Confucianism is China's most influential academic and ideological school in ancient time. As the first representative of Chinese inherent value system, Confucianism is absolutely superior to the customary meaning and role of academic schools. Generally, especially before Qin Dynasty, Confucianism was just one of hundreds of academic schools and did not have a superiority or privilege over other schools. Since Han Dynasty, exactly under the reign of Emperor Wudi(汉武帝，140BC-86BC), Confucianism has been largely improved to be the dominant academic thought and prominent ideology used for educating and administrating the society. Even up to day, China is still under the extensive influence of Confucianism.

Confucians fundamentally maintain the principle of getting close to man who deserves to be closed up and respecting the man who are respectable to uphold their basic idea: Administration of Ceremony(礼治). They advocate Administration of Morality（德治）and Administration of Humanity（人治）. Hence it was taken as the ruling ideology to administrate the country by all feudalistic dynasties since Han Dynasty.

Administration of Ceremony(礼治)：The doctrine of Administration of Ceremony in root is embodied to be "Distinction". Different class has different standard and requirement of Administration of Ceremony. From the whole country to the single family, each individual including the emperor had to follow the regulations of Administration of Ceremony. The country's stability or not is dominated by social status's stability or not. Confucian's Administration of Ceremony in other words is also a type of invisible law, and it is the core and base for upholding the feudalistic society. Whoever disobeyed its regulation would be surely penalized.

Administration of Morality（德治）: Confucians approve of remodeling the individual or a society via morality. They agree that all men no matter what kind of human nature they have can be educated and remodeled. Such an education is the psychological change to refine and purify humankind's heart.

Administration of Humanity（人治）: Confucians emphasize the specialty of humankind and the possible development of humankind's morality as well as sympathy of humankind. Confucius took Benevolence(仁) as the top moral principle, moral criterion and moral level. Benevolence is the core of Confucianism and directly and largely models the character and shape of Chinese culture.

Confucian's classics were finally fixed by Confucius, but in different dynasties, the standpoints and understanding to these classics are different. In Han Dynasty, Confucian classics were over socialized and abusively reading and explanation, which directly caused the misreading, confusion and divarication of following generations. In Song Dynasty, a large group of Confucians represented by Zhu Xi(1130-1200) re-explained these classics via absorbing some thoughts from Taoism and Buddhism and developed Confucianism to be a new phase, which in academic circle is called Neo-Confucianism. Confucianism all the time was the governmental ideology till the overthrow of Qing Dynasty in 1911. Since the foundation of The Republic of China, Confucianism was on the verge of marginalization and also suffered from the concussion of the exotic new culture. However, after many breach and oppositions from new government and academicians growing up in western society, Confucianism still is the core value of Chinese people. Meanwhile Confucianism is also the basic shared cultural belief in Eastern Asia. By the way, it is also an important element stimulating the Enlightenment largely advocated by a great many social and cultural elites like Rousseau in western society and the fabulous development of western modern science.

Today, the whole world is facing many problems like global warming, energy crisis, environmental pollution, clash of civilization and the much urgency that may worsen the crisis of human survival. Confucianism replays its key role of alleviating these crises and even supplying the solutions based on its sophisticated ideological systems. Confucianism is way for humankinds to keep the internal peace and harmony as well as coexist with nature and other species on the earth.