Confucianism Philosophy and system of government based on the ideas of Confucius (K’ung Fu-tze, approximately 551-479BC), a Chinese political philosopher. In addition to dominating Chinese government and philosophy until the end of the empire in 1911, Confucianism influenced all of the East Asian and many Southeast Asian nations, including Japan after the 7th century AD. In the Edo period, a form of Confucianism called Neo-Confucianism was adopted by the Tokugawa family and shogunate as their preferred or orthodox philosophy. It dominated political and social thought during the period with its emphasis on loyalty, social structure and social order.
