Abstract
"Confucius". This name rings a bell for everybody in the world. It reminds China, of a philosophy, a way of life or even a religion. The Chinese philosopher, better known in China as "Kongfuzi", was born in 551 BC and died in 479 BC. Confucius's life has been the object study of several writers, especially Sima Qian, who wrote the most "realistic" biography during the first century BC. In fact, most writers consider Confucius as a supernatural being, whose life had been punctuated by extraordinary events. His father died when he was a little child. He then learnt the rites, music, writing, history, poetry, and mathematics, and started teaching after his mother's death. He achieved the position of a State employee and Secretary of Justice, a domain in which he showed his good sense. He met leaders of other regions with his disciples, suggesting his ideas, but though those ideas where well appreciated, no leader really implemented them in practice. Confucius then came back to his country at 68 and died at 72. During his life, he gave birth to what is nowadays called "Confucianism", a major system of thinking not only in China, but also in Japan and Vietnam. Though Confucianism became the main ideology in China, it cannot be considered a religion, since Confucius has always been considered a wise man, and not divinity.
