Life here and now, in earthy society, is seen as the hub/core of a relationship with heaven and with ancestral spirits. These relationships are no less important than earthly relationships.

Respect for family and age is raised to religious veneration of the ancestors

Ritual sacrifices are done at all levels of society:

• Head of household, head of the village, head of state, and emperor of the nation were each responsible for their respective level of sacrifice.

• The head of a family make sacrifices to the family ancestors. The emperor is "High Priest" of society, making sacrifices to the ancestors of the people - to heaven (T’ien) itself

• Social hierarchy is important:

• seen in Filial Piety (respect for age and authority)

• in Neo-Confucian focus on cosmic hierarchy

• in the hierarchical aspect of ritual acts - sacrifices - that each level of society is responsible for

• Learning and pursuit of the arts are of primary importance in self-cultivation - in the development of Jen

• The social graces are encountered in official transactions between people, not just in social situations but also in business and politics. Every human to human encounter is approached with great and appropriate respect for the humanity (Jen) of the other

• Spread beyond China to Japan, Korea, Taiwan

• For Confucius and Confucian influenced China, society and human relationships take precedence over the individual. Maintains the view that "no man is an island."

• To this day Communist China maintains this same basic value. Perhaps a difficult value for Americans to truly appreciate.