Confucius is one of the most famous names in human history. It appears in every world history textbook, every introductory philosophy course, and every list of influential thinkers. It is also a name that Kongzi—the Chinese philosopher it refers to—never heard and would not recognize.
The name Confucius was invented by Jesuit missionaries in the sixteenth century. They took the Chinese Kǒng Fūzǐ—Master Kong—and Latinized it into Confucius, following the convention of giving classical names a Latin ending. The same process turned Aristotle’s Greek name into a Latin form that European universities could use. The difference is that Aristotle was already dead for over a millennium when this happened. The Chinese were alive, in a living civilization, speaking the same language then as they had for centuries. The Jesuits Latinized a name that was still in active use.
The result is a permanent misalignment between East and West. Every Chinese schoolchild learns about Kǒngzǐ. Every Western schoolchild learns about Confucius. Both think they are learning about the same person. Neither can connect the two names without additional explanation. The bridge between the two traditions has a wrong sign at one end.
Mencius is the same problem in miniature. Mèngzǐ—Master Meng—became Mencius in the same Jesuit workshop. The names were treated as raw material for European scholarship, to be reshaped into forms that European scholars found comfortable. The comfort came at a cost: the connection to the original language was severed.
Restoring Kongzi and Mengzi in English would cost nothing in comprehension. The syllables are simple. The spelling is transparent. The names reconnect with the people who still use them.
Our Recommendation: Kongzi and Mengzi. Philosophers should be called by their names.