Confucius was born Kong Qui (styled Zhong Ni) in the village of Zou in the country of Lu in 551 BC. He was born into a poor family and managed stables and worked as a bookkeeper. His father was a commandant of a district in Lu and was desperate for a son after his first wife produced nine daughters. At the age of 70, he married a peasant girl with hopes of having a son. When she became pregnant she went to seek the blessing of Mount Ni, promising that if her child was indeed a male, that she would name him Chung-ni meaning “little mountain”. Ironically, the baby was born with a bump on his head that never went away. The child was named K’ung which was later Latinized into Confucius by Jesuit missionaries. Legend says that when K’ung was born a voice in the sky proclaimed the birth and that strange music came from an unexplained source. As a young child, Confucius held make-believe temple rituals. Unfortunately Confucius’ father died three years after Confucius was born, leaving the family in poverty. Despite his father’s death, Confucius was still able to receive a fine education. At age fifteen he dedicated himself to his love of learning and focused on becoming a “universal man.” He married at the age of nineteen and had one son and two daughters.
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