The Life of Confucius, Father of Chinese Philosophy1

The Life ofThe Confucius, Life of Confucius,Father of Chinese Father Philosophy of Chinese Philosophy603 The Life of Confucius, Father of Chinese Philosophy1 Kong Fuzi, or Confucius, whom the Chinese follow and revere as the father of their philosophy, is also known by the more familiar and personal name of Qiu, with the surname of Zhongni. He was born in the village of Zouyi, in the coun- ty of Changping, belonging to the town of Qufu, attached to the city of Yan- zhou, in the kingdom of Lu, now known as the Shandong province.2 This was in the twenty-first year of Emperor Ling Wang, the twenty-third emperor of the Zhou dynasty, in the forty-seventh year, called Gengxu, of the thirty-sixth cycle.3 At that time, King Xiang Gong had ruled over the Lu Kingdom for twenty- two years.4 It was the thirteenth day of the eleventh moon, called Gengzi, in the second hour of the night, 551 years before Christ.5 His mother, Zheng, came from the noble family of Yan. His father was Shulianghe,6 famous not only for being an important magistrate in the kingdom of Song but also for his noble ancestry, tracing back to the twenty-seventh and penultimate emperor of the Shang dynasty, Diyi, as the annals of the Chi- nese bear witness and as their genealogical tables show.7 Confucius’s father was already seventy years old when he was born, and died when Confucius was 1 In the Sapientia Sinica, the biography is entitled: “Life of Confucius, Prince of the Chinese Wisdom” (Vita Confucii, principis sapientiae Sinicae). In the Politico-moralis, Intorcetta short- ened it to: “Life of Confucius” (Vita Confucii). In the Sinarum Philosophus, Couplet emphasizes the identity of Confucius as a prince, or father, of Chinese philosophy. 2 This first part of this biography is largely an abridged translation of the chapter Kongzi shijia 孔子世家, from the Shiji by Sima Qian. The corresponding passage in Chinese is: 孔子生魯昌平鄉陬邑. 3 Each cycle lasts sixty years and the starting date of the first cycle is the beginning of Huangdi’s reign, in 2697 bc. The thirty-sixth cycle started in 597 bc. See Couplet’s “Chronological Table” (Tabula chronologica monarchiae Sinicae). 4 Kongzi shijia: 魯襄公二十二年而孔子生. 5 This is the computation made by the Jesuits, already present in the Politico-moralis, and which is followed in China and in the West. 6 Kongzi shijia: [ 叔梁 ] 紇與顏氏女野合而生孔子. The expression “united in the wild” (yehe 野合) suggests that Confucius was born from an illegitimate union. 7 Confucius’s supposed nobility, tracing back to Diyi, is not recorded by Sima Qian. Intorcetta drew it from some dubious records from the Jiayu. In his letter to Louis XIV, Couplet followed Intorcetta in having Confucius coming from royal lineage. © koninklijke brill nv, leiden, 2015 | doi 10.1163/9789004289789_005 604 The Life of Confucius, Father of Chinese Philosophy only three years old.8 His mother stayed with him for her remaining twenty- one years. Her husband was buried on the mountain Dongfang in the kingdom of Lu.9 More mature than others, at six years old, the child never played with his peers. He did not touch food before he had sacrificially offered and presented it to heaven, according to the ancient rite called zudou.10 From the age of fif- teen, he devoted himself entirely to reading the most valuable ancient books, rejecting less useful things. He selected the best works, so that he could first exemplify them in his own life and later propose them for others to imitate.11 Not much later, he discussed with Meng Yizi and Nangong Jingshu what civil rituals should be learned.12 At nineteen years old, or as others say, twenty years old, he married a woman, very dear to him, Qiguanshi.13 The next year, he had a son, Boyu, who died at the age of fifty, when Confucius himself was sixty- nine. He lost his wife three years earlier. But the stock did not die out with his son, thanks to his grandson Zisi.14 Zisi, devoted to the reputation of his grand- father and to philosophy, commented on his books, and occupied important positions in the empire. His lineage continues to be wealthy and honored to- day.15 8 Sima Qian mentioned that the father died when Confucius was born: 丘生而叔梁紇死. Sima suggested that Shulianghe married late, but he did not mention his precise age. According to the Jiayu, Confucius lost his father when he was three years old. 9 Kongzi shijia: 郰人袂父之母誨孔子父墓，然後往合葬於防焉 … 葬於防山。防山在魯東. The mountain Dongfang in the Jesuit translation refers, in fact, to Fang mountain 防山, at the east (dong) of the country Lu. 10 Sima mentioned that Confucius learned rituals but without mentioning his age: 孔子為兒嬉戲，常陳俎豆，設禮容. 11 This is not mentioned by Sima. 12 Kongzi shijia: [ 孟 ] 懿子與魯人南宮敬叔往學禮焉. The rituals are said to be civil, in opposition to religious. Santa María held that the Confucian worship “has never been political, but absolutely superstitious.” See Traité sur quelques points importants de la Mis- sion de la Chine (Paris, 1701), 53. 13 The name of Confucius’s wife, Qiguanshi 亓官氏, is not mentioned by Sima. 14 Information about Confucius’s son and grandson are not given by Sima at the beginning like here, but at the end of the biography: 孔子生鯉，字伯魚。伯魚年五十，先孔子死。伯魚生伋，字子思，年六十二。嘗困于宋。子思作中庸. 15 From Intorcetta’s text of the Politico-moralis, Couplet deletes a passage, probably judged unnecessary: “Concerning the point that his antiquity is older than any noble family of Africa or Europe. Fr. Adam Schall, a Jesuit priest and an outstanding expert in Chinese things, did not hesitate to affirm that a descendant of the Philosopher came to Beijing and approached him with all the respects commonly shown by this nation. If we recall cor- rectly, the origin of the Confucian lineage should be sought from Cheng-tang-yu-huangdi, .

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