Confucianism was developed from the teachings of the Chinese philosopher Confucius, born in 551 BC. Troubled by the corruption and moral decline he saw around him, Confucius came to believe that the way to restore a healthy society was to turn people back to the moral principles of antiquity found in the ancient classics.
Deeply concerned with conduct and the interrelated duties of ruler and ruled, parents and children, old and young, Confucius taught that proper action is based on the five virtues of kindness, uprightness, decorum, wisdom, and faithfulness. Confucians believed that virtue was simply the right and proper way of doing things.
Although it never existed as an established religion, Confucianism became the official ideology of the Chinese State. From the Han dynasty onwards, Chinese education was almost exclusively Confucian and was designed to prepare young men for government service. This created a powerful class of bureaucrats and scholars, all trained in Confucian philosophy, who shaped much of Chinese history.
Painting and the closely allied art of calligraphy were part of the official educational program. Every educated person was a connoisseur of painting and calligraphy, and, as a consequence, China produced the largest class of amateur artists of any civilization. These so-called literati or scholar paintings are among China's most beautiful works of art and directly influenced the development of ink painting in Japan.
The stoic conservatism of Confucianism became part of the national psyche. Under the influence of Confucianism, China developed a harmonious community life, an admiration for learning and wisdom, and a quiet stable culture which made Chinese civilization strong enough to survive every invasion and to remold every invader in its own image.
Confucianism spread to both Korea and Japan, especially to the ruling and scholarly classes, who absorbed and adopted Confucian thought. During the Edo period in Japan, Confucianism was the official philosophy of the ruling shoguns.