Confucianism (Traditional Chinese: 儒學; Simplified Chinese: 儒学; Pinyin: RúxuéListen ], literally "The School of the Scholars"; or 孔教 Kŏngjiào, "") is a Chinese ethical and philosophical system originally developed from the teachings of the early Chinese sage Confucius. Confucius was the founder of the teachings of Confucianism. Confucianism is a complex system of moral, social, political, philosophical, and religious thought which has had tremendous influence on the culture and history of East Asia up to the 21st century. Some people in Europe have considered it to have been the "state religion" in East Asian countries because of governmental promotion of Confucianist values and needs.