Ran Qiu (born 522BC), also 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 ...

Ziyou and as Ran You, was a leading

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 ...

. Among

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 ...

's disciples, he was the foremost in terms of ability and accomplishment in statesmanship. As a military commander of the

State of Lu Lu (, c. 1042–249 BC) was a vassal state during the Zhou dynasty of ancient China located around modern Shandong province. Founded in the 11th century BC, its rulers were from a cadet branch of the House of Ji (姬) that ruled the Zhou dyn ...

, he repelled an invasion from the neighbouring

State of Qi Qi, or Ch'i in Wade–Giles romanization, was a state of the Zhou dynasty-era in ancient China, variously reckoned as a march, duchy, and independent kingdom. Its capital was Linzi, located in present-day Shandong. Qi was founded shortly ...

. His influence in Lu facilitated the return of Confucius to his native state after fourteen years of exile.

Life

Like Confucius, Ran Qiu was a native of the

, and was 29 years younger than the Master. He came from the same clan as

Ran Geng Ran Geng (born 544BC), also known by his courtesy name Boniu, was one of the most prominent disciples of Confucius. Confucius considered him his third best disciple, after Yan Hui and Min Sun, in terms of moral conduct. Life Ran Geng was a n ...

and

Ran Yong Ran Yong (; born 522 BC), also known by his courtesy name Zhonggong (), was one of the prominent disciples of Confucius. Confucius thought highly of his excellent moral conduct, and considered him fit to be the ruler of a state. After completin ...

, two other prominent disciples of Confucius, and was of the same age as Ran Yong. Ran Qiu is noted in 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 ...

'' (11.3) for his achievement in government affairs. He was employed in Confucius' household, before becoming the chief officer of the Jisun (or Ji) household, which dominated the politics of Lu. He served under

Ji Kangzi Ji or JI may refer to: Names and titles * Ji (surname), the pinyin romanization of a number of distinct Chinese surnames * Ji (Korean name), a Korean surname and element in given names (including lists of people with the name) * -ji, an honorifi ...

(季康子), head of the Jisun family, who was the chief minister of Lu from 492 to 468 BC. Ran Qiu professed little interest in Confucian

ritual A ritual is a sequence of activities involving gestures, words, actions, or objects, performed according to a set sequence. Rituals may be prescribed by the traditions of a community, including a religious community. Rituals are characterized, b ...

s, and his ambition was in the administration of a state. Confucius thought he lacked the virtue of '' ren'' or humaneness, and severely criticized him for failing to prevent Ji Kangzi from attacking Zhuanyu (顓臾), a vassal state of Lu, and for helping the Jisun household accumulate massive amounts of wealth. So severe was Ran Qiu's violation of core Confucian values, that Confucius suggested that he no longer considered Ran his disciple. In 484 BC, Lu was invaded by the neighbouring

state of Qi Qi, or Ch'i in Wade–Giles romanization, was a state of the Zhou dynasty-era in ancient China, variously reckoned as a march, duchy, and independent kingdom. Its capital was Linzi, located in present-day Shandong. Qi was founded shortly ...

. Ran Qiu was appointed commander of the Lu army, and defeated the Qi invaders. Owing to Ran Qiu's influence, Ji Kangzi invited Confucius to return to his native state of Lu, after fourteen years of exile.

Legacy

Despite Confucius' severe criticism of Ran Qiu's conduct, the latter is still considered one of the Master's top ten disciples. In

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 of t ...

s, his

spirit tablet A spirit tablet, memorial tablet, or ancestral tablet, is a placard used to designate the seat of a deity or past ancestor as well as to enclose it. The name of the deity or past ancestor is usually inscribed onto the tablet. With origins in tr ...

is placed third 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 west. 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 Ran Qiu the nobility title of Marquess of Xu (徐侯). 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 Pengcheng (彭城公) and Duke of Xu (徐公). Ran Qiu's offspring held the title of Wujing Boshi ( 五經博士; Wǔjīng Bóshì).

References

Citations

Bibliography

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ran, Qiu 522 BC births Year of death unknown Disciples of Confucius 6th-century BC Chinese philosophers 5th-century BC Chinese philosophers Philosophers from Lu (state) 6th-century BC Chinese people 5th-century BC Chinese people