Zeng Shen (505–435 BC), better known as Zengzi (Master Zeng),

courtesy name A courtesy name ( zh, s=字, p=zì, l=character), also known as a style name, is an additional name bestowed upon individuals at adulthood, complementing their given name. This tradition is prevalent in the East Asian cultural sphere, particula ...

Ziyu (), was a Chinese philosopher and

disciple A disciple is a follower and student of a mentor, teacher, or other figure. It can refer to: Religion * Disciple (Christianity), a student of Jesus Christ * Twelve Apostles of Jesus, sometimes called the Twelve Disciples * Seventy disciples in t ...

Confucius Confucius (; pinyin: ; ; ), born Kong Qiu (), was a Chinese philosopher of the Spring and Autumn period who is traditionally considered the paragon of Chinese sages. Much of the shared cultural heritage of the Sinosphere originates in the phil ...

. He later taught

Zisi Zisi (), born Kong Ji, was a Chinese philosopher and the grandson of Confucius. Intellectual genealogy, teaching, criticism Zisi was the son of Kong Li (孔鯉) (:zh:孔鲤, Boyu (伯鱼)) and the only grandson of Confucius. He is traditional ...

(Kong Ji), the grandson of Confucius, who was in turn the teacher of

Mencius Mencius (孟子, ''Mèngzǐ'', ; ) was a Chinese Confucian philosopher, often described as the Second Sage () to reflect his traditional esteem relative to Confucius himself. He was part of Confucius's fourth generation of disciples, inheriting ...

, thus beginning a line of transmitters of orthodox Confucian traditions. He is revered as one of the

Four Sages The Four Sages, Assessors,James Legge, Legge, James. The Confucian Analects, the Great Learning, & the Doctrine of the Mean'. 1893. or Correlates (), are four eminent figures in the Chinese philosophy, Chinese philosopher and Confucianism traditio ...

of Confucianism.

Life

Zeng Shen was 46 years younger than Confucius. He was a native of South Wu City in the

State of Lu Lu (; 249 BC) was a vassal state during the Zhou dynasty of ancient China located around modern Shandong. Founded in the 11th century BC, its rulers were from a cadet branch of the House of Ji () that ruled the Zhou dynasty. The f ...

, 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 Yan Hui (–481 BC) was a Chinese philosopher. He was the favorite disciple of Confucius and one of the most revered figures of Confucianism. He is venerated in Confucian temples as one of the Four Sages. Names Yan Hui is also known by his c ...

Duanmu Ci Duanmu Ci (; 520–456 BC), also known by his courtesy name Zigong (), was a Chinese businessman, philosopher, and politician. He was one of the most important and loyal disciples of Confucius. Among Confucius' students, he was the second best at ...

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'' (). He was said to have composed and/or edited the ''

Classic of Filial Piety The ''Classic of Filial Piety'', also known by its Chinese name as the ''Xiaojing'', is a Confucian classic treatise giving advice on filial piety: that is, how to behave towards a senior such as a father, an elder brother, or a ruler. The ...

'' under the direction of Confucius. He was also associated with transmission of the ''

Great Learning The ''Great Learning'' or ''Daxue'' was one of the " Four Books" in Confucianism attributed to one of Confucius' disciples, Zengzi. The ''Great Learning'' had come from a chapter in the '' Book of Rites'' which formed one of the Five Classi ...

''. 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 The Four Sages, Assessors, Legge, James. The Confucian Analects, the Great Learning, & the Doctrine of the Mean'. 1893. or Correlates (), are four eminent figures in the Chinese philosopher and Confucianism tradition. They are traditionally accord ...

. His title, "Exhibitor of the Fundamental Principles of the Sage", dates from the reign of the

Jiajing Emperor The Jiajing Emperor (16September 150723January 1567), also known by his temple name as the Emperor Shizong of Ming, personal name Zhu Houcong, art name, art names Yaozhai, Leixuan, and Tianchi Diaosou, was the 12th List of emperors of the Ming ...

, when he was associated with Yan Hui. Zengzi established his own school, and taught

(Kong Ji), the grandson of Confucius, who was in turn the teacher of

, thus beginning a line of transmitters of orthodox Confucian traditions. Along with

, Zisi, and Mencius, Zengzi is considered to be one of the Four Sages of Confucianism.

Filial piety

Zeng Shen was known for his

filial piety Filial piety is the virtue of exhibiting love and respect for one's parents, elders, and ancestors, particularly within the context of Confucian ethics, Confucian, Chinese Buddhism, Chinese Buddhist ethics, Buddhist, and Daoism, Daoist ethics. ...

. 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'' (), is included in the influential

Yuan dynasty The Yuan dynasty ( ; zh, c=元朝, p=Yuáncháo), officially the Great Yuan (; Mongolian language, Mongolian: , , literally 'Great Yuan State'), was a Mongol-led imperial dynasty of China and a successor state to the Mongol Empire after Div ...

text ''

The Twenty-four Filial Exemplars ''The Twenty-four Filial Exemplars'', also translated as ''The Twenty-four Paragons of Filial Piety'' (), is a classic text of Confucianism, Confucian filial piety written by Guo Jujing ()() Wang, Qi (). ''Xu Wenxian Tongkao'' () vol. 71. duri ...

''. 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.

Descendants

In 1452 the title ''Wujing Boshi'' () was bestowed upon the descendants of Zengzi and other Confucian sages such as

Zhou Dunyi Zhou Dunyi (; 1017–1073) was a Chinese cosmologist, philosopher, and writer during the Song dynasty. He conceptualized the Neo-Confucianism, Neo-Confucian cosmology of the day, explaining the relationship between human conduct and universal ...

, and

Zhu Xi Zhu Xi ( zh, c=朱熹; ; October 18, 1130April 23, 1200), formerly romanized Chu Hsi, was a Chinese philosopher, historian, politician, poet, and calligrapher of the Southern Song dynasty. As a leading figure in the development of Neo-Confuci ...

. In the

Republic of China Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

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

, "Sacrificial Official to Yan Hui" for a descendant of

, and the post of "

Sacrificial Official to Confucius The Duke Yansheng, literally "Honorable Overflowing with Wisdom", sometimes translated as Holy Duke of Yen, was a Chinese nobility, Chinese title of nobility. It was originally created as a marquis title in the Han dynasty#Western Han, We ...

", held by a descendant of

. Some of the descendants of Zengzi include: *

Zeng Gong Zeng Gong (; 1019–1083), courtesy name Zigu (), was a Chinese essayist, historian, poet, and politician of the Song dynasty. He was a key supporter and writer in the Classical Prose Movement and is regarded by later scholars as one of the Eigh ...

, 43rd Generation descendant,

Northern Song The Song dynasty ( ) was an imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 960 to 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song, who usurped the throne of the Later Zhou dynasty and went on to conquer the rest of the Ten Kingdoms, endin ...

essayist, one of the

Eight Great Prose Masters of the Tang and Song The Eight Great Prose Masters of the Tang and Song () refers to a group of prominent prose writers during the Tang and Song dynasties. Nearly all of these masters were also accomplished in various aspects of politics and culture during their time. ...

Zeng Guofan Zeng Guofan, Marquis Yiyong (; 26 November 1811 – 12 March 1872), birth name Zeng Zicheng, courtesy name Bohan (), was a Chinese statesman and military general of the late Qing dynasty. He is best known for raising and organizing the Xiang ...

, 70th Generation descendant,

Qing dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing, was a Manchu-led Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China and an early modern empire in East Asia. The last imperial dynasty in Chinese history, the Qing dynasty was preceded by the ...

military leader and statesman *

Zeng Guoquan Zeng Guoquan (12 October 1824 – 13 November 1890), courtesy name Yuanfu, art name Shuchun, was a Chinese official and military leader of the late Qing dynasty. He was the ninth brother of Zeng Guofan, a prominent statesman and general, and a ...

, 70th Generation descendant,

military leader and official, Zeng Guofan's younger brother *

Tsang Hin-chi Tsang Hin-chi, (; 2 February 1934 – 20 September 2019) was a Hong Kong entrepreneur and politician. He was the founder and president of the Goldlion Group Co. Ltd. and a member of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPCSC ...

, 74th Generation descendant,

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

businessman, member of the

Standing Committee of the National People's Congress The Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPCSC) is the permanent body of the National People's Congress (NPC), the national legislature of the People's Republic of China. It exercises the powers of the NPC when it is not in s ...

Donald Tsang Sir Donald Tsang Yam-kuen (; born 7 October 1944) is a former Hong Kong civil servant who served as the second Chief Executive of Hong Kong from 2005 to 2012. Tsang joined the colonial civil service as an Executive Officer in 1967, occupyi ...

, 74th Generation descendant, 2nd

Chief Executive of Hong Kong The chief executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region is the representative of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and head of the Government of Hong Kong. The position was created to replace the office of Governor of ...

Tsang Yam-pui Tsang Yam-pui (; born 11 September 1946) is the former Commissioner of Police of Hong Kong from January 2001 to December 2003. Tsang is also the brother of the former Chief executive Donald Tsang. Their high positions in the government has refer ...

, 74th Generation descendant, Commissioner of Police of Hong Kong, Donald Tsang's younger brother * Ethan Zeng, 27th Honors Cohort, The Ohio State University

References

Citations

Bibliography

* * * *

External links

Website on the Zeng family
{{Authority control 505 BC births 435 BC deaths Disciples of Confucius 5th-century BC Chinese philosophers 5th-century BC Chinese people People from Linyi Philosophers from Lu (state) Twenty-four Filial Exemplars 5th-century BC Confucianists