Confucius was the founder of the Confucian school and pioneered the practice of private lecturing. Because the children of the commoners also had the opportunity to enroll, three thousand disciples gathered under Confucius. Among these three thousand disciples, there were 72 outstanding representatives, known as the "Seventy-two Sages of Confucius". Most of these people are proficient in "poetry, books, rituals, music, and teaching", and they also have high attainments in literature. But without this person, their thoughts and words could be lost. Who is this person? He is the son of the Seventy-Two Sages.
Zigong's outstanding ability
Duanmu Ci was a Defender of the State in the Spring and Autumn Period, and was very good at verbal debate, so he mixed well in the official arena and served as the Minister of State of Wei and the State of Lu. Even his teacher Confucius could not deny this, so the Analects commented: "Virtue: Yan Yuan, Min Ziqian, Ran Boniu, Zhonggong." Words: Zaiyu, Zigong. Political affairs: Ran You, Ji Lu. Literature: Ziyou, Zixia. It can be seen that Zigong is really strong in terms of verbal expression ability.
Confucius and his disciples
Later generations often admired Zhang Yi and Su Qin for their strategy of "combining vertical and horizontal", but in front of Zigong, they were all younger brothers. One year, Confucius was traveling around the world with his disciples, and suddenly the news came from afar that the State of Qi was going to attack the State of Lu. The state of Lu was confucius's mother country, and although it was politically excluded, Confucius did not want to see it perish, so he was worried. The disciples asked Miao to go to war one after another, intending to resolve this crisis for the Lu Kingdom.
Confucius
As a result, "Zi Lu please come out, Confucius stops." Zi Zhang, Zi Shi please go, Confucius Fu Xu. Zigong please do it, Confucius promised it. For many of his disciples, in terms of political affairs, Confucius believed in Zigong the most. After Zigong figured out the cause of the war, he went to the State of Qi alone. It turned out that the reason why the State of Qi wanted to attack the State of Lu was because of one person, Tian Chang.
Zigong saves Lu
Tian Chang was a nobleman of the State of Qi, bent on usurping power and seizing the throne, but because he was afraid of the forces of the four major families of Gao Gu, Guo Zuo, Bao Shuya, and Yan Bao, he did not dare to act. Later, he came up with an idea, planning to start a war, and let the four families go to the front line to die, so that he could start a rebellion at home.
Tadatomi
After Zigong saw Tian Chang, he first said something counter-, which attracted Tian Chang's attention. Then he told Tian Chang: "The State of Lu is so weak, you can't destroy the strength of the four major families by attacking it, but it makes the King of the State of Qi take victory for granted." It is better to attack the State of Wu, on the one hand, you can greatly reduce the strength of the four major families, on the other hand, you can also let the monarch see your ability. Tian Chang listened to Zigong's words and turned his head to attack the State of Wu.
Zigong stills
And Zigong's ability was not simply to bring misfortune to the east, and then he fooled the Wu, Jin, and Yue kingdoms to join the melee. The war between Wu and Vietnam can be said to have been provoked by Zigong alone. As the hand behind the chess, Zigong's ability far exceeded that of his teacher. But when Confucius asked him if he was strong or weak in his ability to meet Yan Hui, Zigong still modestly said, "How dare you look back?" Back also smell one to know ten, give also smell one to know two. ”
Zigong's contribution to the Analects
In fact, Yan Hui not only had no achievements in politics, but also had difficulty in even living a sustainable life, and was often in a state of no cooking. When Confucius encountered difficulties, it was often Zigong who stepped forward. Therefore, Sun Wu, the grand master of the State of Lu, said: "Even Confucius is not as good as Zigong." For Sun Wu's statement, Zigong was not happy, but was a little angry. He replied, "This little knowledge of mine is like a house in a low wall, which no one can see. However, the teacher's learning is like the landscape of the Zongmiao Temple inside the high wall, and it is impossible to see without entering the door. ”
Zigong
In addition to his verbal and political skills, one of the things that everyone pays the most attention to is his ability to do business. Born into a merchant family, he inherited his ancestral business from the age of 20 and was the richest of Confucius's students. He is very good at predicting the market situation and has not guessed wrong once. Therefore, Confucius said: "Return is also its humble, and it is empty." The giver is not destined, but the goods are cultivated, and the hypothesis is repeatedly struck." In the pre-Qin period, Zigong was the god of wealth in folk belief.
Analects
After The death of Confucius, most of the disciples kept filial piety for three years. Only Zigong built a grass hut on his tomb and kept filial piety for six years. The reason why the Analects can be published is because Zigong can't bear to waste his teacher's hard work and invest a lot of manpower, material and financial resources. For example, Sima Qian mentioned in the "Records of History": "The husband made Confucius famous in the world, and the Zigong successively", affirming the merits of the Zigong. Otherwise, Confucius would not have been as famous as he is today.
References: "History", "Analects"