Where Confucianism came into the limelight

The system of Li largely rises to a peaceful and prosperous Zhou Dynasty where people meticulously observed their social obligations.

Hundreds of years later, Confucius(551-479 BC) made every effort to restore the Zhou social-political culture with his philosophy, but no states found it appealing and he failed to fulfill his political ideal in his lifetime.

Xi’an, the then capital Chang’an and now capital city of Shaanxi, was the historic venue where Confucianism came into the limelight.

During the reign of emperor Wudi(156-87 BC), the Han was highly prosperous and had advanced agriculture.

Funerary objects found during the excavation of some Han tombs—pottery replicas of wells,kitchen ranges, storehouses, domestic animals like cattle, sheep, and pigs and iron implements like ploughs—all indicate the profound legacies the Han Dynasty left, which have affected the nation’s farming even to this day.

To consolidate his rule and unify the country in terms of ideology, Emperor Wudi accepted the advice of Dong zhongshu, an ardent Confucian follower, to promote Confucianism as the dominant thought.

The thought was also spread with the opening of Confucian schools nationwide. The unearthed tiles in the Han tombs still bear the inscription focusing on Confucian creeds like “Benevolence and Loyalty”.

For the past 2,000 years, Confucianism has had a far-reaching influence on China and helped determine the course of the nation.