Confucius was born in the 20th year of King Ling of Zhou (22nd year of Duke Xianggong of Lu, 2146th year of the Yellow Emperor, 551 BC) on the 27th day of the eighth lunar month (currently September 28th in the Gregorian calendar). country. Confucius' ancestry can be traced back to the royal family of the Song Dynasty and the Yin and Shang Dynasties. The ancestor of the sixth generation was named Kong Fujia. Kong fled to Zoupi in the state of Lu. From then on, Kong settled in Zoupi and became a native of the state of Lu.

Confucius's father's uncle Liang He lived in Zoyi, Ping Township, Luchang (now southeast of Qufu City, Shandong Province), and was a doctor in Zoupi. "Historical Records: The Family of Confucius" says that "(Shuliang) He and Yan's daughter married and gave birth to Confucius." "Confucius Family Tales: An Explanation of Original Surnames" records that Uncle Liang He's first wife, Shi, gave Kong He nine daughters in a row. Kong He was eager to have children, so he married another concubine. Although he gave birth to a son named Meng Pi, But his feet are disabled. Therefore, when Kong He was 72 years old, he married 18-year-old Yan Zhengzai for the third time and gave birth to Kong Qiu Zhongni. In order to have a son, his father once prayed to Niqiu Mountain and expressed his eagerness to have a son. As a result, he got a strong son, so he named him Qiu with the courtesy name Zhongni. Zhong means the second eldest son. Ranking, he is still the eldest, that is to say, Confucius is the eldest son of his biological mother.

Early Education

Confucius lived a very difficult life in his early years. He said: "I am a young man, so I can do despicable things." When Confucius was 3 years old, his uncle Liang He died and was buried in Confucius' mother did not tell Confucius the location of the tomb in Fangshan in the eastern part of the Lu state. Yan moved to Queli in Qufu and raised him. As a child, Confucius often arranged sacrificial ritual vessels (zudou) and practiced performing rituals as a kind of game. When he was 19 years old, Confucius worked as a clerk, commissioned official, and Chengtian and other minor officials for the Lu noble family Ji Sun, managing warehouses and livestock. He married Qi Guan, a native of the Song Dynasty, and gave birth to a son the following year[6]. Duke Zhao of Lu sent someone to send carp to express his congratulations, and the son was named Kong Li, also known as Boyu. Kong Li died before Confucius [7], leaving behind his son Kong Ji, also named Zisi. At the age of 23, Confucius began to recruit disciples and give lectures in the countryside. His students included Yan You (father of Yan Hui), Zeng Dian, Ran Geng, etc.

Confucius's mother died when he was 24 years old, and Confucius wanted to bury his parents together. In order to find out where his father was buried, he stopped his mother's coffin at the intersection (the Five Fathers' Road) and asked passers-by. Later, Confucius's neighbor Manfu's mother told Confucius where his uncle Liang He was tomb, so Confucius buried his parents together in Fang. The next year, when Confucius was in mourning for his mother, Ji Sun gave a banquet to a first-level scholar (fushishi). Confucius went there, but was scolded and rejected by Ji Sun's retainer Yang Hu. However, later generations of scholars often suspected that this story was false.

In the midst of hardships and hardships, Confucius was eager to learn. He visited famous teachers and humbly asked for advice. In the seventeenth year of Lu Zhaogong's reign, Tanzi, the king of Tan, visited Lu. Tanzi was erudite and talented, and the 27-year-old Confucius paid him a visit. There is a saying in Han Yu's "Shi Shuo": "Confucius studied with Tanzi." Confucius successively "asked for courtesy from Lao Dan, learned drums and qin from Xiangzi, and visited Chang Hong for music." Statue of Confucius. The German quote engraved on the monument is Confucius' famous saying "Do not do to others what you do not want others to do to you." Around the age of thirty, some of the first disciples came to Confucius. Since then, Confucius has been engaged in education. He recruited many disciples. According to legend, he had three thousand disciples and seventy-two sages. He pioneered the idea of ??teaching without distinction and teaching students in accordance with their aptitude. He became the pioneer and representative of academic downward movement and private teaching at that time. Therefore, later generations respected him as "the eternal teacher" and "the most holy teacher".

Shiqi

At the age of 35, Duke Zhao of Lu was defeated by the Jisun, Shusun and Mengsun clans in power in the Lu State, and fled to Qi State, whereupon Confucius left From the state of Lu to the state of Qi. Confucius once talked about music with Grand Master Qi, heard the beauty of Shao music, and did not know the taste of meat in March. Duke Jinggong of Qi asked Confucius about government affairs. Confucius said: "The king is the king, the ministers are the ministers, the father is the father, the son is the son." Qi Jinggong said: "How good! Faith is like a king who is not a king, a minister who is not a minister, a father who is not a father, and a son who is not a son. Even though there are grains of millet. , I can eat them all?” The next day, he asked Confucius about the government, and Confucius said, “Government is about saving money.” Duke Jing wanted to grant Confucius the title of Nixitian, but Yan Ying, the Prime Minister of Qi, advised him not to do so. Later, he learned that Doctor Qi wanted to harm Confucius, but Jinggong had no choice but to return to the state of Lu and gather his disciples to give lectures.

First came to Lu State

In the ninth year of Duke Dinggong of Lu, the fifty-one-year-old Confucius served in Lu. After the year, he became Sikong, and later became Great Sikou. In the tenth year of Lu Dinggong's reign, Lu Dinggong and Qi Jinggong were in Jiagu. Confucius' "literary and military preparations" won a diplomatic victory, allowing Qi to return Wenyang and other places that had invaded Lu. In the thirteenth year of Duke Dinggong of Lu, in order to re-establish the authority of the Duke of Lu, Confucius planned and implemented the political and military action of "subjugating the three capitals", hoping to reduce the strength of the three Huan, so he first fell to the Shusun family, and then to the Ji family. At Sun's expense, the siege and offensive ultimately failed. In the fourteenth year of the reign of Duke Dinggong of Lu, he took charge of the affairs of the prime minister and punished Shaozhengmao for his "five evils" and his speech.

Under the rule of Confucius, the state of Lu improved quite a lot, which aroused the people of Qi to be alarmed. The doctor of Qi, Li Chu, planned to send female musicians and horses to Lu, causing Lu Dinggong to be indifferent to government affairs. This made it difficult to bridge the moral and political differences between Confucius and Lu Gong, Ji Huanzi and others, and Confucius eventually went to Lu Shiwei.

Traveling around the countries

After leaving the state of Lu, Confucius led his disciples to travel around the countries, including Wei, Cao, Song, Zheng, Chen, Cai, Ye, Chu and other places. Not reused. During this period, Confucius and his party were trapped and in danger many times in Kuang, Song, Pu and other places.