Confucius was the most influential thinker and educationist in Chinese history.

•One clear autumn day in 551BC (the 22 nd year of the reign of Duke Xiang of Lu), just as the sun was rising, a baby‘s cry echoed from a hollow on Mount Ni ( 25 km southeast of Qufu city, in present –day Shandong Province).There is still a hollow there named after the baby, who became known to the world as Confucius.

Confucius's father Shuliang He, a general of the State of Lu , had a wife and a concubine before marrying Confucius' mother. His wife gave birth to nine daughters, and the son his concubine gave birth to had a deformed foot, and so was disqualified from hosting the ancestral rites. At the age of 60, anxious to have a son who would take the place of him after he passed away, Shuliang He married Yan Zhengzai, at 15, the youngest daughter of the distinguished Yan family. Zhengzai gave birth to Confucius. Legend has it that the baby was so ugly that it was abandoned in the hollow on Mount Ni, and when his mother found him a tiger was feeding him, phoenixes were shading him form the sun and a flock of crows were wheeling in the sky, singing.

•When Confucius was three years old, his father died. On his deathbed, he urged Yan Zhengzai to move back to her parents' home. He was well aware that his first wife was jealous of the youngest concubine, especially after she gave birth to a son. On the excuse that Confucius' ugliness would bring harm to his father, she bullied the mother and son mercilessly.

•In his childhood, Confucius often went to the Temple of Duke Zhou with his playmates to watch the sacrificial rites. The temple was the ancestral temple of the State of Lu , located one kilometer north-west of Qufu , Shandong Province.

Confucius liked to arrange imitation sacrificial vessels in the yard of his home and perform the sacrificial rites under the instruction of his mother. His mother also taught him to read and write, explained to him The Book of Changes (an ancient book of divination), and told him stories about Duke Zhou. Confucius dreamed of becoming a person like Duke Zhou when he grew up.

•Confucius' mother broke in health from years of overwork. On her deathbed, she urged Confucius to become a man of great talent. Confucius buried his mother in the same grave as his father's at Fangshan (25 li east of Qufu and also called Lianggong Grove). In the course of looking for his father's tomb, Confucius got to know that he was the son of a scholar official, which gave him a great sense of personal worth, as this meant that he too could enter the official circles.

•Confucius lost his father at the age of three and his mother at 17. Despite his educational attainments, he was first employed in minor posts. He says himself in the Analects of Confucius : “I was poor and humble when I was young, and I learned many humble crafts in order to make a living.”

Confucius herded cows for the Shusun family, under the condition that he could read their books. He was also at one time a musician employed to perform at weddings and funerals.

•At that time, there were generally two types of people who would go into politics: common people without hereditary privileges; and sons of hereditary officials. Confucius put it this way: Those who study the rites and music before taking office are from humble families, while those who take office before studying the rites and music are from noble families. Were I to choose between the two, I would prefer the former. By saying" I devoted myself to learning at 15"; he meant that he started to learn the rites and music, which were necessary for entering the ranks of the upper class.