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The Most Famous

PHILOSOPHERS from China

This page contains a list of the greatest Chinese Philosophers. The pantheon dataset contains 1,081 Philosophers, 43 of which were born in China. This makes China the birth place of the 9th most number of Philosophers behind Turkey and India.

Top 10

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the top 10 most legendary Chinese Philosophers of all time. This list of famous Chinese Philosophers is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography’s online popularity. Visit the rankings page to view the entire list of Chinese Philosophers.

1. Confucius (-551 - -479)

With an HPI of 91.76, Confucius is the most famous Chinese Philosopher. His biography has been translated into 217 different languages on wikipedia.

Confucius (孔子; pinyin: Kǒngzǐ; lit. 'Master Kong'; c. 551 – c. 479 BCE), born Kong Qiu (孔丘), was a Chinese philosopher of the Spring and Autumn period who is traditionally considered the paragon of Chinese sages. Confucius's teachings and philosophy underpin the East Asian culture and society, and remain influential across China and East Asia to this day. His philosophical teachings, called Confucianism, emphasized personal and governmental morality, correctness of social relationships, justice, kindness, sincerity, and a ruler's responsibilities to lead by virtue. Confucius considered himself a transmitter for the values of earlier periods which he claimed had been abandoned in his time. He advocated for filial piety, endorsing strong family loyalty, ancestor veneration, the respect of elders by their children and of husbands by their wives. Confucius recommended a robust family unit as the cornerstone for an ideal government. He championed the Silver Rule, or a negative form of the Golden Rule, advising, "Do not do unto others what you do not want done to yourself." The time of Confucius's life saw a rich diversity of thought, and was a formative period in China's intellectual history. His ideas gained in prominence during the Warring States period, but experienced setback immediately following the Qin conquest. Under Emperor Wu of Han, Confucius's ideas received official sanction, with affiliated works becoming mandatory readings for career paths leading to officialdom. During the Tang and Song dynasties, Confucianism developed into a system known in the West as Neo-Confucianism, and later as New Confucianism. From ancient dynasties to the modern era, Confucianism has integrated into the Chinese social fabric and way of life. Traditionally, Confucius is credited with having authored or edited many of the ancient texts including all of the Five Classics. However, modern scholars exercise caution in attributing specific assertions to Confucius himself, for at least some of the texts and philosophy associated with him were of a more ancient origin. Aphorisms concerning his teachings were compiled in the Analects, but not until many years after his death.

2. Laozi (-604 - -600)

With an HPI of 81.11, Laozi is the 2nd most famous Chinese Philosopher. His biography has been translated into 141 different languages.

Laozi (, Chinese: 老子), also romanized as Lao Tzu and various other ways, was a semi-legendary ancient Chinese philosopher, author of the Tao Te Ching, the foundational text of Taoism along with the Zhuangzi. Laozi is a Chinese honorific, typically translated as "the Old Master". Modern scholarship generally regards his biographical details as invented, and his opus a collaboration. Traditional accounts say he was born as Li Er in the state of Chu in the 6th century BC during China's Spring and Autumn period, served as the royal archivist for the Zhou court at Wangcheng (in modern Luoyang), met and impressed Confucius on one occasion, and composed the Tao Te Ching in a single session before retiring into the western wilderness. A central figure in Chinese culture, Laozi is generally considered the founder of Taoism. He was claimed and revered as the ancestor of the 7th–10th century Tang dynasty and is similarly honored in modern China as the progenitor of the popular surname Li. In some sects of Taoism, Chinese Buddhism, Confucianism, and Chinese folk religion, it is held that he then became an immortal hermit. Certain Taoist devotees held that the Tao Te Ching was the avatar – embodied as a book – of the god Laojun, one of the Three Pure Ones of the Taoist pantheon, though few philosophers believe this. The Tao Te Ching had a profound influence on Chinese religious movements and on subsequent Chinese philosophers, who annotated, commended, and criticized the texts extensively. In the 20th century, textual criticism by modern historians led to theories questioning Laozi's timing or even existence, positing that the received text of the Tao Te Ching was not composed until the 4th century BC Warring States period, and was the product of multiple authors.

3. Sun Tzu (-544 - -496)

With an HPI of 80.47, Sun Tzu is the 3rd most famous Chinese Philosopher. Her biography has been translated into 105 different languages.

Sun Tzu ( soon DZOO, soon SOO; traditional Chinese: 孫子; simplified Chinese: 孙子; pinyin: Sūnzǐ) was a Chinese military general, strategist, philosopher, and writer who lived during the Eastern Zhou period (771–256 BC). Sun Tzu is traditionally credited as the author of The Art of War, an influential work of military strategy that has affected both Western and East Asian philosophy and military thought. Sun Tzu is revered in Chinese and East Asian culture as a legendary historical and military figure. His birth name was Sun Wu (traditional Chinese: 孫武; simplified Chinese: 孙武) and he was known outside of his family by his courtesy name Changqing (Chinese: 長卿). The name Sun Tzu—by which he is more popularly known—is an honorific which means "Master Sun". Sun Tzu mastered the military science of ancient China and created the military doctrine of asymmetrical warfare. According to it, an attack on the enemy should begin only after the enemy has no opportunity to either defend or counterattack. It was used in the wars in the era of the Warring States in ancient China (about 475–221 BC). It's not the direct interpretation of the modern asymmetric military strategy. The ancient warriors used to call it the Victorious Methods of Warfare – Sheng Er Zhan Zhi, but it has the same meaning as the modern asymmetrical military strategy. The ancient professional warriors used it in individual combats against the enemies in the wars. As a result, a variety of armed and unarmed combat combinations have been created for various combat situations as the individual battle plans. Those combat combinations had specific names, descriptions and classifications. Sun Tzu's historicity is uncertain. The Han dynasty historian Sima Qian and other traditional Chinese historians placed him as a minister to King Helü of Wu and dated his lifetime to 544–496 BC. Modern scholars accepting his historicity place the extant text of The Art of War in the later Warring States period of 475 to 221 BC, based on its style of composition and its descriptions of warfare. Traditional accounts state that the general's descendant Sun Bin wrote a treatise on military tactics, also titled The Art of War. Since both Sun Wu and Sun Bin were referred to as "Sun Tzu" in classical Chinese texts, some historians believed them identical, prior to the rediscovery of Sun Bin's treatise in 1972. Sun Tzu's work has been praised and employed throughout the arc of East Asian military history since its composition, and eventually earned global attention. During the twentieth century, The Art of War grew in popularity and saw practical use in the Western world as well. It remains influential in many contemporary competitive endeavors across the modern world beyond military strategy and warfare, including espionage, culture, governance, business, and sports.

4. Mencius (-372 - -289)

With an HPI of 74.23, Mencius is the 4th most famous Chinese Philosopher. His biography has been translated into 71 different languages.

Mencius ( MEN-shee-əs); born Meng Ke (Chinese: 孟軻); or Mengzi (Chinese: 孟子; 372–289 BC) was a Chinese Confucian philosopher who has often been described as the "second Sage" (亞聖), that is, second to Confucius himself. He is part of Confucius' fourth generation of disciples. Mencius inherited Confucius' ideology and developed it further. Living during the Warring States period, he is said to have spent much of his life travelling around the states offering counsel to different rulers. Conversations with these rulers form the basis of the Mencius, which would later be canonised as a Confucian classic. One primary principle of his work is that human nature is righteous and humane. The responses of citizens to the policies of rulers embodies this principle, and a state with righteous and humane policies will flourish by nature. The citizens, with freedom from good rule, will then allocate time to caring for their wives, brothers, elders, and children, and be educated with rites and naturally become better citizens. This placed him at odds with his near contemporary, Xunzi, who believed that human nature is evil by birth.

5. Zhuang Zhou (-369 - -286)

With an HPI of 74.19, Zhuang Zhou is the 5th most famous Chinese Philosopher. His biography has been translated into 68 different languages.

Zhuang Zhou (), commonly known as Zhuangzi (; Chinese: 莊子; literally "Master Zhuang"; also rendered in the Wade–Giles romanization as Chuang Tzu), was an influential Chinese philosopher who lived around the 4th century BCE during the Warring States period, a period of great development in Chinese philosophy, the Hundred Schools of Thought. He is credited with writing—in part or in whole—a work known by his name, the Zhuangzi, which is one of two foundational texts of Taoism, alongside the Tao Te Ching.

6. Mozi (-470 - -391)

With an HPI of 72.06, Mozi is the 6th most famous Chinese Philosopher. His biography has been translated into 54 different languages.

Mozi (; Chinese: 墨子; pinyin: Mòzǐ; Wade–Giles: Mo Tzu ; original name Mo Di (墨翟); Latinized as Micius; ; c. 470 – c. 391 BCE) was a Chinese philosopher, logician and essayist who founded the school of Mohism during the Hundred Schools of Thought period (the early portion of the Warring States period, c. 475–221 BCE). The ancient text Mozi contains material ascribed to him and his followers. Born in what is now Tengzhou, Shandong Province, Mozi founded the school of Mohism, which argued strongly against both Confucianism and Daoism. Mozi's philosophy emphasized universal love, social order, the will of heaven, sharing, and honoring the worthy. During the Warring States period, Mohism was actively developed and practiced in many states, but fell out of favor when the legalist Qin dynasty came to power in 221 BCE. During the Qin period, many Mohist classics are thought to have been destroyed when the emperor Qin Shi Huang supposedly carried out the burning of books and burying of scholars. The importance of Mohism further declined when Confucianism became the dominant school of thought during the Han Dynasty, disappearing almost entirely by the middle of the Western Han dynasty. Mozi is referenced in the Thousand Character Classic, which records that he was saddened when he saw the dyeing of pure white silk, which embodied his conception of austerity (i.e., simplicity and chastity). The concept of Love (愛) was developed by Mozi in the 4th century BCE in reaction to the Confucian concept of benevolent love. Mozi tried to replace what he considered to be the long-entrenched Chinese over-attachment to family and clan structures with the concept of "universal love" (兼愛, jiān'ài). In this, he argued directly against Confucians who believed that it was natural and correct for people to care about different people in different degrees. Mozi, by contrast, believed people in principle should care for all people equally. Mozi stressed that rather than adopting different attitudes towards different people, love should be unconditional and offered to everyone without regard to reciprocation, not just to friends, family and other Confucian relations. Later in Chinese Buddhism, the term Ai (愛) was adopted to refer to a passionate, caring love, and was considered a fundamental desire. In Buddhism, Ai was seen as capable of being either selfish or selfless, the latter being a key element in growth towards enlightenment. Mozi taught that everyone is equal in the eyes of heaven. He believed that the decision of who is in power should be based on meritocracy, or those who are worthy of power should receive power. Mozi invoked heaven and called upon the Sage Kings to support his precedents.

7. Zhu Xi (1130 - 1200)

With an HPI of 71.43, Zhu Xi is the 7th most famous Chinese Philosopher. His biography has been translated into 99 different languages.

Zhu Xi ([ʈʂú ɕí]; Chinese: 朱熹; October 18, 1130 – April 23, 1200), formerly romanized Chu Hsi, was a Chinese calligrapher, historian, philosopher, poet, and politician during the Song dynasty. Zhu was influential in the development of Neo-Confucianism. He contributed greatly to Chinese philosophy and fundamentally reshaped the Chinese worldview. His works include his editing of and commentaries to the Four Books (which later formed the curriculum of the civil service exam in Imperial China from 1313 to 1905), his writings on the process of the "investigation of things" (Chinese: 格物; pinyin: géwù), and his development of meditation as a method for self-cultivation. He was a scholar with a wide learning in the classics, commentaries, histories and other writings of his predecessors. In his lifetime he was able to serve multiple times as a government official, although he avoided public office for most of his adult life. He also wrote, compiled and edited almost a hundred books and corresponded with dozens of other scholars. He acted as a teacher to groups of students, many of whom chose to study under him for years. He built upon the teachings of the Cheng brothers and others; and further developed their metaphysical theories in regards to principle (li) and vital force (qi). His followers recorded thousands of his conversations in writing.

8. Han Fei (-280 - -232)

With an HPI of 69.21, Han Fei is the 8th most famous Chinese Philosopher. His biography has been translated into 52 different languages.

Han Fei (c. 280 – 233 BC), also known as Han Feizi or Han Fei Zi, was a Chinese Legalist philosopher and statesman during the Warring States period. He was a prince of the state of Han. Han Fei is often considered the greatest representative of Legalism for the Han Feizi, a later anthology of writings traditionally attributed to him, which synthesized the methods of his predecessors. Han Fei's ideas are sometimes compared with those of Niccolò Machiavelli, author of The Prince. Zhuge Liang is said to have attached great importance to the Han Feizi, as well as Shen Buhai. Sima Qian recounts that Qin Shi Huang went to war with the state of Han to obtain an audience with Han Fei, but was ultimately convinced to imprison him, whereupon he commits suicide. After the early demise of the Qin dynasty, the school was officially vilified by the Han dynasty that succeeded it. Despite its outcast status throughout the history of imperial China, Han Fei's political theory and the Legalist school continued to heavily influence every dynasty thereafter, and the Confucian ideal of rule without laws was never to be realized. Han Fei borrowed Shang Yang's emphasis on laws, Shen Buhai's emphasis on administrative technique, and Shen Dao's ideas on authority and prophecy, emphasizing that the autocrat will be able to achieve firm control over the state with the mastering of his predecessors' methodologies: his position of 'power' (勢 shì), 'technique' (術 shù), and 'law' (fa). He stressed the importance of the concept of holding actual outcome accountable to speech (刑名 xingming), coupled with the "two handles" system of punishment and reward, as well as wu wei ('non-exertion').

9. Xun Kuang (-313 - -238)

With an HPI of 68.48, Xun Kuang is the 9th most famous Chinese Philosopher. His biography has been translated into 54 different languages.

Xunzi (Chinese: 荀子, lit. 'Master Xun'; c. 310 – c. after 238 BCE), born Xun Kuang (Chinese: 荀況), was a Chinese philosopher of Confucianism during the late Warring States period. After his predecessors Confucius and Mencius, Xunzi is often ranked as the third great Confucian philosopher of antiquity. By his time, Confucianism had suffered considerable criticism from Daoist and Mohist thinkers, and Xunzi is traditionally regarded as a synthesizer of these traditions with earlier Confucian thought. The result was a thorough and cohesive revision of Confucianism, which was crucial to the philosophy's ability to flourish in the Han dynasty and throughout the later history of East Asia. His works were compiled in the eponymous Xunzi, and survive in excellent condition. Unlike other ancient compilations, his authorship of these texts is generally secure, though it is likely that Western Han Dynasty historian Liu Xiang organized them into their present form centuries after Xunzi's death. Born in the State of Zhao, Xunzi studied at the prestigious Jixia Academy, where he learned about every major philosophical tradition of his time. After his graduation, Xunzi traveled to Chu where he mastered poetry, and then returned to Qi as a highly regarded teacher at the academy. His students Han Fei and Li Si each had an important political and academic careers, though some of their Legalist sentiments were at odds with his philosophy. Other students such as Fuqiu Bo, Zhang Cang and Mao Heng authored important editions and commentaries on the Confucian classics. Later in his life worked in the court of Lord Chunshen, whose death he died sometime after. The constant warfare of his time informed his work profoundly, as did his interactions with leaders and witnessing the downfall of various states. Xunzi's writings respond to dozens of other thinkers, whom he often directly names and criticizes. His well-known notion that "Human nature is evil" has led many commentators to place him opposite of Mencius, who believed human nature was intrinsically good. Though like Mencius, Xunzi believed that education and ritual were the key to self-cultivation and thus the method to circumvent one's naturally foul nature. His definition of both concepts was loose, and he encouraged lifelong education and applied ritual to every aspect of life. Other important topics include the promotion of music and the careful application of names. Though he still cited the ancient sages, he differed from other Confucian philosophers by his insistence on emulating recent rulers rather than those of long ago. Repeated oversimplifications and misunderstandings on Xunzi's teachings, particularly his view on human nature, led to gradual dismissal and condemnation of his thought from the Tang dynasty onwards. By the rise of Neo-Confucianism in the 10th century, Mencius gradually upended Xunzi, particularly by the choice to include the Mencius in the Four Books. Since the 20th century, a reevaluation of Xunzi's doctrine has taken place in East Asia, leading to recognition of his profound impact and relevance to both his times and present day.

10. Milarepa (1052 - 1135)

With an HPI of 67.17, Milarepa is the 10th most famous Chinese Philosopher. His biography has been translated into 34 different languages.

Jetsun Milarepa (Tibetan: རྗེ་བཙུན་མི་ལ་རས་པ, Wylie: rje btsun mi la ras pa, 1028/40–1111/23) was a Tibetan siddha, who was famously known as a murderer when he was a young man, before turning to Buddhism and becoming a highly accomplished Buddhist disciple. He is generally considered one of Tibet's most famous yogis and spiritual poets, whose teachings are known among several schools of Tibetan Buddhism. He was a student of Marpa Lotsawa, and a major figure in the history of the Kagyu school of Tibetan Buddhism. He is also famous for the feat of climbing Mount Kailash.

People

Pantheon has 43 people classified as philosophers born between 720 BC and 1942. Of these 43, none of them are still alive today. The most famous deceased philosophers include Confucius, Laozi, and Sun Tzu. As of April 2022, 7 new philosophers have been added to Pantheon including Sun Tzu, Liu Bowen, and Tao Hongjing.