Yan Yan (b. 506BC), 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 Yan You or Yanzi, was 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 ...

, considered by

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 ...

to be his most distinguished disciple in the study of

the classics The Classics were an American vocal group formed in 1958 in Brooklyn. The Classics first sang together in high school; two of them had previously sung in a group called The Del-Rays. In 1959, under the auspices of manager Jim Gribble, they record ...

. A native of the

state of Wu Wu (; Old Chinese: ''*'') was one of the states during the Western Zhou dynasty and the Spring and Autumn period. It was also known as Gouwu ( /''*''/) or Gongwu ( /''*''/) from the pronunciation of the local language. Wu was located at the ...

, he was the only known southerner among Confucius' disciples.

Life

Yan Yan was born in 506 BC in the

State of Wu Wu (; Old Chinese: ''*'') was one of the states during the Western Zhou dynasty and the Spring and Autumn period. It was also known as Gouwu ( /''*''/) or Gongwu ( /''*''/) from the pronunciation of the local language. Wu was located at the ...

. He was 45 years younger than Confucius. Yan Yan served as commandant of Wucheng (Wu City) in 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 was said to have succeeded in transforming the character of the people of Wucheng by teaching them ritual propriety and music, and was praised by Confucius. After Confucius died,

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 ...

, prime minister of Lu, asked Yan why Confucius was not as widely mourned as

Zichan Gongsun Qiao (), died 522 BC, was better known by his courtesy name Zichan () ( WG: Tzu Ch'an). From 544 BC until his death, he served as the chief minister of the State of Zheng. His ancestral surname was Ji (姬), and clan name Guo (國). As pol ...

, prime minister of the

State of Zheng Zheng (; ; Old Chinese: *') was a vassal state in China during the Zhou Dynasty (1046–221 BCE) located in the centre of ancient China in modern-day Henan Province on the North China Plain about east of the royal capital at Luoyang. It was th ...

. Yan replied, "The influences of Zichan and my master might be compared to those of overflowing water and those of fattening rain. Wherever the water in its overflow reaches, men take knowledge of it, while the fattening rain falls unobserved." In an episode recorded in 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 ...

'', Yan Yan was invited to the funeral of Sikou Huizi (), a high minister of the

State of Wey Wei (;"Wei"
''

''shu'' son) as his heir, in violation of the prevailing convention. Yan Yan deliberately wore inappropriate clothes to the funeral, and stood in the wrong position. Sikou Huizi's brother Wenzi () reminded Yan Yan of his correct position, but Yan Yan refused to move. After realizing Yan Yan's intention, Wenzi placed Huizi's rightful heir, the eldest son by his main wife (a ''di'' son), in the position reserved for the heir.

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 of t ...

s, Yan Yan's

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 the fourth on the west, 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 ...

. 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 Yan Yan the nobility title of Marquess of Wu (). 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 Danyang () and Duke of Wu (). Yan Yan's hometown is believed to be in modern

Changshu Changshu (; Suzhounese: /d͡ʐan¹³ ʐoʔ²³/) is a county-level city under the jurisdiction of Suzhou, Jiangsu province, and is part of the Yangtze River Delta. It borders the prefecture-level city of Nantong to the northeast across the Yangt ...

Jiangsu Jiangsu (; ; pinyin: Jiāngsū, Postal romanization, alternatively romanized as Kiangsu or Chiangsu) is an Eastern China, eastern coastal Provinces of the People's Republic of China, province of the China, People's Republic of China. It is o ...

province, which was the territory of the

during the

Spring and Autumn period The Spring and Autumn period was a period in Chinese history from approximately 770 to 476 BC (or according to some authorities until 403 BC) which corresponds roughly to the first half of the Eastern Zhou period. The period's name derives fr ...

. During the reign of

Emperor Wu of Han Emperor Wu of Han (156 – 29 March 87BC), formally enshrined as Emperor Wu the Filial (), born Liu Che (劉徹) and courtesy name Tong (通), was the seventh emperor of the Han dynasty of ancient China, ruling from 141 to 87 BC. His reign la ...

(r. 156–87 BC), Yan Yan's descendants built a tomb complex for him in Changshu, and it has been rebuilt several times. His tomb is now a major tourist attraction in Changshu, and has been listed as a provincial cultural treasure by the Jiangsu government since 1982. Yan Yan's offspring held the title of Wujing Boshi ( 五經博士; Wǔjīng Bóshì). Many people from Changshu trace their ancestry to Yan Yan. Yan Dunyuan ( 言敦源, 1869–1932), Minister of Interior of the Republic of China, and calligrapher Yan Gongda ( 言恭达, born 1948) are among the most prominent.

References

Citations

Bibliography

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Yan, Yan 506 BC births Disciples of Confucius 5th-century BC Chinese philosophers 5th-century BC Chinese people Wu (state) Year of death unknown People from Changshu Burials in Suzhou