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There are many different ways to approach the topic of how Confucius and the tradition he is associated with are theoretically and morally appreciated.

The study of material culture is a modern academic field that considers artifacts as a primary source of information of the culture in or for which they were produced. When examined by specialists, primarily archaeologists, sociologists, and art historians, objects from the past help modern researchers form meaningful inquires and develop interpretations of the cultures that produced them. This exhibition, Confucius: His Life and Legacy in Art, presents a varied ensemble of artifacts from a sprawling history of more than two millennia – from the inception of Confucianism as the personal teachings of an itinerant sage in a deteriorating hegemonic world to its final halcyon days as the statecraft of China’s last emperors.

Confucius (551-479 BCE) lived and taught during the late Spring and Autumn Period (春秋時代, chunqiu shidai), a time of fragmentation and social upheaval in Chinese history, as states struggled against one another to maintain and expand control. In response to the chaos he witnessed, Confucius traveled from state to state, hoping to find a leader willing to take him on as a government official, and to practice his doctrine of proper conduct and governance. Confucius did not see himself as an innovator, but rather as a transmitter of knowledge (The Analects, VII.1).