【答案解析】Confucius (Kong Zi) is one of China"s greatest thinkers and educationists. His teachings have become known as Confucianism and they continue to exert profound influence on today"s Chinese and Chinese communities all over the world.
Confucius was born in 551 BC in the state Lu, which is today"s Qufu in Shandong. He came from a noble family, so the young Confucius was able to receive a good education. Confucius was the first to start a private school which accepted students from all classes of the country.
Confucius died of illness in 479 BC. His basic teachings were collected into the Confucianism Classic — the Analects, by his students after his death.
Confucius spent his whole life trying to restore peace and harmony in society by emphasizing moral virtues and values. Many of his views and ideas on social behaviour continue to be valuable today. [解析]
孔子是中国最伟大的思想家、教育家之一。他的学说，就是我们所指的儒家学说，至今仍对中国人乃至世界各地的华人有着深远的影响。
孔子在公元前551年生于鲁国，也就是今日山东的曲阜。他出身于贵族之家，从小就受到良好的教育。孔子首创私塾，接受各个阶层的学生。
孔子于公元前479年病逝。孔子死后，他的弟子将他的学说编写成《论语》，成为儒家学说的经典。
孔子尽其一生强调美德与道德价值，以恢复社会的安宁与和谐。他对社会行为的看法和思想到今天还是有价值的。