A brief introduction to the life of Confucius' apprentice Zi Gong

A brief introduction to the life of Confucius disciple Zi Gong

He is a famous disciple, with excellent grades, good eloquence, strong handling ability and smooth business. He is the richest of Confucius' disciples. Zigong does business fairly and does not accept ill-gotten gains.

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In the introduction of The Analects of Confucius Disciples, Zi Gong was written with more pen and ink, and he was highly praised. Zigong is loved by many descendants.

At that time, poetry was a teaching material for language training, so Confucius always used it as a teaching material, asking his students to understand its meaning and learn and use it in life. Especially in diplomacy, you can express yourself completely. If people without certain abilities can't fully meet Confucius' requirements, Zi Gong will fully grasp what the teacher says.

From the dialogue between Confucius and Zi Gong, we can also see that Zi Gong can flexibly use the poems in the poem, and the question and answer between Zi Gong and the teacher is wonderful. Confucius always thought Zi Gong's answer was appropriate. Zi Gong is knowledgeable. According to Records of the Historian, when Zi Gong came out, the five countries changed, and Zi Gong kept Lu, which shows his amazing wisdom and eloquence.

Although Zi Gong is very talented, he respects his teacher very much and regards Confucius as the sun and moon. Every time Confucius was in danger, Zi Gong always stepped forward to help Confucius get out of danger. He doesn't like others to speak ill of his teacher and will argue with those who slander his teacher. However, Confucius was not very optimistic about Zi Gong, and always regarded Zi Gong as a second-class figure.

Zi Gong finally died in Qi State. He was named "Hou Li" and later "Saint Duanmuzi".

The reason why Confucius criticized Zigong

As we all know, Confucius was a good teacher with rich knowledge and many disciples. Among many disciples, Zi Gong is not only a good student, but also very good at dealing with interpersonal relationships, articulate and polite. Moreover, he is good at managing money and doing business. It stands to reason that such students are role models that teachers like and should be good examples for students to learn. But Zigong has never been liked by anyone. Confucius often criticized him. What's going on here?

Confucius and Zigong

What Zi Gong was criticized was not a mistake or even a good thing, so he was quite unlucky, but it was also related to Confucius' attitude towards him. Let me tell you what he has done now.

As I told you above, Zi Gong is a good businessman and rich. He once hired a servant at his own expense and was criticized by the teacher. There were many countries at that time, and their people would be sold to other countries as servants. Therefore, there is a rule in Lu that people from their own country can be compensated if they are sold abroad. After redemption, you can make corresponding compensation with Lu and get a reward. This is a rule that has been implemented for a long time, and many people have returned to their hometowns because of this rule. Gong redeemed many Lu people from abroad, but he didn't want compensation. He felt that there was no need for compensation, and he only hoped that people from his own country would no longer participate.

This is a good thing, right? It's very important, but Confucius scolded him as soon as he heard it, saying that he harmed people. He believes that according to the regulations, this is a small act of kindness, and those who do good deeds will not suffer any losses because they saved their compatriots, but will also be praised by others. However, Zigong's practice made people pay compensation after redeeming their compatriots, which was ridiculed by everyone. Zigong did a bad thing with kindness.

What does Confucius mean by giving generously to the people?

Zi Gong asked, if someone can not only benefit ordinary people, but also help all people, is this a kind person? If placed in today's society, this is not only a benevolent, but also a bodhisattva who can save the world.

Zi Gong and Confucius

Nowadays, some people called parents become parents without doing anything. In people's minds, local officials are heaven, but this kind of day can't bring more benefits to people. Now, many people are afraid to help the old man who fell on the road. It's just that everyone looks on coldly and thinks it's none of their business? Now how many people can go forward and be brave when they see gangsters doing evil? These cases tell us that in today's society, there are not many people who give to the people, and giving to the people is not so simple.

Not all officials don't work for the people, but the behavior of some officials makes the people chilling; Not everyone doesn't want to help the old man who fell on the side of the road, but there are so many incidents of touching porcelain that everyone is afraid to go forward. Not everyone doesn't want to be brave, but many people can't unite. This is the status quo, and this is what Zi Gong said about the difficulty of giving to the people.

When we think of China's traditional thought: "Don't do to others what you don't want others to do to you" and "Don't do to others what you don't want others to do to you", we think of Zi Gong, a famous great thinker in China, who put forward the idea of benevolence. However, how many people can achieve this kind of benevolence and morality, and how many people's thoughts and practical actions complement each other? I just hope you don't forget the precious culture left by your ancestors. We can all keep it in mind and try our best to help more people in need.