Bu Shang (507 BC – 400 BC), commonly known by his

courtesy name A courtesy name (), also known as a style name, is a name bestowed upon one at adulthood in addition to one's given name. This practice is a tradition in the East Asian cultural sphere, including China, Japan, Korea, and Vietnam.Ulrich Theobald ...

Zixia or as Buzi (Master Bu), was an ancient Chinese philosopher and a prominent

disciple of Confucius According to Sima Qian, Confucius said: "The disciples who received my instructions, and could themselves comprehend them, were seventy-seven individuals. They were all scholars of extraordinary ability." It was traditionally believed that Confuciu ...

who was considered one of the most accomplished in cultural learning. He was one of the five disciples who took chief responsibility for the transmission of

Confucius Confucius ( ; zh, s=, p=Kǒng Fūzǐ, "Master Kǒng"; or commonly zh, s=, p=Kǒngzǐ, labels=no; – ) was a Chinese philosopher and politician of the Spring and Autumn period who is traditionally considered the paragon of Chinese sages. C ...

' teachings. He played a significant role in the transmission of such classics as the ''

Book of Poetry The ''Classic of Poetry'', also ''Shijing'' or ''Shih-ching'', translated variously as the ''Book of Songs'', ''Book of Odes'', or simply known as the ''Odes'' or ''Poetry'' (; ''Shī''), is the oldest existing collection of Chinese poetry, co ...

'' and the ''

I Ching The ''I Ching'' or ''Yi Jing'' (, ), usually translated ''Book of Changes'' or ''Classic of Changes'', is an ancient Chinese divination text that is among the oldest of the Chinese classics. Originally a divination manual in the Western Zho ...

''. He established his own school, and taught

Marquess Wen of Wei Marquess Wen of Wei (Wèi Wén Hóu; died 396 BCE) was the first Marquess to rule the State of Wei during the Warring States period of Chinese history (475 – 220 BCE). Born Wei Si (魏斯), he belonged to the House of Wei, one of the noble ...

, ruler of Wei, the most powerful state of the early

Warring States period The Warring States period () was an era in History of China#Ancient China, ancient Chinese history characterized by warfare, as well as bureaucratic and military reforms and consolidation. It followed the Spring and Autumn period and concluded ...

. Said to be a teacher of early " Legalist" Li Kui, Bu Shang is cited for the principle of favoring talents over favoritism.Peng He 2014. p.68. Chinese Lawmaking: From Non-communicative to Communicative. https://books.google.com/books?id=MXDABAAAQBAJ&pg=PA68

Life

Disciple of Confucius

It is uncertain which state Bu Shang came from. Different ancient sources name his birthplace variously as either Wey, Wei, or Wen (溫). Modern scholars, including

Ch'ien Mu Ch'ien Mu or Qian Mu (; 30 July 1895 – 30 August 1990) was a Chinese historian, philosopher and writer. He is considered to be one of the greatest historians and philosophers of 20th-century China. Ch'ien, together with Lü Simian, Chen Yink ...

, generally believe he was from Wei. Born in 507 BC, he was 44 years younger than Confucius. The most frequently mentioned characteristic of Bu Shang is his love of book learning, and he was well versed in the

Classics Classics or classical studies is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, classics traditionally refers to the study of Classical Greek and Roman literature and their related original languages, Ancient Greek and Latin. Classics ...

. He recommended broad, committed learning, and more than a millennium after his lifetime, his phrase, "Reflect on things near at hand" (''jinsi'') was used as the title of one of the most important works of

Neo-Confucianism Neo-Confucianism (, often shortened to ''lǐxué'' 理學, literally "School of Principle") is a moral, ethical, and metaphysical Chinese philosophy Chinese philosophy originates in the Spring and Autumn period () and Wa ...

, by

Zhu Xi Zhu Xi (; ; October 18, 1130 – April 23, 1200), formerly romanized Chu Hsi, was a Chinese calligrapher, historian, philosopher, poet, and politician during the Song dynasty. Zhu was influential in the development of Neo-Confucianism. He con ...

. However, he had a "tendency toward pedantry", and sometimes treated learning as "an end unto itself". While lavishing praise on him for cultural learning, Confucius mildly criticized Bu Shang for his pedantry, reminding him of the greater ultimate importance of virtuous action over learning. The ''

Analects The ''Analects'' (; ; Old Chinese: '' ŋ(r)aʔ''; meaning "Selected Sayings"), also known as the ''Analects of Confucius'', the ''Sayings of Confucius'', or the ''Lun Yu'', is an ancient Chinese book composed of a large collection of sayings a ...

'' and the ''

Book of Rites The ''Book of Rites'', also known as the ''Liji'', is a collection of texts describing the social forms, administration, and ceremonial rites of the Zhou dynasty as they were understood in the Warring States and the early Han periods. The ''Book o ...

'' record a number of Bu Shang's sayings, one of the best known being, "Life and death are a matter of Destiny; wealth and honor depend on Heaven".

Later life

Bu Shang, along with Yan Yan,

Zeng Shen Zeng Shen (505–435 BC), better known as Zengzi (Master Zeng), courtesy name Ziyu (), was a Chinese philosopher and disciple of Confucius. He later taught Zisi (Kong Ji), the grandson of Confucius, who was in turn the teacher of Mencius, thus be ...

You Ruo According to Sima Qian, Confucius said: "The disciples who received my instructions, and could themselves comprehend them, were seventy-seven individuals. They were all scholars of extraordinary ability." It was traditionally believed that Confuciu ...

Zhuansun Shi Zhuansun Shi (born 503BC), commonly known by his courtesy name Zizhang, was a prominent disciple of Confucius, who accompanied Confucius in his travels abroad, and later started his own sect of Confucianism. Life Zhuansun Shi (Zizhang) was bo ...

, and

Tantai Mieming Tantai Mieming or Dantai Mieming (; born 512 BC), also known by his courtesy name Ziyu (), was a major disciple of Confucius. He was known for being very ugly, but was morally upright. He started his own school in the Yangtze River region, and be ...

, was among the disciples of Confucius who continued teaching after the death of their Master. Bu Shang established a school at Xihe (west of the

Yellow River The Yellow River or Huang He (Chinese: , Standard Beijing Mandarin, Mandarin: ''Huáng hé'' ) is the second-longest river in China, after the Yangtze River, and the List of rivers by length, sixth-longest river system in the world at th ...

) in the

State of Wei Wei (; ; Old Chinese: *') was one of the seven major states during the Warring States period of ancient China. It was created from the three-way Partition of Jin, together with Han and Zhao. Its territory lay between the states of Qin and Qi ...

, where he taught numerous students, including

(r. 445–396 BC), the ruler of the state. His other influential students included Tian Zifang (田子方), Zhai Huang (翟璜), Duangan Mu (段干木), and Wei Cheng (魏成), all high-ranking ministers of Wei. According to tradition, Gongyang Gao and Guliang Chi, authors of the ''

Gongyang Zhuan The ''Gongyang Zhuan'' (), also known as the ''Gongyang Commentary on the Spring and Autumn Annals'' or the ''Commentary of Gongyang'', is a commentary on the ''Spring and Autumn Annals'', and is thus one of the Chinese classics. Along with the '' ...

'' and the ''

Guliang Zhuan The () is considered one of the classic books of ancient Chinese history. It is traditionally attributed to a writer with the surname of Guliang in the disciple tradition of Zixia, but versions of his name vary and there is no definitive way t ...

'', two of the

Three Commentaries on the Spring and Autumn Annals The ''Spring and Autumn Annals'' () is an ancient Chinese chronicle that has been one of the core Chinese classics since ancient times. The ''Annals'' is the official chronicle of the State of Lu, and covers a 241-year period from 722 to 481 ...

, both studied the ''

Spring and Autumn Annals The ''Spring and Autumn Annals'' () is an ancient Chinese chronicle that has been one of the core Chinese classics since ancient times. The ''Annals'' is the official chronicle of the State of Lu, and covers a 241-year period from 722 to 481 ...

'' under Bu Shang. Bu Shang lived a long life. When his son predeceased him, he wept inconsolably and became blind.

Legacy

Confucian temple A temple of Confucius or Confucian temple is a temple for the veneration of Confucius and the sages and philosophers of Confucianism in Chinese folk religion and other East Asian religions. They were formerly the site of the administration ...

s, Bu Shang's spirit tablet is placed fifth among the

Twelve Wise Ones The Twelve Philosophers or Wise Ones ( Chinese: , ''Shí'èr Zhé'') are 12 eminent philosophers in the Chinese Confucian tradition. They are traditionally accounted a kind of sainthood and their spirit tablets are prominently placed in Confucian ...

, on the east. During the

Tang dynasty The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, t= ), or Tang Empire, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907 AD, with an Zhou dynasty (690–705), interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dyn ...

, Emperor Xuanzong posthumously awarded Bu Shang the nobility title of Marquess of Wei (魏侯). During the

Song dynasty The Song dynasty (; ; 960–1279) was an imperial dynasty of China that began in 960 and lasted until 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song following his usurpation of the throne of the Later Zhou. The Song conquered the rest ...

, he was further awarded the titles of Duke of Hedong (河東公) and Duke of Wei (魏公). Bu Shang's offspring held the title of Wujing Boshi ( 五經博士; Wǔjīng Bóshì).

References

Citations

Bibliography

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bu, Shang 507 BC births 400 BC deaths Disciples of Confucius 5th-century BC Chinese philosophers 5th-century BC Chinese people Wei (state) Zhou dynasty philosophers