The Economic Principles of Confucius and His School

and more widely diffused. Moreover, in such a struggle, everyone had absolute freedom of movement and of speech. It was a condition very favorable to the development of the minds of the people.

Such was the time in which Confucius was born. But the birthplace of Confucius was no less important than his time. His family had settled in the state of Lu, which was the state of the Duke of Chou. As the Duke himself remained with the imperial government, he gave the administration of his estate over to his son, who conducted it according to his father’s principles and under his direction. Lu had become the center of Chinese civilization. About Confucius’s time, Lu, although subordinate to the great states in military force, was supreme in art, literature, philosophy, and morality.

Among Confucius’s ancestors was Ch’êng T’ang, the founder of the Yin dynasty (1215–1203 B.K. or 1766–1754 B.C.). After the fall of this dynasty, Wei Tzŭ, brother of the fallen emperor, was enfeoffed by Chou Ch’êng Wang in the dukedom of Sung. The tenth ancestor of Confucius resigned his dukedom to his younger brother, and thus it passed out of the direct line of Confucius. Five generations later, K’ung-fu Chia, the sixth ancestor of Confucius, invented the surname of K’ung from his adult designation indicating separation from the house of the duke in conformity with the ancient custom. On account of some political trouble, the great-grandfather of Confucius fled from Sung to the state of Lu and became mayor in the city of Fang. Confucius’s father, Shu-liang Ho, was mayor in the city of Tsou and distinguished himself as a brave soldier. Since on reaching the age of sixty-four he had no heir who could be his successor, he was obliged to marry a young girl, Yen Chêng-tsai, who became the mother of Confucius.

The year of Confucius’s birth, according to the Commen-