To start with, it is worth mentioning some interesting facts about the foundations and nucleation of both Legalism and Confucianism, as it is almost impossible to evaluate properly the importance of this or that philosophy without investigating thoroughly its origin, causes and conditions of its nucleation and so on and so forth.
Confucianism is the teaching of Confucius, whose Chinese name was Kung, however his followers called him Master Kung (Kung Fu-tse in Chinese), and therefore we know this very historical figure as Confucius (as it was easier to spell and understand, especially for Western people). He was born in 551 B.C. and he was of an aristocratic origin. However, his family was pour, as they lost all their goods and chattels. In his early years, he lost his father who was said to be a glorious warrior. Kung tried himself on a minor governmental office and then he worked as a teacher and succeeded a lot, as soon he was famous as one of the best and well-educated teachers in China. When he was approximately 50 years old, he occupied the office of Prime Minister. However, even if his ruling was close to ideal, he had a great amount of enemies and they forced him to retire at the age of 55. Till the end of his life, Confucius was in disfavor and even confined in jail. However, he was able to create a new philosophy, a new style of living, which was the leading one in China …