At that time, numerous different schools enrolled the students. The most famous one was the Confucianism and its leader Confucius was seen as the founder of education for the masses. One of his sayings was "Provide education for all people without discrimination". Another was "Teach according to the student's ability".
The different schools were often organized into political entities to gain social influence. The most strict system of education belonged to Mohists. Rival scholars were invited to courts; governmental sponsorship led to the development of the first Chinese academies. Importance of education and respect to the teachers was stressed in the Annals of Lü Buwei.