The scene of Confucius and his students in the documentary China Photo: Courtesy of mgtv.com

A Chinese documentary named "China" debuted on Monday, which describes the life of philosopher and educator Confucius and shows how his thoughts have influenced China for thousands of years.

The first episode of the documentary aired on Hunan Satellite TV and  the video platform mgtv.com on Monday. It was about the beginning of Confucius' tour around different states in the Eastern Zhou Dynasty (770 BC-256 BC).

Confucius met Laozi in Luoyang, capital of the dynasty and consulted about "rituals" with Laozi in the first episode.

Confucius hoped to improve social order through ethical norms and clear etiquette, while Laozi advocated natural law and non-intervention. Although their views were different, the two ideological systems of Taoism and Confucianism were integrated by the meeting between Confucius and Laozi, which is an important aspect of ancient Chinese philosophical thought.

The documentary also deals with Confucius' educational views.

Confucius advocated that everyone should have equal access to education, which challenged the monopoly of the aristocracy in that era and helped to spread knowledge among the people. After that, the social foundation of education and the source of talent was greatly expanded.

Confucius spent 14 years touring around China with his students and then returned to his home in Lu state.

The second episode will be released on Tuesday.