Historical celebrities and deeds named Zeng

Zeng Shen, the founder of the sect: famous for his benevolence, filial piety and etiquette.

When talking about Zeng culture, there is a famous person of the Zeng family that cannot be ignored. He is famous for his benevolence, filial piety and etiquette. Zeng Shen, the founder of the Zeng family.

Zeng Shen, whose courtesy name was Ziyu and later generations respectfully called Zengzi, was a native of Wucheng, Lu State, in the late Spring and Autumn Period. Zeng Shen was 46 years younger than Confucius. When he was 16 years old, he became a disciple of Confucius. He was famous for his benevolence, filial piety, propriety and justice. Zeng Shen's father, Zeng Xi, also called Zeng Dian, was also a student of Confucius.

Zeng Shen inherited the Taoism of Confucius and founded the Simeng school. His academic status was not gradually recognized until after the Tang and Song Dynasties. All dynasties respected Confucianism and Taoism, and Zeng Shen ranked among the "four consorts" of Confucius. The "Four Matches" are the four saints (four saints) who are second only to Confucius among the figures enshrined in the Confucius Temple. Their statues sit on both sides of the statue of Confucius, namely Yan Hui (reviving the saint) and Kong Ji (shu saint). , Zeng Shen (Zongsheng), Meng Ke (Yasheng). Descendants of the Zeng surname followed the temple system, with Zeng Shen as the founder of the sect.

When he was 16 years old, his father took him to worship Confucius as his teacher

Zeng Shen helped with housework when he was just a few years old. When he was a little older, he worked in the fields with his father Zeng Xi. In his 10s, he could Collecting firewood, plowing, driving, etc. alone. Once, I went to Mount Tai for farming. I encountered a heavy snowstorm and could not return home for more than a month. He missed his parents, so he composed a song "Liangshan Yin" and danced while playing the piano to express his sorrow.

When he was 16 years old, his father Zeng Xi took him to worship Confucius as his teacher. Confucius' first impression of Zeng Shen was "She is also Lu", which means that Zeng Shen was relatively simple and honest.

Once, Zeng Shen was weeding in a melon field and accidentally hoeed down a melon seedling. Zeng Xi was very angry, thinking that his intentions were not focused, so he picked up a big stick and beat him. Zeng Xi struck too hard and knocked Zeng Shen unconscious. After Zeng Shen regained consciousness, instead of being angry, he said with a smile on his face: "Thank you, father, for teaching me so hard. Don't get so angry!"

This matter reached the ears of Confucius, who criticized Zeng Shen. Said: "You should accept a light beating, and run away from a heavy beating. If you are beaten to death by your father in a rage, you will bring an unjust reputation to your father. Think about it, where is the filial piety in this?" Zeng Shen suddenly realized it and said in a cold sweat: "I have sinned very much!"

Anecdotes and Allusions of Zeng Zi

Zeng Zi was not given the gift

When he was 22 years old, Zeng Shen followed Confucius back to Lu from Wei. At this time, Zeng Xi was already old, and Zeng Shen had to do half-farming and half-reading. Zeng Shen was often seen working in the fields wearing shabby clothes.

When the king of Lu heard about this, he was afraid that other countries would laugh at Lu for not paying attention to scholars, so he sent someone to tell Zeng Shen that he should stop farming and give him a city. Zeng Shen refused to accept the gift and said, "Those who receive gifts are often afraid of those who give gifts, and those who give gifts often bully those who receive gifts. Even if the king does not bully me, how can I not be afraid?" Confucius heard about this. Afterwards, he commented on Zeng Shen and said: "Zeng Shen's words were enough to preserve his moral integrity."

Zeng Zi cooked pigs

Zeng Shen's wife was going to the market, but his son was crying and wanted to follow him. go. In order to coax her son, Zeng's wife pointed to the pigs that had not yet grown up in the pig pen and said, "Don't follow me. I will come back and kill the pigs for you to eat." The son believed it and did not follow him.

When Zeng’s wife came back from the market, her son made a fuss about killing pigs for meat. Zeng Shen said nothing and ran to the pen to catch the pig. Seeing that Zeng Shen was serious, Zeng's wife quickly stopped him and said, "Why are you killing the pig? I was just joking with my son!" Zeng Shen said: "A child learns from his parents whether he understands principles since childhood. If you deceive him now, you are teaching your child to deceive!" So he killed the pig and let his son eat the meat.

Biting fingers and feeling sad

When Zengzi was young, his family was poor and he often went into the mountains to collect firewood. One day, a guest came to the house, and my mother was at a loss, so she bit her finger with her teeth. Zeng Shen suddenly felt distressed. Knowing that his mother was calling him, he quickly returned home carrying firewood and knelt down to ask why. His mother said, "A guest came unexpectedly. I am biting my fingers in hope that you will come back." Zeng Shen then received the guest and treated him with courtesy.

When it comes to honoring parents, Zeng Shen said: "It means love and respect.

"If your parents' words and deeds are reasonable, follow them; if they are not reasonable, admonish them... Filial piety means taking your parents' sorrow as sorrow and taking your parents' happiness as happiness.

Study diligently and ask questions Confucius asked him to "entrust him" on his deathbed

Zeng Shen's biggest characteristic of learning was that he was diligent in learning and eager to ask questions. He said: "Cherish the time to study and study when you have the appropriate time. Don’t avoid difficult questions, and don’t let go of seemingly simple questions. "Every time he was around Confucius, Zeng Shen would definitely ask all kinds of questions. He would ask questions about good fortune, misfortune, military and national etiquette, routines and contingency methods. There is an article in "The Book of Rites" "Zeng Zi asked. ", which records that Zeng Shen once asked Confucius for advice and had more than 40 questions.

Zeng Shen paid great attention to the cultivation of his own moral character and closely combined his studies with his own cultivation. This is the famous "I examine myself three times every day. He said: "I reflect on myself many times every day: Am I doing my best for others?" Are you being honest with your friends? Have you reviewed the studies taught by the teacher frequently? "

Once in class, Confucius called Zeng Shen to him and said with emotion: "Zeng Shen, there is a thread running through my thoughts. After Confucius went out, other students gathered around and asked Zeng Shen: "What did the teacher mean just now?" Zeng Shen said: "Teacher's thoughts are loyalty and forgiveness." "

Confucius believed that Zeng Shen could inherit his career, so he paid special attention to teaching him his studies alone. One day, Confucius said to Zeng Shen: "There is a highest morality that can be used to govern the world. Do you know ? "Then he systematically taught Zeng Shen about filial piety, and the content of the teaching was recorded in the "Book of Filial Piety".

Another day, Zeng Shen sat with Confucius, and Confucius taught him the strategy of governing the country. The content is recorded in "Book of Rites·Zhuyan". Etiquette is an important part of Confucianism. Confucius patiently taught Zeng Shen, and the content of the teaching is recorded in "Book of Rites·Zeng Ziwen"

Confucius commented on Zeng Shen and said: “Filial piety to parents is the foundation of morality, respecting brothers is the extension of morality, trustworthiness is the expression of morality, and loyalty is the right path of morality. Zeng Shen is a person who meets these four moral requirements. "Before Confucius died, he called Zeng Shen to him and entrusted his grandson Kong Ji to him. At that time, Zeng Shen was only 27 years old.

After Confucius died, all his disciples observed filial piety for him for three years. 3 years Later, Zigong, Zizhang, and Ziyou thought that their classmate Youruo looked a bit like Confucius, and wanted to treat him with respect as a teacher, so they asked Zeng Shen for his opinion and said flatly: "No! The teacher's character and thoughts are as if they have been washed by the water of the river and exposed by the midsummer sun. They are so white and bright that nothing can compare with them! Think about it, who else can compare to the teacher now? ”

Inheriting the mantle, teaching and teaching, and writing books

After Confucius died, Zeng Shen knew that he had a great responsibility in inheriting the mantle of the teacher, so he began to teach and teach in his hometown. Initially in He taught at home, and later moved into a wealthy family. At the age of 38, he was hired by the Wucheng doctor to teach in Wucheng. At the age of 39, he left Wucheng to teach in Yue State, which is now 60 miles northwest of Tancheng County. Moshan, it is said that Zeng Shen once taught there.

When he was 40 years old, Zeng Shen stayed in Weiguo for more than 20 years. He not only taught in Weiguo, but also made a series of remarks. Strengthen self-cultivation and uphold moral principles. At the age of 61, he returned to his hometown from Weiguo and continued to teach students.

An important characteristic of Zeng Shen is to teach Confucius' teachings exactly. His student Zi Xiang directly quoted Confucius when he talked about what bravery is: "Is Zi so brave? I have heard that he is more courageous than the Master. Self-reflective and not shrinking, even though it is brown and broad, I am not worried; self-reflecting and shrinking, even though there are thousands of people, I will go. ”

Another characteristic of Zeng Shen’s teaching students is to seize every opportunity to provide students with ideological and moral education. One of Zeng Shen’s students wanted to go to the state of Jin and said to Zeng Shen: “There is no such thing as me in the state of Jin.” Familiar people. Zeng Shen said: "Why do we need familiar people?" Go ahead. Those who are familiar with him call him friends, and those who are not familiar with him become his guests. A gentleman adheres to benevolence and achieves virtue. He acts first and speaks later. He is a brother even though he is thousands of miles away.

If you don't know how to strengthen your study and cultivation, no one, even your relatives, will be willing to get close to you. ”

When he reached his old age, Zeng Shen recorded Confucius’ thoughts, organized his fellow students and disciples, and compiled the Analects of Confucius, the Book of Rites, the Book of Filial Piety, etc. Zeng Shen’s remarks were also compiled into books by his disciples. "Hanshu Yiwenzhi" records 18 chapters of "Zeng Zi". The "Great Learning" chapter in "The Book of Filial Piety" was written by Zeng Shen, who was respected by later generations as one of the "Four Books"

Zeng Shen's son Zeng Yuan. , Zeng Shen, Zeng Hua, and their grandson Zeng Xi are all famous for being virtuous. It is said in "Shuoyuan·Miscellaneous Words": "The children of Confucius' family do not know how to curse, and the children of Zeng Shen's family do not know how to pursue power. The reason why this happens is because parents are good at parenting. ”

Zeng Shen’s view of filial piety was passed down from Confucius. However, on the basis of Confucius’ view of filial piety, he integrated the important components of the original Confucius’ theory of “benevolence” into his own understanding of filial piety through his own “three provinces”. Fully developed and summarized, the main family ethics of children's respect for their parents has been developed into an abstract principle with universal significance, the foundation of all morality and the origin of education.

Zeng Shen expanded "filial piety". "The connotation of "benevolence" includes all moral categories such as benevolence, righteousness, propriety, and trustworthiness, and is no longer part of "benevolence". Zeng Shen's view of filial piety also includes Zhuang, loyalty, respect, and courage. "It is not filial piety to live in a place that is not dignified; It is not filial piety to be disloyal to the king; it is not filial piety to be disrespectful to officials; it is not filial piety to be distrustful of friends; it is not filial piety to fight without courage. ”