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Article: THE DISCIPLES.(Confucius' disciples)
- Article from:
- Calliope
- Article date:
- October 1, 1999
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1999 Carus Publishing Co. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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As many as 3,000 men may have studied under Confucius. We know very little about most of them. Just 22 of Confucius' disciples (students) are mentioned by name in the Analects, a collection of Confucius' sayings that was compiled after his death. Of these 22, we know that about half eventually served as officials in Lu or elsewhere in China. The most influential of these officeholders was Ran Qiu.
In 492 B.C.E., Qiu was selected by the Duke of Lu to be his personal advisor. Confucius felt proud that one of his pupils had been chosen for such an important post. But his pride turned to disappointment when Qiu placed his personal ambition above his principles. ...