Confucius was a disciple of Lao-Tze (the founder of Taoism) but left to start his own school very similar to Taoism in respect to it being a system of morality that adapts to any religion, but the main difference is Confucius believe the highest goal is the morality of the individual or “Jen.” Also referred to as social virtue. As apposed to Lao-Tze who taught the highest goal is union with the Tao. Confucianism was founded around 551 BC. There is no mention of priests, God or the afterlife.

The main books for Confucianism are written by disciples of Confucius and not by Confucius himself.

1. The Confucian Analects. Written by his pupils, these 20 books are the Bible of Confucianism. These are conversations between the Teacher and his disciples.
2. Lun Yu, and Meng Tzu, the Philosophy of Mencius, contains various questions, advice to rulers of feudal states, psychology, political theory and economics.
3. Ta-Hsueh, the Great Learning or learning for adults, it is a politico-ethical treatise
4. Chung Yung, The Doctrine of the Mean, it was written by Kung Chi, a grandson of Confucius. It is a purely philosophical book. It treats of some general principles that concern the nature of mean and right conduct