孔子(Confucius)是我国古代著名的思想家、教育家，儒家学派(Confucian School)的创始人。相传孔子有弟子三千，贤弟子72人，孔子曾带领部分弟子周游列国14年。在中国五千年的历史上，对华夏民族的性格、气质 (temperament)产生最大影响的人就算是孔子了。他正直、乐观向上、积极进取。他一生都在追求真、善、美，一生都在追求理想的社会。他品格中的优点，几千年来影响着中国人，特别是影响着中国的知识分子。
参考翻译:
Confucius
Confucius is a famous ideologist, educator, and thefounder of Confucian School in ancient China. It'ssaid he has 3,000 disciples, 72 out of whom areexcellent ones, and he has led some disciples to visitvarious states for 14 years. During 5,000 years' history of China, it's Confucius who has exertedthe greatest impact on Chinese nation's characteristic and temperament. He is upright,optimistic, active and enterprising, striving for truthfulness, kindness and beauty, andseeking for an ideal society all his life. The shining points in his characteristics have beeninfluencing the Chinese people, especially the Chinese intellectuals for thousands of years.
1.创始人:说思想、学派的创始人或奠基者，可以founder、creator或 originator来表达。
2.弟子:译为disciple,当时的弟子多指门徒，而非当今的学生。
3.周游列国:可译为visit various states 或者travelaround various states。 孔子生于春秋时期，那时的国家跟现在国家的概念是不一样的，那时的国家更适合译作state，而不是country,如“战国”应译作Warring States。
4.积极进取:可译为active and enterprising,其中active意为“积极的”，enterprising意为“有进取心的”。
5.真、善、美:应译为truthfulness, kindness, beauty。
6.追求:文中两处用到“追求”，可以分别翻译为striving for和seeking for,以增加用词的变化，彰显语言功底。
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