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Zi Gong
Disciple of Confucius noted for his eloquence and his wealth from trade, whom the Shiji credits with a diplomatic mission to Qi, Wu, Yue and Jin
On a river quay, loaded camels rest before a warehouse of stacked bales, with a balance scale and abacus on a table and green ceramic jars in front; porters carry bundles toward a large sailing ship on the right, and blank banners hang at the warehouse.
Also known as Duanmu Ci
Zigong, whose surname was Duanmu and personal name Ci, came from Wey and was thirty-one years younger than Confucius, according to the Records of the Grand Historian (Shiji). The Analects lists him with Zai Wo under the heading of speech, and Confucius likened him to a precious vessel of the ancestral temple. The Shiji says that when Tian Chang of Qi planned to attack Lu, Confucius sent him to talk his way through Qi, Wu, Yue and Jin, with the result that Lu survived, Wu fell and Yue rose; later scholars have often doubted this account. He traded goods as prices changed, built a large fortune, served as minister in Lu and Wey, and died in Qi. After Confucius died, the other disciples mourned for three years, but Zigong stayed in a hut by the grave for three more. The Shiji chapter on money-makers credits him with spreading his teacher's fame.
Life and times
Dates c. 520 BCE–c. 456 BCE