r was
powerless, the various vassal states were independent in all but name,
and often at war one with the other. These states again were
disintegrated, and their rulers impotent against encroaching
feudatories. In Confucius' native state, Lu, the duke was a mere
shadow. The younger branches of his house had usurped all power. Three
in number, they were called the Three Clans. The most important of the
three was the Chi, or Chi-sun clan, whose chiefs Chi Huan and Chi
K'ang are often mentioned by Confucius. But the power of the Chi, too,
was ill-secured. The minister Yang Huo overawed his master, and once
even threw him into prison. Nor was the condition of the other states
of the empire better than that of Lu. Confucius thought it worse.

Into this turbulent world Confucius was born. Though his father was
only a poor military officer, he could trace his descent from the
imperial house of Yin. Confucius married at nineteen, and is known to
have had one son and one daughter. Shortly after his marriage he
entered the service of the state as keeper of the granary. A year
later he was put in charge of the public fields. In 527 B.C. his
mother died, and, in obedience to Chinese custom, he had to retire
from public life. When the years of mourning were over, he did not
again take office, but devoted himself instead to study and teaching.
As the years rolled by his fame grew, and a band of pupils gathered
round him. In 517 B.C. the anarchy in Lu reached such a pitch that
Confucius moved to the neighbouring land of Ch'i. Here he had several
interviews with the reigning duke, but met with little encouragement
(xviii. 3). So he soon returned to his native country, and resumed for
fifteen years his work as student and teacher.

During these fifteen years the power of the duke sank lower and lower,
and the Chi was menaced by his minister Yang Huo. In times so dark,
men that loved quiet sought in the world of thought an escape from the
gloom around them, whilst others that were less resigned turned over
in their minds the causes of the realm's decay. Lao-tzu, the founder
of the mystic Taoist philosophy, taught that in inaction alone peace
can be found; Mo-tzu proclaimed the doctrine of universal love: that
we should love all men as we love self, love the parents of others as
we love our own parents. Upright men were driven or fled from the
world. Confucius often met them in his wanderings, and was reproved
for not doing as they did