Disciples of Confucius - Disciples - Duanmu Ci (Zigong)

Duanmu Ci (Zigong)

Duanmu Ci (端木賜) was a native of Wei, and thirty-one years younger than Confucius. His courtesy name was Zigong (子貢). He had mental sharpness and ability, and appears in the Analects as one of the most forward talkers among Confucius' students. Confucius said, "From the time that I got Ci, scholars from a distance came daily resorting to me." According to Zhu Xi, Zigong was a merchant who later became wealthy through his own efforts, and developed a sense of moral self-composure through the course of his work. (His past profession as a merchant is elaborated in Analects 11.18).

When he first came to Confucius he quickly demonstrated an ability to grasp Confucius' basic points, and refined himself further through Confucius' education. He is later revealed to have become a skillful speaker and an accomplished statesman (Analects 11.3), but Confucius may have felt that he lacked the necessary flexibility and empathy towards others necessary for achieving consummate virtue (ren): he once claimed to of have achieved Confucius' moral ideal, but was then sharply dismissed by the Master (Analects 5.12); later he is criticized by Confucius for being too strict with others, and for not moderating his demands with an empathic understanding of others' limitations (Analects 14.29). He is one of the Confucius' students most commonly referred to in the Analects, also appearing in Analects 9.6, 9.13, 11.13, 13.20, 14.17, and 17.19.

Duke Ching of Qi once asked Zigong how Confucius was to be ranked as a sage, and he replied, "I do not know. I have all my life had the sky over my head, but I do not know its height, and the earth under my feet, but I do not know its thickness. In my serving of Confucius, I am like a thirsty man who goes with his pitcher to the river, and there he drinks his fill, without knowing the river's depth."

After studying with Confucius, Zigong became Commandant of Xinyang, and Confucius gave him this advice: "In dealing with your subordinates, there is nothing like impartiality; and when wealth comes in your way, there is nothing like moderation. Hold fast these two things, and do not swerve from them. To conceal men's excellence is to obscure the worthy; and to proclaim people's wickedness is the part of a mean man. To speak evil of those whom you have not sought the opportunity to instruct is not the way of friendship and harmony." After leaving Confucius, Zigong served in high offices in both in Lu and Wei, and finally died in Qi. Following Confucius's death, many of the disciples built huts near their Master's grave, and mourned for him three years, but Zigong remained there, mourning alone for three years more. His place in the Temple of Confucius is third among "The Wise Ones", to the east of the Assessors. The fifth chapter of the Analects was traditionally attributed to his disciples.