This paper analyzes the writings and character of Confucius from the perspective of his title of the "First Teacher." Confucius functioned as a scholar who, in a time of political chaos, attempted to glean from the past those principles and attitudes capable both of serving the social order well and of enduring. To achieve peaceful reform, Confucius designated as the specific objective of education "Chun Tzu" or the Superior Man who, with the effectiveness of his moral example, would cause the people to be good. Two aspects of Confucius's thought that should be understood are that a) nature is basically good but unguided human nature has lost the way, and it is therefore necessary to restore the original condition by finding the Path of Duty and the System of Instruction of the past and to teach and apply them to the present; and b) human society is hierarchically constructed into classes of mental and menial workers and it is to the former that education is brought. Confucius's curriculum was constructed around the principle of "Li" or "the spirit of living" which must be adhered to in internal as well as external action. The curriculum was informal (with textbooks playing a minor role), liberal, and pragmatic in that it prepared a man for a position in government. His methods were informal, involving questions and discussions, learning at one's own pace, and self-evaluation or evaluation by oral questioning. (JA)