Ancient China · Philosopher and Teacher

Confucius 孔子

Kongzi

Attested BC 551 - BC 479

Passages: 5
Chapters: 1
Histories: 1

Overview

Confucius was a Philosopher and Teacher.

Other names

Type	English	Chinese	Pinyin
Epithet	the Sage	先聖	Xiansheng

Life and dates

Attested activity

BC 551 to BC 479 孔子
Strongly inferred · History of Ming 284, passage 33

Family

Immediate relationships attested in the translated histories.

Parent of Parent of Zisi (子思之父)
father 父
Strongly inferred · History of Ming 284, passage 34
Ancestor of Zisi (子思)
grandfather of 孫 · 2 generations
grandson 孫 · 2 generations
Directly stated · History of Ming 284, passage 34
Ancestor of Kong Xixue (孔希學)
fifty-sixth-generation descendant of the Sage 先聖五十六代孫 · 56 generations
Directly stated · History of Ming 284, passage 5

Events and relationships

Transmitted the Way without holding the throne
Intellectual · Teacher
Directly stated · History of Ming 284, passage 33

Assessments and attributes

Assessment teacher to every ruler; united the Way of former sages · Mode quoted-speech Speaker Ming Taizu (明太祖)
Directly stated · History of Ming 284, passage 33

References in the histories

History of Ming, Chapter 284Volume 284 Biographies 172: Confucian Scholars 3 · 5 passages

孔希學，字士行，先聖五十六代孫也，世居曲阜。 Kong Xixue, whose courtesy name was Shixing, was a fifty-sixth-generation descendant of the Sage; his family had lived in Qufu for generations.

爾家，先聖後，子孫不可不學。 Your family springs from the Sage; its descendants must not neglect learning.

因顧侍臣曰：「先聖後，特優禮之，養以祿而不任以事也。」 Turning to his attendants he said, "Descendants of the Sage receive exceptional honor—they are kept on stipends but not assigned to office."

至於孔子，雖不得其位，會前聖之道而通之，以垂教萬世，為帝者師。 Confucius, though he never held supreme power, united the Way of the sages who came before him and handed it down for all ages—teacher to every ruler.

明年二月，希學言：「先聖廟堂廊廡圮壞，祭器、樂器、法服不備，乞命有司修治。 The following second month Xixue reported: "The Sage's temple halls and cloisters are in ruins; sacrificial vessels, musical instruments, and ritual vestments are incomplete—we ask that the proper offices be charged with repairs.