Confucianism, based on the etiquette of the five religions in Xia, Shang and Zhou Dynasties, was founded by Yao and Shun, with Confucius as the forerunner and Shinto as the teaching in the Spring and Autumn Period. Confucian orthodoxy began with Emperor Wudi's exclusive respect for Confucianism. Emperor Ling of the Han Dynasty ordered the publication of the Five Classics of Confucianism on stone tablets as a reference for the three-body calligraphy of ancient prose, seal script and official script, which made the world salty, thus officially making Confucianism the state religion, and the Five Classics became the legal basis of the national code and the Chinese legal system, and was sentenced to prison in the Spring and Autumn Period. At the end of Han Dynasty, Confucianism was widely spread. "squire inherited from Xu Xu, learned from Confucianism all over the world, and studied with Ouyang Shangshu and Jing Yi. Scholars come from afar, covering more than 3,000. " Confucianism has been regarded as the official school since the Han Dynasty, and all the major dynasties or historical periods since then have been the official guiding ideology.
Since modern times, China's scientific and technological civilization and military strength have gradually fallen behind western countries. In order to survive and develop, the people of China participated in the Reform Movement of 1898 and the Revolution of 1911. At the same time, they had a strong suspicion of Confucianism and launched a criticism. After the founding of the People's Republic of China 19 12, there were differences on whether to redefine Confucianism as a national thought. From the early years of the Republic of China, Kang Youwei's Confucian movement advocated the separation of Confucianism from state bureaucrats, allowing everyone to worship heaven and Confucius according to the Christian model, because "since the peace of * * *, the education has declined, the precepts have been swept away, the road has fallen, the law and order have been bad, and customs and habits have changed. Once it is exhausted, the harm of folk customs for 5,000 years is not extreme. " Revolutionary advocates no longer respect Confucianism, but Kang Youwei, Chen Huanzhang and others established the Confucius Church and called for it to be the "state religion", which was supported by President Yuan Shikai. Later, because Yuan Shikai failed to proclaim himself emperor, the Episcopal Movement also fell silent. However, Chen Kang continued to spread Confucianism among the people and created some religious rituals. At the same time, a group of scholars, led by Xue Heng School, think that traditional Confucianism can adapt to modern civilization through renewal, but they try to reinterpret Confucian classics from a modern point of view and create "new Confucianism". Neo-Confucianism is different from that of Kang Youwei and Chen Huanzhang.
China's ancient religious Confucianism coexisted with ancient Taoism, and Taoism was established in the Eastern Han Dynasty. From Confucianism to Qing Dynasty, Confucianism was divided into three schools: Confucius Institute (1909), Confucius Temple (19 12) and Confucius Institute (1930).