What influence has Confucius had？

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Confucius is the most famous sage of China.More than any other single man，he，through his followers，produced the principle basis of the Chinese tradition of ethics and political theory that had thus deeply influenced Chinese society and culture.Over the centuries，this influence spread also to Korea，Japan and other countries.

Confucianism is wholly considered more of an ethical philosophy than a religion.

However，it is debatable if the system founded by Confucius should be called a religion.It prescribes a great deal of ritual，but little of this can be interpreted as worship or meditation in a formal sense，and Confucius occasionally made statements about the existence of other-worldly beings that sound agnostic to western ears.

Why did Emperor Wudi make Confucianism the orthodox philosophy of the Han Dynasty？

The Han rulers founded a unified dynasty.They felt the need of a philosophy that could guide and strengthen their rule.In the previous short-lived Qin Dynasty，the first emperor who unified the country had made an attempt to unify thought.He had given orders that books be burnt，scholars buried alive，and that people be prohibited from the study of anything other than the laws then in force.However，the Qin Dynasty was toppled only fifteen years after he founded it and various schools of thought were again active.This made the Han rulers realize that they needed to unify thought along different lines.70 years after the founding of theHan Dynasty，Emperor Wudi called on scholars to present suggestions for effective government.Dong Zhongshu（179BC.-104BC.）presented three memorials to the emperor，suggesting that Confucianism be made the official orthodox philosophy，and that all other schools of thought be discredited.

The emperor decided to accept this suggestion，and this decision had a tremendous influence on the development of Chinese culture for it put Confucianism into a dominant position.From then on，in the civil service examination system of most dynasties of ancient China，it was compulsory for candidates to study Confucianism for imperial government positions.