If compared with the disciples of Confucius, the "best dormitory" would have to be defeated. After all, many people who came out of Teacher Kong became sages and even saints. The so-called "Three thousand disciples stand together and seventy-two wise men".

"Historical Records" says that Confucius had more than 3,000 students. It is difficult to say whether this number is reliable. The ones who can really receive Teacher Kong's advice may be those seventy-two sages. However, not all of these 72 people appear in the Analects. There are only 29 named disciples in the Analects.

Among the many students, which one did Confucius like the most? Today, I came to say goodbye to you while reading on the road.

1. Young and Dangerous Zi Lu: an outspoken activist

When talking about Confucian disciples, we cannot fail to talk about Zi Lu. He was the eldest disciple of Confucius, and he became a disciple of Confucius very early. He was only nine years younger than Confucius, so he was considered a generational disciple. Zilu is his given name, and his name is Zhongyou.

Looking through the Analects of Confucius, you will find that Zilu was scolded the most by Confucius. Zilu was impatient, had a bad temper, and behaved a bit rudely. Confucius would beat him from time to time, and sometimes even scold him. However, this does not mean that Confucius hates him, but that his love is deep and his responsibility is deep.

Zilu is the most three-dimensional character in "The Analects" with a very distinct personality. "Historical Records" says that he was very brave and liked to wear strange clothes, a rooster-shaped hat on his head, and wild boar tusks on his waist. He was majestic, high-spirited, and looked like a young and Dangerous boy. Most people would not dare to mess with him like this, so Confucius said that since he accepted Zilu as his student, "no evil words have been heard".

Zi Lu is a person whose quality is better than his culture, and sometimes he is vulgar. He was brave and aggressive, and was good at fighting. It is said that he bullied Confucius with his bravery. Confucius criticized him and said, "If you are brave but don't learn, you will become a traitor and a traitor. You are braver than me, and you have nothing to draw from." Zilu was dissatisfied and asked Confucius, "If you lead the three armies to fight, who will you be with?" Confucius said, "The violent tiger crossed the river and died without regrets." He beat the tiger with his bare hands and crossed the river on foot. I would not be with such a reckless man. Zilu asked again: Don’t gentlemen value bravery? Confucius said: A gentleman puts righteousness first. A gentleman who is brave but without righteousness will lead to chaos; a villain who is brave but without righteousness will be a thief. Zilu, you can figure it out.

Another characteristic of Zilu is that he is "upright". He is outspoken and even a little unobtrusive, which often makes Confucius unhappy. Among Confucius's students, only Zilu dared to bluntly criticize Confucius, and Confucius often responded to him unceremoniously. When he was in Wei, Zilu asked Confucius: If Wei Jun asks you to enter politics, where will you start? Confucius said: Is it necessary to correct the name? As a result, Zilu said directly: You are too pedantic, why do you have to correct your name? Confucius openly contradicted his teacher and left a famous saying that if his name is not correct, his words will not be correct.

There are several records in "The Analects" about how Zilu lost his temper directly at Confucius. For example, after Confucius went to see Nanzi, a beautiful lady with a bad reputation, Zilu was very unhappy and shamed Confucius on the spot, forcing Confucius to swear: If I do anything indecent, let God punish me.

Zi Lu is straight and often does bad things with good intentions. Once, Confucius fell ill, possibly seriously. Without saying a word, Zilu prepared for the funeral arrangements behind Confucius' back and organized young students to set up a funeral committee. Besides, it was unethical for him to do so. Because, according to the etiquette of the time, there could only be a funeral committee after the death of a prince.

As a result, Confucius recovered from his illness. When he heard about this, he became very angry and scolded Zilu severely.

Of course, if Zilu always behaved like this, Confucius would not like him. Confucius liked students who were slow in words but quick in deeds. Zilu was outspoken and could not be slow in words, but he did very well in being quick in deeds and did not suffer from procrastination. Confucius said "Yuyeguo" means to praise Zilu for being bold and decisive. When he is an official, he can distinguish right from wrong by just listening to one side of the story, and he has no promises that today's matter will be completed today and will not be delayed overnight.

In terms of official career, Zilu served as the family minister of the Ji family and the city minister of Kong Kui of the Wei Kingdom, and he did well in both of them.

When he was 62 years old, a mutiny broke out in Weiguo. He went to save the country alone, but was killed. Generally speaking, Zilu belongs to a type of people who are quick to act in Confucius.

2. His favorite disciple Yan Hui: a good student who lived in poverty and loved teaching

Confucius did not like people who were particularly good at talking. He likes students who are more boring and don't like to talk much, such as Yan Hui. Yan Hui was Confucius's most proud disciple, but he died young and only lived 41 years old. He never held an official position in his life, had no earth-shattering deeds, and left no writings. There are only fragments of his words in The Analects of Confucius.

His characteristic is that he is obedient and is often praised by the teacher but rarely criticized. There are only two places in the Analects that can be considered critical of Yan Hui.

Once, Confucius said, I lectured Yan Hui for a long time, but he neither asked any questions nor questioned me, and looked stupid. However, he retreated to reflect and was able to come up with his own original ideas. Yan Hui was not stupid.

Another time, Confucius said, Yan Hui is not the kind of person who can inspire and help me. He agrees with everything I say.

Confucius would never stop praising Yan’s return. He believed that among 3,000 disciples, Yan Hui was the number one academic master. Yan Hui studied very hard, listened to the teacher's lectures, never dozed off, and never deserted. The so-called person who talks without being lazy, his Hui is also the same as "Yan Hui". He also said that Yan Hui was particularly perseverant. I saw his progress but not his cessation.

How good is Yan Hui in learning? Confucius's basic requirement for his students was to draw inferences from one instance and draw inferences from one instance to other instances, but Yan Hui was able to do this by "hearing one and knowing ten". In addition to his good knowledge, Yan Hui was far beyond the reach of other disciples in terms of morality. Confucius once asked him about his ambitions, and he said: "I wish to never do good deeds and never work hard." That is, he does not brag about himself and does not impose hard work on the people. This is to cultivate his own virtue internally and implement benevolent policies externally. Confucius valued benevolence the most and never attributed the word benevolence to others easily, but he said that Yan Hui's heart did not violate benevolence.

It is a pity that such a top student who can be selected as one of the top ten young people in the country is unable to make a living and lives a very difficult life. But the hard life also made Yan Hui successful. He was worried about poverty but not about poverty. He was able to live in poverty and be happy. Confucius praised him and said: With a basket of food and a ladle of drink, in a back alley, people cannot bear their worries, and they will not change their happiness when they return. Yan Hui eats cold food, drinks cold water, and lives in a slum. Others think it is terrible, but he still does not change his joy. What are you enjoying? Ledao.

Perhaps because he was too poor and could not keep up with nutrition, Yan Hui died at the age of 41. Confucius was very sad and said, "Heaven is killing me", which means God, you are killing me. Someone nearby couldn't stand it anymore and said, "Teacher, you are too sad." Confucius wiped his tears and said, Do I have it? If I don’t grieve for such a person, who else can I grieve for?

3. The successful man Zigong: a wealthy and courteous Confucian businessman

Confucius once compared Yan Hui and Zigong, saying that Yan Hui was resigned to his fate, contented with poverty and happy, and almost reached the level of morality. Although he was in the highest state, he was often extremely poor. As for Zigong, he was restless and liked to do business. He could guess the market situation accurately and made a fortune. Zigong's financial intelligence was very high and he was a good businessman.

However, Zigong was not a philistine businessman who fell into the eyes of money, but a literate and moral Confucian businessman. He was both the richest among literate people and the most literate among rich people. , a standard successful person.

It is said that once, Zigong had some experience and boasted to Confucius, saying, "Teacher, you feel poor but not flattering, rich but not proud. What is this state of mind?" Confucius said, not bad, but the higher state is to be happy if you are poor, and to be polite if you are rich. Zigong surrendered, and Confucius was very happy and said to Zigong, "Tell those who know what is coming?" If you can draw inferences from one example, I can talk about poetry with you in the future.

Confucius attached great importance to the teaching of "Poetry" and said that he did not know "Poetry" and was speechless. At that time, in diplomatic situations, one should not speak dryly, but should be good at writing poems to express one's ambitions. Confucius said, "After reading three hundred poems, I went on a mission to another country and could not answer the questions correctly. What's the use of learning more?" However, Zigong's strong point in politics was diplomacy, and his level of learning and applying the Book of Songs was quite high.