Disciples of Confucius

According to Sima Qian, Confucius said: "The disciples who received my instructions, and could themselves comprehend them, were seventy-seven individuals. They were all scholars of extraordinary ability." It was traditionally believed that Confucius had three thousand students, but that only 72 mastered what he taught. The following is a list of students who have been identified as Confucius' followers. Very little is known of most of Confucius' students, but some of them are mentioned in the Analects of Confucius. Many of their biographies are recorded in the Sima Qian's Shiji. The Six Arts were practiced by the 72 disciples.

Yan Hui (顏回), was a native of the Lu. His courtesy name was Ziyuan (子淵). He was Confucius' favorite student, and was younger than Confucius by 30 years. He became Confucius' disciple when he was very young. "After I got Hui," Confucius once said, "the disciples came closer to me." Confucius once traveled to Nang Hill with three of his favourite students, Hui, Zilu, and Zigong, and asked them each to tell him their different aims, after which he would choose between them. After Zilu's answer, Confucius said, "It marks your bravery." After Zigong's answer, Confucius said, "It shows your discriminating eloquence." Yan Hui spoke last, saying "I should like to find an intelligent king and sage ruler whom I might assist. I would diffuse among the people instructions on the five great points, and lead them on by the rules of propriety and music, so that they should not care to fortify their cities by walls and moats, but would fuse their swords and spears into implements of agriculture. They should send forth their flocks without fear into the plains and forests. There should be no sunderings of families, no widows or widowers. For a thousand years there would be no calamity of war. Yu would have no opportunity to display his bravery, or Ts'ze to display his oratory." After hearing Yan Yui's answer, Confucius said, "How admirable is this virtue!"

Yan Hui was very introverted. When Hui was 29, his hair turned completely white, and at age 32 he died. The first emperor of the Han dynasty sacrificed to both him and Confucius. In the Confucian sacrificial Canon his title, "Continuator of the Sage", was conferred in the ninth year of the Jiajing era of the Ming dynasty, in 1530 AD, when almost all of the present sacrificial titles of the worthies in the Temple of Confucius were fixed. Hui's place is on the east of the sage. He is considered the first of the Four Assessors, the most senior disciple of Confucius.

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