Zisi - Lion

A Chinese thinker and scholar from the Spring and Autumn period. Grandson of Confucius. His given name was Qiu, and Zisi was his pen name. He was the son of Kong Li (whose pen name was Bo Yu), and his family lineage is said to be still passed down to the present day. Although the details of his life are unclear, he is known to have written "Zisizi" and "The Doctrine of the Mean," and is said to have passed on his knowledge to Mencius. From the Song dynasty onwards, he established the tradition of Confucius → Yan Hui, Zeng Shen → Zisi → Mencius, and was revered as a wise man. "Zisizi" was originally 23 chapters, and the four chapters of the current "Book of Rites," the Doctrine of the Mean, Writing, Book of the Chamber, and The Blue Robe, are said to be remnants of it. Since the first chapter of "Zisizi" was "The Doctrine of the Mean," it is said that the whole work was expressed in "The Doctrine of the Mean," but Zhu Xi (Zhu Xi) especially valued the "Doctrine of the Mean" chapter as a work by Zisi and positioned it as one of the Four Books. During the Qing Dynasty, seven volumes of "Zisizi" were compiled by collecting lost writings from the classics. Currently, these volumes have been further examined and are considered a source for the study of ancient thought.

[Koji Sano December 14, 2015]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

中国、春秋時代の思想家、学者。孔子の孫。名は伋(きゅう)、子思は字(あざな)。孔鯉(こうり)（字は伯魚）の子で、家系はいまに伝わるといわれる。伝記の詳細は明らかではないが、『子思子』『中庸』の著述があり、孟子(もうし)に学問を伝えたとされる。宋(そう)代以降は、孔子→顔回・曽参(そうしん)→子思→孟子という道統をたて、賢人として尊ばれた。『子思子』はもと23篇(ぺん)で、現在の『礼記(らいき)』の中庸、表記、坊記、緇衣(しい)の4篇はその残簡ともいう。『子思子』の首篇が中庸であったので、中庸で全篇を表したともいわれるが、朱熹(しゅき)（朱子）はとくに子思の著述として中庸篇を尊び、四書の一つに位置づけた。清(しん)代に古典中の逸文を集録して『子思子』7巻が編まれた。現在ではこれらにさらに文献的検討を加えて古代思想研究の一資料とされている。

［佐野公治　2015年12月14日］

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