Rúism (儒家, Rújiā),¹⁾ commonly known as Confucianism, is a Chinese religion and philosophy, founded by Confucius (孔夫子, Kǒng Fūzǐ), which was preserved by the Four Books and Five Classics. It is one of the three teachings, along with Buddhism and Daoism.

The primary themes of Rúism are civility, connections, and social harmony, which led to the belief that it would help people (e.g. politicians) make ethical and moral decisions. This is why Imperial China had made it a prerequisite for civil service careers through the imperial examination system, becoming a huge influence in the Sinosphere, and it went unchallenged for two millennia until the century of humiliation.

“子曰：「見賢思齊焉，見不賢而內自省也。」”
“Confucius said, 'When we see good people, we should consider emulating them. When we see bad people, we should check ourselves and see if we have those faults.'”
– Analects (Book 4, Chapter 17)

“子不語：怪、力、亂、神。”
“Confucius would never discuss anomalies, strength, unrest, or the supernatural.”
– Analects (Book 7, Chapter 20)²⁾

“子曰：「譬如爲山，未成一簣，止，吾止也！譬如平地，雖覆一簣，進，吾往也！」 ”
“Confucius said, 'For example, consider mound building. If I need to carry a single bucket of soil, but I stop, then the stoppage is my doing. On the other hand, consider terrain leveling. It may require a bucket of soil at a time, but if I empty more, then the advancement is my doing.'”
– Analects (Book 9, Chapter 19)

“曰：「無恆產而有恆心者，惟士為能。若民，則無恆產，因無恆心。苟無恆心，放辟邪侈，無不為已。及陷於罪，然後從而刑之，是罔民也。焉有仁人在位，罔民而可為也？”
“Mencius replied, 'A person with no steady livelihood and a fixed heart can only become a 'shi' (士). If the people lack a steady livelihood, they won't have a fixed heart. If they don't have a fixed heart, nothing will stop them from committing criminal, evil, and selfish acts. If they're caught guilty under these circumstances, you would just be entrapping them. How can such a 'benevolent' ruler treat people this way?'”
– Mencius (Liang Huiwang)³⁾

“It does not matter how slow you go so long as you do not stop.”
– Possible reinterpretation of Analects (Book 9, Chapter 19)

“It is easy to hate and it is difficult to love. This is how the whole scheme of things works. All good things are difficult to achieve and bad things are very easy to get.”
– Unverified source

“İyi insanlar daima kaybederler, Çünkü adil dövüşürler, İyi insanlar daima kaybederler, Çünkü dürüsttürler, İyi insanlar daima kaybederler, Çünkü kazanmayı önemsemezler.”
“Good people always lose because they fight fairly. Good people always lose because they're honest. Good people always lose because they don't care about winning.”
– Unverified source

Since the century of humiliation, Rúism took the brunt of Imperial China's failures and gathered the reputation of being a 'conservative' or 'despotic' ideology. Rúism has also been criticized for their views on women, being such a huge influence on kinships and outlining a social code, so it's often cited as a root cause for gender inequality in China and South Korea.

• This is the main reason why a number of Chinese insults and profanity are aimed at one's mother.
• If you hate either of your parents or the idea of gender roles, then this probably isn't for you.
• Despite everything, the Temple of Confucius across China, not just the temple in Qufu, have remained a popular destination for students to pray for luck on their exams.⁴⁾⁵⁾⁶⁾
• Honestly, I can't take Rúism seriously after hearing that it was the 'city slicker' equivalent to Daoism, though I do intend to sift through the divination-heavy Yijing at some point.