Introduction
Part 1 The Lineage of Confucius
Part 2 Teaching Himself and Supporting Himself
Part 3 First Exposure to Social Reality
Part 4 An Unorthodox Education
Part 5 Assistant Master of Ceremonies
Part 6 Becoming Famous for Founding a School
Part 7 Learning for All
Part 8 The Origin of the Four Fields of Study
Part 9 Trip to the Capital
Part 10 Consulting Laozi about the Rites
Part 11 Discussing Music with Chang Hong
Part 12 The Political Environment in the State of Lu
Part 13 Duck Jing of Qi Asks about Government
Part 14 Hearing the Shao Music
Part 15 Fleeing from Qi
Part 16 Fourteen Years of Not Being Confused and Knowing the Mandate of Heaven
Part 17 Learning and Digesting the Truth of the Rites and Music of Three Dynasties
Part 18 Through the Rites Archive Humanism, Display Humanism through the Rites
Part 19 Establishing the Character of the Gentleman
Part 20 Time is Flowing Away and It Does Not Wait for Us
Part 21 Confucius’ Official Career
Part 22 Appointed Minister of the Interior
Part 23 Uproar at Jiagu
Part 24 Attending the Year-end Sacrifice
Part 25 Razing the Three Cities
Part 26 I Am Going So Slowly Because I Am Leaving Behind the Land of My Parents
Part 27 Arrival in Wei
Part 28 Delayed in Kuang and Pu
Part 29 Three Unhappy Years in Wei
Part 30 Through the States of Cao and Song to Zheng
Part 31 Arrival in Chen
Part 32 Starvation between Chen and Cai
Part 33 Passing through Fuhan
Part 34 Casual Meeting with Chu Hermits
Part 35 Falling Ill on the Way
Part 36 Return to Wei
Part 37 State Elder
Part 38 Sorting Out the Ancient Records
Part 39 Three Thousand Followers, Seventy Disciples
Part 40 Deaths of Kong Li, Yan Hui and Zi Lu
Part 41 “I Think Only Heaven Understands Me!”
Part 42 A Man of the Most Exalted Virtue and the Utmost Moral Integrity
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Preface
Qufu in Shandong Province is bounded on the east by Mount Meng, on the north by Mount Tai, on the south by Mount Yi and on the west by the curving rivers Yi and Si. The land is fertile here, with bumper harvests. Richly endowed by Nature, Qufu was one of the cradles of the Chinese race. Because an emperor in ancient times, Shao Hao, was supposed to have built his capital at Qufu the area was also known as “The Shao Hao Site.” Following the Xia (2070-1600 BC) and Shang (1600-1046 BC) dynasties, Qufu was the capital of Lu, one of the feudal states under the Zhou Dynasty (1046-256 BC). The State of Lu had the function of protecting the royal House of Zhou from the Yi barbarians in the east.
Qufu got its name (“winding hillock”) from its topography. During the Spring and Autumn Period (770-476 BC) it gradually became a center of China’s cultural heritage, as it preserved the rites and music of the earliest times of the Zhou Dynasty. It was by means of this rich store of cultural relics that Confucius, the founder of Confucianism shaped the value system and spiritual creed of the Chinese people. Confucius, in fact, was an important representative of a pivotal era in world civilization.
