Confucius’s Force of Arms -
Force of arms are simply tools of teaching.
During the Spring and Autumn Period, Confucius was living in the state of Lu. He had 3,000 disciples, one of which was Zilu. Zilu was not a gentle and friendly disciple. He often acted against his mentor’s opinions.
One day, Confucius brought his disciples to xiangxiangpu to train them for martial arts. Zilu was the last one entering the site. He spoke loudly to Confucius:
“Didn’t the Master say：“When three are walking together, I am sure to find teachers among them. I will select their good qualities and follow them, their bad qualities and avoid them.”
That the true master of martial arts can only be decided by duals?”
Confucius answered that the one losing shall be the apprentice and the one winning shall be the master. Excited, Zilu stepped on the field. He took the bow and arrows and then gave the shots. Three arrows hit the tree a hundred miles away. He bowed to Confucius in satisfaction.
“Come!”
Confucius smiled. He took the bow up and said:
“Too weak.”
He then shot three arrows which cut the trunk that Zilu just hit with his bow and arrows into three parts. Zilu didn’t concede. He walked before a stone lock that weighed three hundred kilograms and held it tight with his hands. He lifted the stone lock and then put it down gently. Unable to catch his breath, Zilu said:
“Your turn.”
Confucius smiled again. He walked before the stone locks, grabbing two on each of his hands. He exerted all his strength and said:
“Up!”
He lifted the two stone locks high and ran in a circle. In the end, Confucius put them on the ground. He spoke to Zilu calmly:
“Zilu, who’s better?”
Zilu had never imagined that Confucius, a well-known scholar, possessed such a great strength in martial arts. He then kneeled before Confucius and apologized.
“You are the master. I was wrong.”
Since then, Zilu never questioned Confucius’ teachings. He learned both knowledge and martial arts and eventually became a master of both. Zilu was the disciple who’s scolded by Confucius the most. Yet, Confucius also knew that he’s an honest and kind man. He knew Zilu wouldn’t take it too seriously. In fact, among all Confucius’ disciples, Zilu was his favorite. He’s also the most loyal one to his mentor. He’s the first one who followed Confucius. Zilu was a brave man and often protected his teacher. Confucius received many disregards at the time, but since Zilu followed him, no one ever dared to rip up his back. After Lu lost the power, Confucius left the state. Zilu immediately waived his place and followed him. From this, we can see that their relationship was phenomenal. Confucius once exclaimed:
“If I shall leave the country by a raft, perhaps Zilu is the only one who would follow me.”
We can say that Zilu was Confucius’ student as well as his protector. Zilu was a straightforward, brave, honest, loyal, and dutiful man. Confucius knew all along that although he scolded Zilu the most, he also worried about Zilu the most. When commenting his disciples, he said:
“Someone like Zilu won’t end well.”
One time, Zilu’s superior was kidnapped. He was furious and tried to rescue him. At this point, Zilu was 63 years old. The old Zilu couldn’t match the strong assassin. Soon, he was beat down and nearly dead. His hat fell on the ground, but Zilu did not surrender
Nor beg for mercy. He would do anything, or die trying. He said:
“The righteous man cannot die without his hat.”
He then put his hat back on his head and fought with the assassin. Expectedly, Zilu was beaten to death and his body was minced by the assassin. To be frank,
As a normal person, we don’t necessarily need to fight for something not related to us.
But that’s just who he was.
After Zilu was dead, Confucius grieved greatly. After that, he never consumed minced meat once, which shows how great their relationship was.
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