Who they were
Born in the state of Lu, at modern Qufu in Shandong, he lived in the Spring and Autumn period and worked as a teacher, accepting students regardless of birth.
What they did
His core teachings were ren (humaneness), li (ritual propriety), filial piety, and government by moral example rather than punishment. His political career failed, and he wandered between states seeking a ruler who would employ his ideas. After his death, his disciples compiled his sayings as the Analects.
Legacy
Confucianism became the state ideology of the Han dynasty, and the civil-service examinations tested the Confucian classics until 1905. East Asia as a whole bears the mark of his thought.