Culture Insider: How Confucianism shaped China

Chinese people consider filial piety as a basic ethic. This picture shows a woman with her baby helping her paralyzed father-in-law go out for walk. [Photo/CFP]

In ethics, Confucianism advocates humanness, righteousness, proper rite, knowledge, integrity, loyalty, filial piety, etc. This gentleman, or junzi, philosophy has become the standard of many Chinese people, especially intellectuals. Also filial piety has become a common norm among Chinese people. But some later philosophers developed the thought as a strict caste system that an official must obey the king and a son must obey the father, which distorted Confucius intention.