Zigong, whose surname was Duanmu, given name Ci, and courtesy name Zigong, was a native of Wei in the late Spring and Autumn Period. Xiaogong Confucius was 31 years old and was born into a merchant family. He studied under Confucius at the age of 17. While studying, he became an official and engaged in business. His knowledge was very outstanding and he was the best student of Confucian language. History records record that he was eloquent and good at eloquence, and was called "one of the ten philosophers of Confucius". His political talents are also very outstanding. He has the ability to help talents and is proficient in handling affairs. He once served as the prime minister of Lu and Wei. He was also good at business. He once did business between Cao and Lu, and became rich. He was the richest among Confucius' disciples.

Sima Qian, as a far-sighted historian, even believed in "Historical Records" that the reason why Confucius' reputation spread all over the world and the reason why Confucianism became the prominent school at that time was largely because of Confucius. Due to tribute promotion. He wrote in "Historical Records: Biography of Huozhi": "The seventy-year-old disciple bestows (Zigong) the most benefit. The original constitution is not tired of chaff, and he is kind to the poor alleys. Zigong married a four-horse company and tied silk coins to hire him. When the princes come, they all fight against each other. The name of Confucius is spread all over the world. Is this so-called "Confucius' Family"? , the situation was very critical, and at that time all Confucius' disciples looked at each other and were at a loss. "Zigong sent Chu", "King Zhao of Chu raised an army to meet Confucius, and then he was spared." Concerning Zigong's outstanding talents and achievements in financial management and business, "The Analects of Confucius·Advanced" contains Confucius's words: "Returning to the common people is like a concubine, but it is empty every time. It is given but not ordered, and it is colonized, and the assumption is often successful." This means that Yan Hui was almost morally perfect, but he was so poor that he even had trouble eating. Zigong, on the other hand, was restless in his duties, hoarding money, speculating on the market, and always guessing correctly. "Historical Records: Biographies of Zhongni's Disciples" also records: "Zigong was good at making waste and transferring goods with the times... his family accumulated thousands of gold." The general idea is that Zigong was good at profiting from buying at low prices and selling at high prices according to changes in market conditions. , to become extremely rich. Due to Zigong's great success in business, Sima Qian commended the business tycoon with considerable words in "Historical Records: Biography of Huo Shi" and affirmed his role in economic development.

Duanmuci lived together in his later years until his death. During the reign of Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty, he was posthumously named "Marquis of Li"; during the reign of Emperor Zhenzong of the Song Dynasty, he was posthumously granted the title of "Gong Liyang", and later he was renamed "Gong Li". In the ninth year of Jiajing reign of the Ming Dynasty, it was renamed "Sage Duanmuzi". Zigong, like his teacher Confucius, was as dazzling as his paintings and silks, and his paintings and silk paintings were as outstanding as his own.

So Zigong, as the originator of commerce, became a saint worshiped by businessmen. What are his most outstanding characteristics of Confucian businessmen? According to relevant historical records, there are the following points:

First, he is good at communication

Zigong is good at verbal expression and communication. "Historical Records: Biography of Zhongni's Disciples" records that "seventy-seven disciples were taught by Zigong" People are all talented people. Virtue: Yan Yuan, Min Ziqian, Ya Bo Niu, Zhong Gong. Political affairs: Ya You, Ji Lu. Language: Zai Wo, Zigong...". "Zigong was eloquent, and Confucius often dismissed him for his arguments." Even the old master said, "I have been gifted with wisdom and wisdom." This shows his strong ability in language expression. You know, Tian Chang rebelled against the Qi State and gathered a large number of troops to attack Lu. At that time, the situation in the Lu State was very critical. Confucius summoned his disciples and said: Fulu, the grave is located in the country of his parents. The country is in such danger, why should the two or three sons not come out? "It means: The State of Lu is the mausoleum of the ancestors, the motherland where the parents are. Now that the country is in crisis, who can come out to save the country in the troubled autumn? Historical records: Yan Yuan resigned, Confucius stopped it; Zilu resigned, Confucius stopped it; When Zigong resigned, Confucius sent him away. This not only shows that Confucius knows people well and uses them well, but also proves that Zigong's communication skills are far superior to his most trusted disciple Yan Yuan, his most beloved disciple Zi Lu and others. It was precisely by virtue of his unruffled tongue that he managed to conquer various countries, and even achieved diplomatic results such as "Zigong saved Lu, disrupted Qi, defeated Wu, strengthened Jin, and dominated Vietnam." In the past few years, Zhang Yi, Su Qin and others were not inferior to the strategists.

Secondly, he was good at learning

Duanmu worshiped Confucius as his teacher, which laid a solid theoretical foundation for how to do business in the future. . Confucius is the originator of Confucianism and is proficient in the "six arts". He has his own views on business and advocates that "a gentleman loves money and acquires it in a proper way" and "seeks profit based on justice." He said: "Benefit the people according to their interests." ”, “Wealth and honor are what people want, and if you don’t get them in the right way, you won’t find them.” The pursuit of "profit" opened a channel of communication between these two different values. The Analects records that Zigong learned from Confucius as many as 24 times.

It ranges from self-cultivation, politics, life, making friends, discussing people to asking teachers for their evaluation, and so on. Moreover, the questions he asked were very practical and of a certain level, so that Confucius' answers became classics. Be true to your words and bear fruit in your deeds; be happy when you are poor; be courteous when you are rich; give up food and soldiers; if the people have no faith, you will not stand; be smart and eager to learn, and not ashamed to ask questions; if you want to be established, you can help others; if you want to be successful, you can help others; there are many gentlemen. It’s true, it’s not too much; going too far is not enough; doing one’s own thing is shameful; if a worker wants to do his job well, he must first sharpen his tools; don’t do to others what you don’t want others to do to you; many dogs are like bereaved dogs, etc., all of which are from Zigong and Confucius. dialogue. It can be seen that a good question is actually a gift from the questioner to the answerer, because he may help the answerer find the main thread to connect the scattered thoughts, and let a plate of broken beads be strung into a beautiful chain. What we mentioned earlier, don't do to others what you don't want others to do to you, actually stems from Zigong's question of "I don't want others to do to me, and I also want nothing to be done to others." Other questions such as: "How about being poor without flattery, being rich without arrogance?"; "A wise man knows others, a benevolent man loves others" are even more clever questions, which are beyond the reach of other students of the Old Master.

The third is to attach importance to love and justice

Historical records record that after the death of Zilu, a scholar who had served Confucius all his life, Zigong took on the responsibility of serving his teacher. Confucius visited Confucius who was ill. The old man was walking at the door with a cane. When he saw Zigong, he said, "Ci, how late you are in coming." On the surface, this sentence was to blame Zigong for coming late, but in fact, it was because of the old man's behavior. The sound of joy made by the lonely soul walking at night in the deep sea when he saw the light of the swaying lighthouse in front of him also showed the old man's spiritual dependence on Zigong, his disciple who he praised as "The Weapon of Hulian". He sang because of his sighs, burst into tears of joy and sorrow, and died seven days later. Confucius had three thousand disciples, and Zigong was lucky enough to be the one who accompanied the old man throughout his life journey. This shows his sincerity towards the old man. If the story of Zigong and Confucius came to an end here, it would have moved us enough. However, according to other records: Confucius did not exist in the past. Three years later, the general returned from his post and bowed to Zigong. Weeping towards each other, both lost their voices, and then returned. Zigong rebelled, built a house in the field, lived alone for three years, and then returned. This means that three years after the death of the teacher, the disciples who were keeping watch packed their bags and prepared to leave. He saluted and said goodbye to Zigong (my opinion is that after the death of Yan Yuan and Zi Lu, and the untimely deaths of Ran You, Zaiyu and others, Zigong seemed to have become the most virtuous among his classmates, and probably the oldest one as well (Historical records: Confucius Gong was thirty-one years old. According to historical records, there were 11 disciples of Confucius who were older than Zigong. The disciples who have passed away include those mentioned above, and there are some historical records that may or may not be recorded.) Therefore, everyone will bow to Zigong and say goodbye to him. (The Book of Rites records that the bow ceremony is an upward ceremony among the rituals of the Three Dynasties, and the recipient does not need to return the gift.) Everyone, you look at me, and I look at you. , with tears in his eyes and no voice in pain, Zigong returned to the spiritual place, built a hut next to Confucius' tomb, and lived alone to watch the mourning for three years before leaving reluctantly. Zigong stayed filial piety for six years. You must know that Confucius praised the ritual of three generations. After the death of his parents, the mourning period lasted only three years. You must also know that in Confucius' view, "it has been three years since the father died, and he did not dare to change his father's ways." It is considered filial, but Zigong has been filial for six years. It cannot be said that we do not attach importance to love and righteousness. Just think about us today, we can only take a leave of 7 days after the death of our immediate family members. I don’t know if this is progress or a regression of human emotions. . Some people say that the pressure to survive is incomparable. I have nothing to say. However, I would like to remind you that compared to other disciples, Zigong is not a pure scholar. He has served in both Lu and Wei. It turns out that You is a businessman who "likes to make money with time". Obviously, he should have more reasons than other students to resign after three years, and he also values ??the value of time more than other students. After three years, isn’t it worth sighing over?

The fourth is to manage things properly

In the previous article, we mentioned "Historical Records: The Seventh Biography of Zhongni's Disciples" and " "Preface to the Biography of Huo Shi" records respectively that Zigong: He liked to waste his wealth and transfer goods to the money in time; after learning from Zhongni, he retired and became an official in the Wei Dynasty; he wasted his money to spend his time in Cao and Lu. He was a disciple of the seventy-year-old son and received the most It's beneficial. Yuan Xian was not tired of the chaff and hid in the back alleys; he married horses and horses, and used silk coins to hire and enjoy the princes. It can be seen that Zigong found a successful path among Confucianism to cultivate one's character, regulate one's family, govern the country, and bring peace to the world. Specifically speaking, this path is to engage in selling goods for profit. He is able to seize business opportunities and adhere to the business strategy of taking others away and taking the high ones, thus achieving the highest Confucianism of being both an official and a businessman. business realm.

It can also be said that Zigong was the earliest Confucian businessman who integrated Confucianism and officialdom in the history of our country. You must know that at that time, the status of business was still very low, and some dignitaries looked down upon it. We obviously admire Zigong's courage and vision in going to sea. However, I am more inclined to think that the reason why Zigong chose to be both an official and a businessman was because he had the ideal of "giving generosity to the people and benefiting the masses", and also had the will to carry forward the teacher's unique knowledge and carry forward the teacher's career. He practiced the teacher's teachings and inherited them. The mantle of a teacher is to practice the teacher's political ideals, comfort the old man, travel around the country, and teach everywhere. On the way, Chu Kuang picks up the old man, carries a stick to the old man, plays with the children on the road, and is extremely sarcastic to the teacher, which makes the old man suffer a lot. And the sadness of sighing: I am not good at it, I know it; to comfort the old man and being regarded as a bereaved dog, and I have to laugh at myself, "It sounds like a bereaved dog, but that's it!" Of course! "The helplessness and sadness. Doing business is to "prove the Tao with one's own body" so that the teacher's teachings can be better spread and prove the function of the teacher's teachings, so that the teacher can become famous all over the world. "Morality nourishes the body, enriches the house, and makes the mind broad. Body fat. Therefore, a gentleman must be sincere in what he means. "Isn't it a portrayal of Zigong? More than a thousand years later, Zhang Hengxi of the Song Dynasty wrote the words "continue the unique learning for the past saints and create peace for all generations" when used to evaluate Zigong. I think it is not an exaggeration. < /p>

As a businessman, Zigong is undoubtedly successful. Although he "likes to praise people's beauty and cannot hide their faults", it seems not tactful enough. However, "Zigong was from Fang, and the Master said: Give it to me." , so virtuous. My husband and I are too busy. "Zigong's interpersonal skills and emotional intelligence were so high that even the old master could not compare with them. This alone was enough in that era, enough to make him "a taste of Lu Wei. The same shining red and silk fabrics have been passed down to Mianze for generations to come.