Confucius, China’s most famous teacher and philosopher, was born Kongqiu in 551 BCE near Qufu, in eastern China. Confucius showed a great interest     1     academics early on. “At 15, I set my heart on     2     (learn),” he later told his followers. He studied music, mathematics, the classics, history, and more.

Confucius believed that education and reflection led to virtue. He once worked for the government, but     3     (find) far greater success as a teacher instead. Confucius broke with tradition in the    4     (believe) that all human beings could benefit from education. He gave his support for lifelong learning and attracted     5     wide circle of followers, who knew his as Kongfuzi (Master Kong). Those pupils recorded his     6     (word) in The Analects, a collection of sayings and ideas.

As stated in The Analects, Confucius believed that social harmony would     7     (natural) follow from the proper ordering of individuals in relation to one another, with the family unit as the basic building block of society.

Confucius     8     (ignore) largely in his own day. When he died in 479 BCE, he left behind perhaps 3,000 students, who devoted themselves to preserving and spreading     9     (they) master’s ideas. The Analects has guided governments and individuals for thousands of years, influencing Chinese history     10     civilization in the process.