# Gongye Chang

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{{Short description|Major disciple and the son-in-law of Confucius}}
{{family name hatnote|[Gongye](/source/Gongye)|lang=Chinese}}

'''Gongye Chang''' ({{zh|t=公冶長|w='''Kung-yeh Ch'ang'''}}), [courtesy name](/source/courtesy_name) '''Zichang''' ({{zh|t=子長|w=Tzu-ch'ang}}), was a major [disciple](/source/disciple_of_Confucius) and the son-in-law of [Confucius](/source/Confucius).{{sfn|Huang|1997|pp=204–5}} Little is known about his life, but Chinese legends attribute to him the ability to understand birds' language.{{sfn|Slingerland|2003|p=39}}

==Life==
Gongye Chang's years of birth and death are unknown. The ''[Records of the Grand Historian](/source/Records_of_the_Grand_Historian)'' says he was a native of the [State of Qi](/source/State_of_Qi),{{sfn|Huang|1997|pp=204–5}}{{sfn|Legge|2009|p=119}}{{sfn|Han|2010|pp=4616–7}} but according to [Kong Anguo](/source/Kong_Anguo) and others, he was from the [State of Lu](/source/State_of_Lu).{{sfn|Slingerland|2003|p=39}}

According to the ''[Analects](/source/Analects)'', Gongye Chang was once imprisoned for an unidentified crime. However, Confucius believed he was innocent, and married his daughter to him.{{sfn|Huang|1997|pp=204–5}} Although the exact nature of his offence is not known, Confucius' marriage of his daughter to him despite the strong stigma attached to criminals in the [Zhou dynasty](/source/Zhou_dynasty) demonstrates Confucius' adherence to moral reason and his independence from arbitrary social conventions.{{sfn|Slingerland|2003|p=39}}

==Legend==
Little is known about Gongye Chang's life, but he became the subject of a variety of later [Chinese legends and folklore](/source/Chinese_folklore), and was said to be able to understand the language of animals and birds.{{sfn|Slingerland|2003|p=39}} In one story, which explains why he was imprisoned, he overheard a number of birds discussing the location of a murder victim. His knowledge of the body led him to be arrested for the person's murder, but he was released after demonstrating his supernatural powers.{{sfn|Slingerland|2003|p=39}} The story appeared in the book ''Lunshi'' (論釋), and became widely known. [Tang dynasty](/source/Tang_dynasty) poets [Shen Quanqi](/source/Shen_Quanqi) and [Bai Juyi](/source/Bai_Juyi) both made references to Gongye Chang's story in their poems.<ref name=wu/>

==Honours==
In [Confucian temple](/source/Confucian_temple)s, Gongye Chang's [spirit tablet](/source/spirit_tablet) is placed in the outer court, beyond those of the [Four Assessors](/source/Four_Assessors) and [Twelve Wise Ones](/source/Twelve_Wise_Ones), and next to that of [Fu Buqi](/source/Fu_Buqi).{{sfn|Legge|2009|p=119}}

During the [Tang dynasty](/source/Tang_dynasty), [Emperor Xuanzong](/source/Emperor_Xuanzong_of_Tang) posthumously awarded Gongye Chang the nobility title of Count of Ju (莒伯). During the [Song dynasty](/source/Song_dynasty), he was further awarded the title of Marquis of Gaomi (高密侯).<ref name=wu>{{cite web |url=http://www.ct.taipei.gov.tw/zh-tw/C/Sage/Confucian/3/1/45.htm |author=Wu Xiaoyun |title=Gongye Chang |publisher=Taipei Confucian Temple |language=Chinese |access-date=20 November 2014 |archive-date=11 September 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160911134954/http://www.ct.taipei.gov.tw/zh-tw/C/Sage/Confucian/3/1/45.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref>

==Notes==
{{reflist}}

==Bibliography==
*{{cite book
 |title=Shiji
 |script-title=zh:史记
 |language=Chinese
 |last=Han |first=Zhaoqi
 |year=2010
 |publisher=Zhonghua Book Company
 |location=Beijing
 |isbn=978-7-101-07272-3
 |chapter=Biographies of the Disciples of Confucius
}}
*{{cite book
 |editor-last=Huang |editor-first=Chichung
 |title=The Analects of Confucius
 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wqym0cOd33MC&pg=PA204
 |year=1997
 |publisher=Oxford University Press
 |isbn=978-0-19-506157-4
}}
*{{cite book
 |last=Legge |first=James
 |author-link=James Legge
 |title=The Confucian Analects, the Great Learning & the Doctrine of the Mean
 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QUCZEPUyvBAC&pg=PA119
 |year=2009
 |publisher=Cosimo
 |isbn=978-1-60520-644-8
}}
*{{cite book
 |last=Slingerland
 |first=Edward
 |title=Analects: With Selections from Traditional Commentaries
 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6DseYHSfaagC&pg=PA39
 |year=2003
 |publisher=Hackett Publishing
 |isbn=1-60384-345-0
}}

{{Disciples of Confucius}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gongye, Chang}}
Category:Year of birth unknown
Category:Year of death unknown
Category:Disciples of Confucius
Category:5th-century BC Chinese philosophers
Category:Chinese legends
Category:5th-century BC Chinese people

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Gongye Chang](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gongye_Chang) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gongye_Chang?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.