Twelve Philosophers

The Twelve Philosophers (Chinese: 十二哲), also called the Wise Ones, were 12 very important thinkers in ancient China who followed the teachings of Confucius. People respected them a lot and treated them like saints. In Confucian temples, there are special tablets with their names, six on each side of the main hall called the Hall of the Great Completion (Dacheng Dian). People started honoring these philosophers by making special offerings to them in the year 720 AD during the rule of the Tang dynasty.

The Twelve Philosophers were Min Sun (also known as Ziqian), Ran Yong (Zhonggong), Duanmu Ci (Zigong), Zhong You (Zilu), Bu Shang (Zixia), You Ruo (Ziruo), Zai Yu (Ziwo), Ran Geng (Boniu), Ran Qiu (Ziyou), Yan Yan (Ziyou), Zhuansun Shi (Zizhang), and Zhu Xi. All of them were students of Confucius, except for Zhu Xi, who lived during the Song dynasty and created a new way of thinking called Neo-Confucianism.

 Twelve Philosophers 
S. No.NamePortrait Courtesy name1Min Sun101x101pxZiqian (子骞)2Ran Yong101x101pxZhonggong (仲弓)3Duanmu Ci101x101pxZigong (子贡)4Zhong You101x101pxZilu (子路)5Bu Shang101x101pxZixia (子夏)6You RuoZiruo (子若)7Zai Yu101x101pxZiwo (子我)8Ran Geng101x101pxBoniu (伯牛)9Ran Qiu101x101pxZiyou (子有)10Yan Yan101x101pxZiyou (子游)11Zhuansun ShiZizhang (子张)12Zhu Xi101x101px

 Related pages 
Confucius
Confucian temple
Confucianism

 References 

Category:Confucianism
Category:Chinese philosophers
Category:Confucian temples