Confucianism, is born in the Spring and Autumn Period, one of the hundred schools of thought, founded by Confucius a kind of thought and philosophy, born from the Zhou rites, with "benevolence, forgiveness, integrity, loyalty and filial piety" as the values of the school, pay attention to personal moral cultivation, advocate education and benevolent government, advocate benevolence and virtue of governing the country, and standardize people's words and deeds with "etiquette". Since Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty advocated "overthrowing the hundred schools of thought and respecting Confucianism alone", it was combined with the "Legalist" idea of governing the country, and gradually carried forward, forming a complete set of governing theories and norms for all social strata, and its ideas penetrated into the entire Han cultural circle, and were greatly respected and had a far-reaching impact.
Confucius, as the founder of Confucianism, was called "the most holy teacher of Dacheng" by later generations, advocating "benevolence, righteousness, courtesy, wisdom, and faith", and his main remarks were edited into the Analects by ** and re-transmission**. Confucianism, founded by Confucius, is a complete set of ideological, educational, philosophical, and political theories. Ideologically, benevolence is the core, emphasizing benevolence and benevolence; Righteousness is morality and justice; Etiquette is the norm of behavior and etiquette to maintain social order; wisdom, cultivating the morality and character of a gentleman, emphasizing the "six arts of a gentleman"; Faith is honesty and trustworthiness. In terms of education, Confucius advocated "education without class", moral education first, teaching students according to their aptitude, the unity of knowledge and action, and the application of learning, and advocated that "etiquette, music, archery, royalty, calligraphy, and mathematics" are not nerds who blindly require to read dead books and dead books, but comprehensive talents who can develop in an all-round way. Philosophically, Confucius advocated the "golden mean", emphasizing balance, harmony, impartiality, and knowing how to be flexible, not sticking to dogma. Politically, Confucius advocated "Zhou etiquette", cherished the memory of Zhou Gong, and advocated the rule of virtue and etiquette, with government decrees and punishments secondary. And Confucius was a rationalist, focusing on reality, "the son does not speak, strange forces and confusion".
Dong Zhongshu, as a representative of Confucianism in the Han Dynasty, was a famous Confucian scholar, thinker, and politician in history, who proposed to Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty to "depose a hundred schools of thought and respect Confucianism alone", combined Confucian theory with Legalism, laid the mainstream idea of "Confucianism" in the feudal imperial period, and put forward the doctrines of "Three Principles and Five Constants" and "Heaven and Man Induction". Dong Zhongshu centered on Confucianism, suggested that the power of princes and generals should be weakened in the way of "weak branches" and "small ends", combined with the five elements of yin and yang and the three outlines and five constants of Legalism to form the basis of a unified Confucianism, and used "heaven and man induction" to prove the legitimacy of the monarchy and restrain the monarch's behavior to a certain extent. Confucianism headed by Dong Zhongshu, with the support of the feudal emperor, quickly became the mainstream Confucianism, which met the ruling needs of the feudal imperial society and had a huge impact on later generations.
In a feudal imperial society, ideology serves politics, and the starting point of all its affairs is to maintain the rule of the feudal emperor over the country and the control over the people. From the open-minded Confucianism of the pre-Qin era to the "rotten Confucianism" thought of later generations, Confucianism has undergone a set of changes to serve feudal rule, until Cheng Zhu Lixue of Zhu Xi of the Song Dynasty put forward the idea of "preserving heavenly principles and destroying human desires", and this series of changes can give a glimpse of the attitude of the rulers of the feudal imperial era towards the people and the country.