t according to his or her particular role. Of the five human relationships, according to Confucius, three were within the family: father/son, husband/wife, and older brother/younger brother. The other two are friend/friend and ruler/subject.BRANCHES OR DIVISIONSThe only branch of Confucianism is Neo-Confucianism. Neo-Confucianism is a form of Confucianism developed during the Song Dynasty, Combing elements of Buddhism and Daoism with traditional Confucianism.During the last years of the Tang dynasty, Confucianists started to question Confucianism. A new innovation would come into Confucian writing that would reach its high point during the Song dynasty. Buddhism and Daoism would influence a new way of thinking. This questioning and new way of thinking would develop into a philosophical system called the School of Li in China, and Neo-Confucianism in the West.Neo-Confucianism was progressing slowly. At that there were many schools of thought. These schools both had a lot of Buddhism and Daoism in it. Buddhism and Daoism inspired followers, but they still supported the philosophy of Confucianism.Neo-Confucianism adopted the Buddhism idea that the universe is endlessly changing. However, they stilled used the philosophy of the yin-yang and the I Ching to explain this process. From the I Ching came the Diagram of the Supreme Ultimate. Neo-Confucianists used the concept of the Supreme to explain the origin of things in the universe. This soon became the basis of all later Chinese ideas of cosmology. The Supreme Ultimate is not the same as the Western religions' God. It is read, but it is a force that produces yin and yang. It differs from the Buddhist concept of the Void, which is the ultimate peace of those who achieve salvation. Neo-Confucianists also adopted the mystical diagrams of the I Ching to show the relationship between Heaven and Earth.IDENTIFIED FOLLOWERSAll around the world there are about six million people who consider themsel...
