Confucius - 551 BC - Young Scholar's Library

Author: Zhao Lihong
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-09-01
Features: Confucius's ancestors were originally members of the Yin Shang royal family. After several generations, they descended to the status of feudal lords and officials, but still retained fiefdoms in the State of Song, which were sufficient to support the family. When they fled to the State of Lu, although they were still officials, they lost their fiefdoms, and the family members had to rely on serving the nobility to earn their living. Confucius's father was a local magistrate and still had some income. However, Confucius was only three years old when his father died, and his mother moved him to Qufu with him. Without a fiefdom and with his father's early death, their living conditions were naturally difficult. According to records, Confucius had nine half-sisters and one disabled older brother. The documents did not mention the status of these siblings, but it is likely that none of them stood out.
Therefore, when Confucius said he was humble in his youth, he did not mean his birth was lowly—he was still from the scholar-official class. He meant his family was poor. Due to his family's poverty, Confucius said he "was skilled in many humble tasks," meaning he had engaged in many lowly occupations. According to Mencius, when Confucius was young, he worked as a "Cui Li" (grain warehouse manager), excelling at precise record-keeping; he also worked as a "Cheng Tian" (herdsman), managing livestock. These tasks were likely done when Confucius was in his early twenties.
One thing is certain: regardless of how poor Confucius's family was or how many menial jobs he did, he was still from the scholar-official class. Therefore, he learned and mastered the necessary skills such as rites, music, archery, charioteering, calligraphy, and mathematics, which were collectively known as the "Six Arts." At that time, scholars generally acquired the means to survive by learning these knowledge and skills, hoping one day to be noticed by a powerful noble and gain a position.
Later, Confucius advised Zixia, saying, "Do not be a petty scholar; be a noble scholar." This shows that at the time, there were already some petty scholars who studied knowledge and skills solely for survival.
However, Confucius showed signs of being extraordinary from a young age, particularly in his understanding of "rites." In childhood, when children played and often caused trouble, Confucius also played, but his games involved imitating rituals. Since his family was from the scholar-official class and his father had held office, they had ritual vessels such as altars and dishes. Confucius often arranged these vessels and led the children in imitating the rituals he had seen at adult gatherings and family sacrifices, surprisingly doing so quite convincingly. As he grew older, Confucius became known in his hometown for his understanding of rites.
P25-26