In 551 BCE, in the small town of Tsou near Qufu in the State of Lu (present day Shandong), a young baby boy, christened Kong Qiu, was born. Someday, this boy would be hailed by his people as Master Kong, or Kong Fu Zi, a name that would go on to be Latinized into its equivalent form of Confucius as he is known throughout the world today. But his was no rich upbringing. His father, Shu-Liang He, though of some considerable repute as a former warrior and latterly a magistrate, died when Confucius was only aged three years old. His mother, Yen Chêng Tsai, could boast no riches either; however, it is widely believed that she was descended from the Duke of Chou's elder son Po Ch'in. Growing up in what was abject poverty by the standards of Spring and Autumn Period China, Confucius was nevertheless dedicated to the pursuit of learning and never once allowed his personal circumstances to blur his judgement of others. It is quite likely that he was a sensitive child, showing a marked interest in the religious sacraments and rituals of the day. He would undoubtedly have achieved perception well beyond his years, and by the age of fifteen, Confucius was a self-proclaimed devotee to learning and education. He was, however, unable to enter into full time education himself. Private education was to be something that he himself instituted later in life. Given the premature death of his father, Confucius helped his mother by fulfilling a number of jobs in order to make ends meet. The man who would someday be recognized as the quintessential Chinese philosopher and sage started his career first as a shepherd, then cowherd, moving on to becoming a book clerk. Something had stirred the young heart of Kong Qiu, and he was touched by the noble spirit of reform to bring about justice for all - ideals that would continue to be championed in his name well after his eventual death. From someone who had experienced some of the harsher realities of life, it is even more to Confucius' credit that he was to go on to form a philosophy based on the fundamental principles of reason, ethics and the general good. Married at the age of nineteen to a girl several years his junior, Chi-Kuan, Confucius was to have a child by her a year later, his eldest son Kong Li. From such humble beginnings was to emerge a man who would change the course of Chinese intellectual, social and political history forever.