Twelve Philosophers

The Twelve Philosophers (Chinese: 十二哲), also called the Wise Ones, were 12 very important thinkers in ancient China who followed the teachings of Confucius. People respected them a lot and treated them like saints. In Confucian temples, there are special tablets with their names, six on each side of the main hall called the Hall of the Great Completion (Dacheng Dian). People started honoring these philosophers by making special offerings to them in the year 720 AD during the rule of the Tang dynasty.[1][2]

The Twelve Philosophers were Min Sun (also known as Ziqian), Ran Yong (Zhonggong), Duanmu Ci (Zigong), Zhong You (Zilu), Bu Shang (Zixia), You Ruo (Ziruo), Zai Yu (Ziwo), Ran Geng (Boniu), Ran Qiu (Ziyou), Yan Yan (Ziyou), Zhuansun Shi (Zizhang), and Zhu Xi. All of them were students of Confucius, except for Zhu Xi, who lived during the Song dynasty and created a new way of thinking called Neo-Confucianism.[3][4]

Twelve Philosophers

S. No. Name Portrait Courtesy name
1 Min Sun Ziqian (子骞)
2 Ran Yong Zhonggong (仲弓)
3 Duanmu Ci Zigong (子贡)
4 Zhong You Zilu (子路)
5 Bu Shang Zixia (子夏)
6 You Ruo Ziruo (子若)
7 Zai Yu Ziwo (子我)
8 Ran Geng Boniu (伯牛)
9 Ran Qiu Ziyou (子有)
10 Yan Yan Ziyou (子游)
11 Zhuansun Shi Zizhang (子张)
12 Zhu Xi

References

  1. ↑ Confucius (2009-01-01). The Confucian Analects, the Great Learning & the Doctrine of the Mean. Cosimo, Inc. ISBN 978-1-60520-644-8.
  2. ↑ Nivison, David S. (1996). The Ways of Confucianism: Investigations in Chinese Philosophy. Open Court Publishing. ISBN 978-0-8126-9340-9.
  3. ↑ "Confucius Temple (4) Hall of Great Accomplishment (Da Cheng Dian)". www.drben.net. Retrieved 2024-04-09.
  4. ↑ Huang, Siu-Chi (1999-11-30). Essentials of Neo-Confucianism: Eight Major Philosophers of the Song and Ming Periods. Bloomsbury Academic. ISBN 978-0-313-26449-8.