Confucius taught five relationships for a stable society

Around 2,500 years ago, the influential Chinese philosopher Confucius outlined five essential relationships he believed were the bedrock of a well-ordered society. These were between ruler and subject, father and son, husband and wife, elder and younger brother, and friends. Each relationship emphasized mutual duties and respect, like a ruler's benevolence met with a subject's loyalty, or a parent's guidance reciprocated by a child's filial piety.