According to legend, the appearance of a Ch'i Lin or a unicorn foretold the birth of Confucius. It is said that the unicorn held in its mouth a jade tablet inscribed with the prophecy, "A child as pure as crystal will be born for the continuation of the declining Chou, to become a king without a kingdom.{Crofts 3}"
             Indeed the restoration to the glory of the Chou Dynasty was to be a lifelong crusade of Confucius, more properly known as K'ung Ch'iu, who was born in 551 BC, in Tsou, a small town in the state of Lu in what is today the Shantung Providence. His father, Shu -Liang He, a former magistrate and warrior of some repute, married the mother of Confucius, Yen Cheng Tsai, said to be descended from Po Ch'in, the elder son of the Duke of Chou, surnamed Chi.
             Growing up as he did in poverty, Confucius viewed the world from a practical perspective. Since he lost his father at such a young age he was in effect raised by his mother, and was obligated to work several jobs to support his family. At different stages of his life, the man who would one day be revered as the greatest Chinese philosopher, held positions as shepherd, cowherd, clerk and book-keeper.
             At age fifteen Confucius had resolved to devote his energy to the pursuit of learning and perhaps already knew in his heart that he would stir the spirit of reform. At twenty-two he initiated what was said to be the first private school, talking to those who listened about his ideas on personal conduct, government and justice by law. Perhaps the most important was his growing conviction of the value of education for the people. He believed that comprehensive education made for a complete man, and he placed as much store by the moral aspects of education as by the literary aspects. Confucius gave his students practical teachings in six arts- rituals, writing, archery, chariot driving, and mathematics. He was a man of formidable eloquence, enlightened beyond his time o...