Zai Yu
| Zai Yu | |||||||||||||
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 Zai Yu in theHalf-Portraits of the Great Sage and Virtuous Men of Old( đến thánh tiên hiền tượng bán thân ), housed in theNational Palace Museum | |||||||||||||
| Chinese | TểDư | ||||||||||||
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| Other names | |||||||||||||
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| Ziwo (Courtesy name) | |||||||||||||
| Chinese | TửTa | ||||||||||||
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| Zai Wo | |||||||||||||
| Chinese | TểTa | ||||||||||||
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Zai Yu(522–458 BC),[1]also known by hiscourtesy nameZiwoand asZai Wo,was a prominentdisciple of Confucius,known for his gift in speech. However, Confucius severely criticized him for proposing to shorten the three-year mourning period after the death of a parent.[2]
Life
[edit]Zai Yu was a native ofState of Lu.[3][4]He was considered as the most eloquent speaker among Confucius' disciples.[3]However, the only references of him in theAnalectswere Confucius' criticism of him.[1]In an important discussion of mourning, Zai Yu questioned the necessity for the three-year mourning period after the death of a parent, and suggested a maximum of one year of mourning. Confucius severely criticized Zai Yu, describing him as inhuman. Confucius argued that children seldom leave their parents' arms in their first three years of life and asked rhetorically, did Zai Yu not receive these three years of tender care from his parents?[1]Confucius also criticized him for sleeping during the day,[3]comparing him to rotten wood that cannot be carved ( gỗ mục không thể điêu cũng ).[5][6]Despite the criticism, he remained one of the Master's close disciples.[1]
According toSima Qian'sRecords of the Grand Historian,Zai Yu served as a minister inLinzi,the capital ofQi,and was killed when he was involved in the rebellion of Chen Heng ( trần hằng ) and his clan was exterminated. Sima Qian further says that Confucius was ashamed of Zai Yu's death.[6]However, this account has been questioned by scholars since ancient times, as theZuozhuanonly mentions that Kan Zhi ( hám ngăn ) was killed in Chen Heng's rebellion. As Kan Zhi was also known by his courtesy name Ziwo, which was identical to that of Zai Yu, Sima Qian may have conflated the two people's stories.[6]
Legacy
[edit]InConfucian temples,Zai Yu'sspirit tabletis placed the second among theTwelve Wise Ones,on the west.[4]
During theTang dynasty,Emperor Xuanzongposthumously awarded Zai Yu the nobility title of Marquess of Qi ( tề hầu ).Song dynastyemperors further awarded him the titles of Duke of Linzi ( lâm truy công ) and Duke of Qi ( tề công ).[7]
References
[edit]Citations
[edit]- ^abcdTaylor & Choy 2005,p. 621.
- ^Confucius 1997,p. 202, Analect 17:21.
- ^abcConfucius 1997,p. 202.
- ^abLegge 2009,p. 115.
- ^Confucius 1997,p. 74.
- ^abcHan 2010,pp. 4585–6.
- ^"Zai Yu"(in Chinese). Taipei Confucian Temple.Retrieved1 November2014.
Bibliography
[edit]- Confucius(1997).The Analects of Confucius.Translated by Chichung Huang. Oxford University Press.ISBN978-0-19-506157-4.
- Han, Zhaoqi (2010). "Biographies of the Disciples of Confucius".Shiji( sử ký )(in Chinese). Beijing: Zhonghua Book Company.ISBN978-7-101-07272-3.
- Legge, James(2009).The Confucian Analects, the Great Learning & the Doctrine of the Mean.Cosimo.ISBN978-1-60520-644-8.
- Taylor, Rodney Leon; Choy, Howard Yuen Fung (2005).The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Confucianism: N–Z.The Rosen Publishing Group.ISBN978-0-8239-4081-3.