Confucius (551 BC - 479 BC), whose surname was Qiu and courtesy name Zhongni, was a native of Zou Yi (now southeast of Qufu City, Shandong Province) of the State of Lu in the late Spring and Autumn Period. Experts reposition the image of Confucius: a handsome man
Confucius was a famous thinker, educator and founder of the Confucian school in ancient my country. According to legend, Confucius had three thousand disciples and seventy-two virtuous disciples. Confucius led his disciples to travel around the world for 14 years. Confucius was also an organizer of ancient documents. He revised "Poems" and "Books", finalized "Li" and "Music", prefaced "Book of Changes" and wrote "Spring and Autumn". Confucius' thoughts and theories had a profound impact on later generations.
Confucius’s life, political career, educational career, Confucius’ chronology, Confucius as a person
Confucius’ philosophical quotes, Confucius’ proverbs and famous sayings, evaluation of Confucius through the ages
World Cultural Heritage - Confucius Mansion Confucius Temple and Confucius International Confucius Cultural Festival 2005
Biography
The distant ancestor of Confucius was a descendant of the nobles of the Song Dynasty and the Yin royal family. After King Wu of Zhou destroyed the Yin Dynasty, he granted the title of "Wei Zi" of the Yin clan to the Song Dynasty. From Wei Zi to Wei Zhongyan, Song Gongji and Ding Gongshen, it was passed down to Minggong. Why did Fufu, the eldest son of Minggong, allow the country to sacrifice to his younger brother Yu? What is your father? The ancestors of Confucius then changed from the family of princes to the family of public ministers. Zhengkaofu, the great-grandson of Fu's father, successively assisted Duke Dai, Duke Wu and Duke Xuan of Song Dynasty. He was a minister for a long time and was famous for his humility. Kong Fujia, the sixth ancestor of Confucius, succeeded Song Da Sima. According to the Zhou ritual system, officials were not allowed to be ancestral princes. "After five generations of relatives, they were not designated as princes." Therefore, their descendants took Kong as their surname. In the later Song Dynasty, Hua Fudu, the Grand Prime Minister of the Song Dynasty, caused rebellion and killed Duke Shang and Kong Fujia of the Song Dynasty. His descendants took refuge in Lu (this is when Kong became a native of Lu), lost his position as a minister, and became a scholar. Uncle Fang, the great grandfather of Confucius, once served as the prime minister of Fang City in Lu. The deeds of my grandfather Bo Xia are unknown. His father's name is He, also known as Uncle, also known as Shu Liang He. He is a warrior and is famous for his bravery. Uncle Liang He first married the Shi family, but had no children, and his concubine gave birth to a boy who was ill. He married Yan Zhengzai again and gave birth to Confucius.
The birth year of Confucius is generally recorded in "Historical Records: Confucius Family" as the 22nd year of Lu Xianggong, but the birth month and birthday are not recorded in "Historical Records". According to "Gu Liang Biography", "October Gengzi" Confucius was born." Converted to today's Gregorian calendar, he should be born on September 8, 551 BC.
Confucius was born in the state of Lu. The State of Lu was the fiefdom of Boqin, the son of Zhou Gongdan. It has well preserved cultural relics and classics of the Zhou Dynasty and is known as the "state of rituals and music". In the 29th year of Lu Xianggong (544 BC), Wu Gongzi Jizha watched Le Lu and was amazed. In the second year of Lu Zhaogong (540 BC), the Jin official Han Xuanzi visited Lu. After viewing the book, he praised "The rites of Zhou are all in Lu!" The cultural tradition of Lu and the downward academic trend at that time had a great influence on the formation of Confucius' thoughts.
Confucius lost his father in his early years and his family declined. He once said: "I am young and humble, so I can do many despicable things." When he was young, he worked as a "commissioner" (managing warehouses) and "Chengtian" (managing cattle and sheep). Although he lived in poverty, Confucius became "dedicated to learning" at the age of fifteen. He is good at learning from others. He once said: "When three people walk, they must have my teacher. Choose the good ones and follow them, and change the bad ones." ("The Analects of Confucius·Shu Er") He learned from the impermanent teacher and never tired of learning. The villagers also praised him as "erudite".
Confucius "established himself at the age of thirty" and began to teach and teach. Anyone with a little bit of "self-cultivation" will be accepted as a student. Such as Yan Lu, Zeng Dian, Zi Lu, Boniu, Ran You, Zigong, Yan Yuan, etc., were the earlier batch of disciples. Lian Lu doctor Meng Xizi, his son Meng Yizi and Nangong Jingshu came to learn rites, which shows that Confucius's school has become famous far and wide. The establishment of private schools broke the tradition of "learning in the government" and further promoted the downward movement of academic culture.
Since the promulgation of the Duke of Lu, the political power of the State of Lu has been in the hands of the three Huans headed by the Ji family. In the early years of Duke Zhao, the three families divided up Lu Jun's military power. Kong Liao once expressed his indignation at Ji's arrogant behavior of "eight people dancing in the court". In the twenty-fifth year of Zhaogong (517 BC), there was civil strife in Lu, and Confucius left Lu and went to Qi. Duke Jinggong of Qi asked Confucius about government affairs, and Confucius said: "Junjun, ministers, fathers, sons, sons." He also said, "Government is about saving money." The political power of Qi was controlled by the official Chen family. Although Jinggong liked Confucius' words, he could not use them. .
Confucius failed in Qi, so he returned to Lu, "retired to study poetry, calligraphy, etiquette and music, and had many disciples." People from far away came to study from almost all the vassal states. At that time, the Lu government was controlled by the Ji family, and the Ji family was controlled by their retainer Yang Huo.
Confucius was dissatisfied with the situation in which the government was not in the hands of the king but in the hands of the officials, who "accompanied the ministers to carry out the country's orders", and was unwilling to serve as an official. He said: "Being unjust and rich and noble is like floating clouds to me."
In the ninth year of Lu Dinggong (501 BC), Yang Huo was expelled, and Confucius saw the use of Lu and was appointed as the central minister. Du Zai, Confucius was fifty-one years old that year. "One year's journey will lead to success in all directions." Then he was promoted to Sikong from Zhongdu, and then promoted to Great Sikou. In the 10th year of Duke Dinggong of Lu (500 BC), there was a meeting between Qi and Lu in Jiagu, where Confucius from Lu paid tribute. Confucius believed that "those who have civil affairs must have military preparations, and those who have military affairs must have military preparations." He had already taken precautions, so that Qi Jun's premeditated plan to use force to hijack Lu Jun failed to succeed, and he used diplomacy to take back Yun, which was occupied by Qi. , irrigation, turtle shade field. In the twelfth year of Dinggong (498 BC), in order to strengthen the official office and suppress the three feudal lords, Confucius proposed the plan of "falling down to the three capitals" by citing the ancient system of "if a house does not hide armor, a city will not have a city with hundreds of pheasants", and approved by Ren Ji's family Zai's Zilu is implemented. Because Confucius took advantage of the conflict between Sanhuan and his retainers, Jisun and Shusun agreed to destroy Feiyi and Houyi respectively. However, the Meng Sun family was instigated by their retainer Gong Lian Chufu and opposed the degeneration into Chengyi. The siege of Ding Gong cannot be overcome. Confucius' plan was thwarted.
The people of Qi heard that Confucius was an official in Lu, and they were afraid that Lu would become stronger and merge with themselves, so they gave his daughter as a gift to Duke Yu of Lu and Huanzi of Ji. Ji Huanzi accepted Qi Nu's music and did not listen to politics for three days. Confucius found it difficult to realize his political ambitions, so he led more than ten disciples such as Yan Hui, Zi Lu, Zigong, and Ran You to leave the "land of his parents" and began a fourteen-year journey of traveling around the world. Confucius was fifty-five years old that year. He first came to Weiguo and was treated with courtesy by Wei Linggong, and then he was under surveillance. He was afraid of being convicted and would be suitable for Chen. After crossing Kuangdi, they were besieged for five days. After the siege was lifted, they originally wanted to pass through Pu to Jin, but they were unable to go due to civil strife in Jin, so they had to return to the defense. Zeng met Nanzi, and this incident aroused suspicion from many parties. Duke Linggong of Wei was idle in politics and did not use Confucius. Confucius said: "If you want to use me, it will only last for a month, and you will be successful in three years." There was civil strife in the Wei Dynasty, and Confucius left Wei Jing Cao and went to the Song Dynasty. Sima Huankui of the Song Dynasty wanted to kill Confucius, but Confucius went to Chen in the Song Dynasty under the cover of Zheng Jing. Confucius was sixty years old. Afterwards, Confucius traveled to and from Chen and Cai many times, and once "had trouble between Chen and Cai." According to "Historical Records": Because King Zhao of Chu came to hire Confucius, officials Chen and Cai surrounded Confucius, causing him to be without food for seven days. After the siege was relieved, Confucius went to Chu, and King Zhao Zhao of Chu died soon after. Wei wanted to use Confucius when he was out of public service. Confucius answered Zilu's question and said, "Correcting one's name" must be the first priority when conducting government. After returning to the defense, although Confucius received the courtesy of "nurturing talents", it was still of no use. In the eleventh year of Duke Ai of Lu (484 BC), Ran You returned to Lu and led his army to defeat the Qi army in Lang. Ji Kangzi sent people to welcome Confucius with coins. Confucius then returned to Lu when he was sixty-eight years old.
After Confucius returned to Lu, the people of Lu respected him as "the elder of the country". At first, Duke Ai of Lu and Ji Kangzi often consulted each other on political affairs, but in the end they were not reused. In his later years, Confucius devoted himself to organizing documents and continuing his education. Confucius died in the 16th year of Duke Ai of Lu (479 BC) and was buried on the Surabaya River in the north of Lu City.
According to research, the sixth generation ancestor of Confucius was named Kong Fujia. He was a senior official in the Song Dynasty. He fled to Zouyi in the state of Lu. From then on, Kong settled in Zouyi and became a native of Lu.
Confucius’s father’s name was Shu Liang He (Shu Liang was the courtesy name and He was his given name), and his mother’s name was Yan Zhengzai. Shu Lianghe was a famous warrior in the Lu State at that time. He had made two military exploits and served as a doctor in Zouyi. Uncle Liang He first married Shi's wife and had 9 daughters but no children. He also married a concubine and gave birth to a son, named Bernie, also known as Mengpi. Meng Pi had something wrong with his feet, and his uncle Liang He was very dissatisfied, so he married Yan Zhengzai again. At that time, Shu Lianghe was 66 years old and Yan Zhengzai was less than 20 years old.
In 551 BC (the 22nd year of Lu Xianggong), Confucius was born in Changping Township, Zouyi, Lu State (now southeast of Qufu City, Shandong Province). Because his parents once prayed to Niqiu Mountain for the birth of a son, he was named Qiu and given the courtesy name Zhongni. When Confucius was three years old, his uncle Liang He died, and the Confucius family became the world of the Shi family. The Shi family had evil intentions. Meng Pi's biological mother had been abused and died by the Shi family one year before the death of his uncle Liang He. Confucius's mother and son were not part of the Shi family. Confucius' mother Yan Zhengzai had no choice but to move to Qufu with Confucius and Meng Pi, and life was difficult. When Confucius was 17 years old, his mother Yan Zheng died. When Confucius was 19 years old, he married the daughter of Qi Guan, a native of the Song Dynasty. A year later, Qi Guan gave birth to a son. Duke Zhao of Lu sent someone to send a carp to express his congratulations. Confucius felt very honored and named his son Li, with the courtesy name Boyu.