After Confucius's death, how did his disciples exalt him as a saint?

After Confucius's death, his disciples launched the "Saint-Making Movement" to increase Confucius's prestige and influence. According to the evidence, this movement was mainly initiated by three disciples, Zigong, Youruo, and Zaiyu. Zigong was the most powerful and wealthy of Confucius's disciples, he served as the minister of Lu and Wei, and was a famous merchant at that time. After the death of Confucius, in the face of many slanders against Confucius by the world, he set off this "saint-making movement".

Through propaganda and scholarly efforts, Zigong, Youruo, and Zaiyu made Confucius and his theories famous all over the world. They not only supported the image of Confucius politically and economically, but also promoted Confucius's ideas academically. This "saint-making movement" eventually succeeded in positioning Confucius as a sage and allowed his ideas to influence China for more than 2,000 years.

How did Zigong, Youruo, and Zaiyu concretely promote the image of Confucius?

Zigong, Youruo, and Zaiyu each had their own unique ways and contributions in promoting the image of Confucius.

As one of Confucius's closest disciples, Zigong's admiration and respect for Confucius reached an extremely high level. He not only followed Confucius academically, but also demonstrated remarkable ability in the political and economic fields. By maintaining Confucius's image and countering Confucius's detractors, Zigong increased people's understanding of Confucius and propagated Confucius's teachings. He assisted Lu Jun in the imperial court, and his achievements were outstanding, which won the trust of Lu Jun and the appreciation of the doctors, and was also unanimously recognized by the people. In addition, Zigong also used images such as the sun and the moon, the temple, and the sky to compare Confucius's noble personality and profound teachings, which further enhanced Confucius's reputation.

Zai Yu was an important figure among the seventy-two sages of Confucius, and his wisdom and independent thinking ability made him highly valued in the state of Lu, and he eventually became a doctor in Linzi. The debates and arguments between Zai Yu and Confucius showed that he was not superstitious about the content of books and had the courage to question, and this critical thinking contributed to his success. Although Confucius expressed disappointment at the inconsistency of Zaiyu's actions and words, Zaiyu's ability to think independently and question Confucius's teachings also reflected his pursuit of knowledge and insistence on truth.

The specific contributions I have made are not mentioned in detail in the materials I have searched, so I am not able to provide a specific analysis.

Zigong promoted the image of Confucius to varying degrees by maintaining his image and propagating his doctrines, and Zai Yu promoted the improvement of Confucius's image to varying degrees by thinking independently and questioning Confucius's doctrines.

What impact did the "Saint-Making Movement" have on ancient Chinese politics and economy?

The "Saint-Making Movement" had a profound impact on ancient Chinese politics and economics.

From a political point of view, the "Saint-Making Movement" promoted the spread of Confucianism and the ethicization of the secular world. Confucius, as a representative of Confucianism, was portrayed as the supreme sage through the "Saint-Making Movement", and his theories and teachings gradually became the core values of Chinese society. This kind of political ethics value system, behavior mode and cognitive model have left a deep imprint on all levels and aspects of Chinese culture, and have been passed down from generation to generation. For example, Wang Yangming's "Xinxue" has also been widely disseminated and accepted through popular cultural forms such as painting, drama, and folk tales.

From an economic point of view, the "Saint-Making Movement" also has an important impact on China's economic development. Although there is no direct evidence of the specific impact of the "sanctification movement" on the economy, it can be speculated that with the popularization of Confucianism and the strengthening of secular ethics, social order and governance capacity have been improved, which has contributed to economic development to a certain extent. In addition, the values of benevolence, righteousness, courtesy, wisdom, and trustworthiness emphasized by Confucianism have also influenced business ethics and economic activities to a certain extent.

How did Confucius and his disciples promote Confucius's ideas academically?

Confucius and his disciples popularized Confucius's ideas academically mainly through the following aspects:

1. Spread of Educational Philosophy: Confucius's educational philosophy emphasizes "seeking the Tao", that is, the pursuit of truth and wisdom, which is the fundamental purpose of his education. In the Analects, he put forward the concept of "being a role model for others", believing that as an educator, he should first become a role model for students to admire and imitate. This educational philosophy not only had a wide impact at the time, but also laid the theoretical foundation for later generations.
2. Teaching students according to their aptitude: Confucius has accumulated rich teaching experience in long-term educational practice and created educational methods that are different from each other. He adopts different teaching strategies according to the different characteristics and needs of each student, so that each student can get the most suitable education for himself.
3. The promotion role of disciples: Confucius had a large number of disciples, and these disciples spread Confucius's ideas and scholarship in various places, forming a huge talent team guarantee. Through the teacher-student relationship, Confucius asked his disciples to promote and promote their own ideas.
4. Practice and application: Confucius paid attention to the application of what he learned to practice, and only through practice can the results of learning and the level of ability be truly tested. This practice-oriented teaching method allows Confucius's ideas to be better integrated into daily life and social practice.
5. Educational policy: Confucius devoted his life to teaching and educating people, and his educational policy included "aspiring to the Tao, relying on morality, relying on benevolence, and playing in the arts". These four directions respectively point out the principles of life, doing things, life path and leisure and entertainment, and comprehensively guide the development of students.

How did the "sanctification movement" finally succeed in positioning Confucius as a saint?

The "Saint-Making Movement" eventually succeeded in positioning Confucius as a sage, a process that involved many factors and the efforts of the figures.

Confucius's disciples and disciples played an important role in establishing Confucius as a sage. Sima Qian pointed out that after the death of Confucius, his disciples wandered among the princes, some became masters and ministers, and some became friendly priests and doctors, and they gradually deified the image of Confucius by spreading Confucius's thoughts.

Confucian scholars such as Mencius, Xunzi, and Dong Zhongshu also contributed to Confucius's god-making movement. Mencius was called the sub-sage, and Dong Zhongshu put forward the idea of deposing the hundred schools of thought and respecting Confucianism alone, so that Confucius gradually ascended to the altar. These scholars further enhanced the status of Confucius by fabricating classic documents such as Yi Wei and Shang Shu.

In addition, the Analects, as an important carrier of Confucius's thought, also played a key role in it. On his deathbed, Confucius called himself a teacher, but after his death, his disciples began a saint-making movement, gradually shaping the image of Confucius into a saint.

The support of successive generations of the ruling class was also an important reason why Confucius was positioned as a sage. In order to consolidate their dominance, successive rulers often used Confucianism to govern countries or regions, which made Confucius's ideas widely disseminated and recognized.

What specific academic achievements or events contributed to the spread of Confucius's ideas in the "Saint-Making Movement"?

In the "Saint-Making Movement", there were several specific scholarly achievements and events that contributed to the spread of Confucius's ideas:

1. Translation of the Jesuits: Through the translation work of the Jesuits, the publication of Confucian classics, especially the Chinese philosopher Confucius, introduced Confucius's ideas to Europe and became an important source of ideas for the Enlightenment.
2. Letters to Louis XIV: The Letters to Louis XIV, written by Berson in Confucius, the Chinese philosopher, elaborate on Confucius's ideas and demonstrate the early spread of Confucianism in Europe.
3. The establishment of the Song and Ming Dynasty system: The establishment of the Song and Ming Dynasty system of science was the completion of the Chinese Confucian god-making movement, and Zhu Xi's transformation of Confucius also promoted the spread of Confucius thought.
4. Research on Confucius's Testament: The study of Confucius's testament, such as "Mourning for Confucius", reveals the process of the spread and transmutation of Confucius's thought, and expands the documentary basis for Confucius research.
5. Overseas Dissemination of the Analects: Gu Ben's research shows that the overseas dissemination of the Analects, as a central document of Confucius' thought, has had a profound impact on global culture.