to help defend against a rebellion, but he declined. He was later made a city magistrate by the Duke of Lu and under his administration the city flourished; he was promoted many times, eventually becoming Grand Secretary of Justice(see figure3-1) and at age 56, Chief Minister of Lu. Neighbouring countries began to worry that Lu would become too powerful and so they sent messengers with gifts and dancers to distract the duke during a sacrifice holiday. When the duke abandoned his duties to receive messengers , Confucius resigned and left the country.Confucius spent the next five years wondering China with his disciples, finding that he was rarely wanted at all royal courts and it did not take long before nobles would begin plotting to drive him out or have him killed. He was arrested once and jailed for five days and at 62 he was chased, along with his disciples, into the countryside by a group of soldiers sent by a jealous nobles, until he was able to send a messenger to the King of a nearby country, who sent his own soldiers to rescue them. Once again, Confucius was to be given land, but was denied it by another high minister. He eventually returned to Lu a t age 67. Although he was welcomed there and chose to stay, he was not offered public office again, nor did he want it. Instead he spent the rest of his years teaching and writing. He died at age 72.More than any other human being on the face of the earth, Confucius set up a pattern of thinking followed by more people, for more generations than one can possibly imagine. No matter what religion, or no matter what form of government , East Asians and their way of thinking can in some way, be proved to have Confucian elements about them. But Confucius was no religious or political leader, nor did he want to be one. He was, in fact, an ordinary person; his family had fallen on extremely hard times when he was born. He was born into the family of Kung and was given the name Ch'iu; later...
