Confucius

Born 551 BC

Between 800 and 200 BCE, transformative thinkers appear almost simultaneously across disconnected civilizations: Confucius in China, the Buddha in India, Zor…

• ~600 BCE

  Axial Age: simultaneous philosophical revolutions

  Between 800 and 200 BCE, transformative thinkers appear almost simultaneously across disconnected civilizations: Confucius in China, the Buddha in India, Zoroaster in Persia, and Socrates in Greece. Philosopher Karl Jaspers called it the "Axial Age"—an era that still shapes how humanity thinks about ethics, spirit, and society.

• 551 BCE

  Confucius born

  Influential Chinese philosopher.

• ~500 BCE

  Confucianism shapes East Asia

  Confucius teaches that social harmony depends on proper relationships, ritual propriety, and virtuous rulers. His ideas—collected in the Analects—become the official ideology of Chinese imperial government for 2,000 years and spread throughout Korea, Japan, and Vietnam.

• 479 BCE

  Confucius dies

  His teachings spread through disciples.