Chinese philosopher and disciple of Confucius (505?435 BC)
Zeng Shen
(505?435 BC), better known as
Zengzi
(Master Zeng),
courtesy name
Ziyu
(
子
輿
), was a
Chinese philosopher
and
disciple
of
Confucius
.
He later taught
Zisi
(Kong Ji), the grandson of Confucius, who was in turn the teacher of
Mencius
, thus beginning a line of transmitters of orthodox Confucian traditions.
He is revered as one of the
Four Sages
of Confucianism.
Life
[
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]
Zeng Shen was 46 years younger than Confucius.
He was a native of South Wu City in the
State of Lu
, and was the son of
Zeng Dian
, one of the earliest disciples of Confucius.
When he was sixteen, he was sent by his father to study under Confucius. Confucians later considered him to be his second most senior student, after
Yan Hui
.
Duanmu Ci
said of him, "There is no subject which he has not studied. His appearance is respectful. His virtue is solid. His words command credence. Before great men he draws himself up in the pride of self-respect. His eyebrows are those of longevity." He was noted for his filial piety, and after the death of his parents he could not read the rites of mourning without being led to think of them and being moved to tears. He was a voluminous writer. He composed ten books, compiled in the
Rites of the Elder Dai
(
大戴禮
). He was said to have composed and/or edited the
Classic of Filial Piety
under the direction of Confucius. He was also associated with transmission of the
Great Learning
. He was first associated with the sacrifices to Confucius in 668 AD, but in 1267 he was advanced to be one of Confucius'
Four Assessors
. His title, "Exhibitor of the Fundamental Principles of the Sage", dates from the reign of the
Jiajing Emperor
, when he was associated with Yan Hui.
Zengzi established his own school, and taught
Zisi
(Kong Ji), the grandson of Confucius, who was in turn the teacher of
Mencius
, thus beginning a line of transmitters of orthodox Confucian traditions.
Along with
Yan Hui
, Zisi, and Mencius, Zengzi is considered to be one of the Four Sages of Confucianism.
Filial piety
[
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]
Zeng Shen was known for his
filial piety
. After the deaths of his parents, he was unable to read the rites of mourning without bursting into tears.
A famous legend about Zeng Shen, called
Nie Zhi Tong Xin
(
Chinese
:
齧指痛心
), is included in the influential
Yuan dynasty
text
The Twenty-four Filial Exemplars
. In the story, Zeng Shen was one day out gathering firewood, when some visitors unexpectedly showed up at his home. His mother bit her finger, and Zeng felt a sharp pain in his heart. He immediately knew his mother needed him and rushed home.
Related stories
[
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]
Zengzi slaughtered the pig for his son
[
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]
One day, Zengzi's wife went shopping to the market. His son cried when his mother was leaving. She said to her son, “Don't cry. I'll slaughter a pig and make pork dishes for you when I'm back.” When she was back, Zengzi started slaughtering the pig in their yard. Zengzi's wife stopped him and said, “That was intended to be a joke.” Zengzi replied, “We should not lie to our children. Children are innocent and they learn from their parents. Therefore, if you cheat to your son, you're teaching your son to cheat others, and he won't trust you anymore. This is not the correct way to teach your son.” Finally, they cooked the pig for the son.
[5]
“Zeng Shen” committed murder
[
edit
]
When Zengzi was living in
Fei County
, there was a man with the same name of him living nearby committed murder. When the neighbours told Zengzi's mom that “Zeng Shen” committed murder, she initially did not believe it and stayed calm as if nothing happened. But when the third person told her about that, she started to believe that her son committed murder and hurriedly escaped from her house in panic.
[6]
This story was later widely used as an example to illustrate the serious effect brought by
rumours
, which is also known as the
Woozle effect
in English.
Descendants
[
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]
In 1452 the title
Wujing Boshi
(
五經博士
) was bestowed upon the descendants of Zengzi and other Confucian sages such as
Mencius
,
Yan Hui
,
Zhou Dunyi
, and
Zhu Xi
.
[7]
In the
Republic of China
there is an office called the "Sacrificial Official to Zengzi" which is held by a descendant of Zengzi, like the post of "Sacrificial Official to Mencius" for a descendant of
Mencius
, "Sacrificial Official to Yan Hui" for a descendant of
Yan Hui
, and the post of "
Sacrificial Official to Confucius
", held by a descendant of
Confucius
.
[8]
[9]
Some of the descendants of Zengzi include:
- Zeng Gong
, 43rd Generation descendant,
Northern Song
essayist, one of the
Eight Great Prose Masters of the Tang and Song
- Zeng Guofan
, 70th Generation descendant,
Qing dynasty
military leader and statesman
[10]
- Zeng Guoquan
, 70th Generation descendant,
Qing dynasty
military leader and official, Zeng Guofan's younger brother
- Tsang Hin-chi
, 74th Generation descendant,
Hong Kong
businessman, member of the
Standing Committee of the National People's Congress
[11]
- Donald Tsang
, 74th Generation descendant, 2nd
Chief Executive of Hong Kong
[12]
- Tsang Yam-pui
, 74th Generation descendant,
Commissioner of Police of Hong Kong
, Donald Tsang's younger brother
References
[
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]
Citations
[
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]
- ^
Han, Fei.
Han Feizi
.
曾子之妻之市,其子隨之而泣,其母曰:「女還,顧反?女殺?。」妻適市來,曾子欲捕?殺之,妻止之曰:「特與?兒?耳。」曾子曰:「?兒非與?也。?兒非有知也,待父母而學者也,聽父母之?,今子欺之,是?子欺也。母欺子,子而不信其母,非所以成?也。」遂烹?也。
- ^
Qiuming, Zuo.
Zhan Guo Ce
.
昔者曾子處費,費人有與曾子同名族者而殺人。人告曾子母曰:『曾參殺人。』曾子之母曰:『吾子不殺人。』織自若。有頃焉,人又曰:『曾參殺人。』其母?織自若也。頃之,一人又告之曰:『曾參殺人。』其母懼,投?逾牆而走。
- ^
Wilson, Thomas A.. 1996. "The Ritual Formation of
confucian orthodoxy
and the Descendants of the Sage". The Journal of Asian Studies 55 (3). [Cambridge University Press, Association for Asian Studies]: 559?84. doi:10.2307/2646446.
https://www.jstor.org/stable/2646446
p. 571.
- ^
"台?儒家奉祀官?改?无?? 不排除由女子?任_新?中心_新浪?"
.
- ^
"Rfi - 台???少儒家世?奉祀官?位?取消俸?"
.
- ^
Reimagining the Chinese Nation: The "Zeng Guofan Phenomenon", Yingjie Guo and Baogang He, Modern China Vol. 25, No. 2 (Apr., 1999), pp. 142-170
- ^
"Founder - Dr. Tsang Hin Chi"
.
Goldlion Holdings Limited
(in Chinese (Hong Kong))
. Retrieved
9 January
2023
.
- ^
"話?知 曾蔭權?曾子74代子孫"
(in Chinese (Hong Kong)). Apple Daily (Hong Kong). 9 April 2007
. Retrieved
26 January
2023
.
Bibliography
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External links
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