http://www.nytimes.com/2004/01/01/arts/design/01CONF.html?8hpib
Article on an exhibit devoted to Kung-tzu, known as Confucius in the west. While the exhibit is called "the dawn of chinese humanism" Kung-Tzu is fairly close to the dawn of humanism of any kind anywhere. He gave the world concepts such as professionalism, formal ethics and relationship of the individual to the state. While far from all of his teachings are still valid, to peer into his work is to peer into the first attempts to systematize human behavior for its own sake - a path later trod by Machiavelli, Dewey and others.
This concept - of humanism - is important, simply because it is the basis of modern society. Note I say humanism, and not secularism - because there have been many humanists who were also believers, very firm believers, in the divine - Aristotle, Hume, Kant, Erasmus.