he desired eluded him. After returning to...... middle of the paper ......tp://afe.easia.columbia.edu/cosmos/irc/classics.htmBerling, J,A. (2013). Confucianism. Retrieved from http://asiasociety.org/countries/religions-philosophies/confucianism?page=0,1 Bentley, J.H., Ziegler, H.F.(2011). Traditions and meetings (Vol. 1). (5th ed.). [Custom edition for UMUC]. New York, NY: McGraw Hill. Clasquin-Johnson, M. (2009). Confucianism: the way of the gentleman. Retrieved from http://cnx.org/content/m23189/latest/ Huang, Y. (2013). The Return of Confucianism to China: Legitimacy and Governance of the Chinese Communist Party. Fudan Journal of the Humanities & Social Sciences, 6(1),33-61.McArthur, M. (2012). Confucius: a king without a throne. Open road vehicles. New York, NY: Pegusus Books Watkins, T. (2013). The Warring States Period of Ancient China: 480 BC to 221 BC Retrieved from http://www.sjsu.edu/faculty/watkins/warringstates.htm