Confucius was born in Qufu, in the state of Lu, around 551 or 550 BCE. The ancient sources offer slightly varying dates, placing his birth in late autumn of those years, and the record does not resolve the discrepancy with precision. He was a citizen of Lu throughout his life, and he wrote and taught in Chinese — specifically in the Old Chinese of his era.

He worked as a philosopher, a teacher, and a writer, and his thinking came to be associated with the movement known as Confucianism. The Analects is the notable work connected to his name, and it stands as the text most directly tied to his career. He composed and taught in Old Chinese, and the body of work that grew up around him reflects those roles — philosopher, teacher, writer — that the record consistently assigns to him.

As a citizen of Lu, Confucius carried out his work within that state's world. His roles as teacher and philosopher point to a life spent in active intellectual engagement, though the FACTS speak more plainly to what he was than to the full detail of what he did or where he traveled. What the record does confirm is that he was a writer and teacher who worked in the Chinese language during a period when Lu was his home country.

He died in 479 BCE, with some sources indicating early March of that year and others pointing only to the year itself. The place recorded in connection with his death is the Si River. He had been born in Qufu and held citizenship in Lu, and it was near the Si River that his life came to its end, closing a span of roughly seven decades during which he had worked as a philosopher, teacher, and writer associated with what would become Confucianism.