{{Short description|Disciple of Confucius (born 544 BC)}} {{family name hatnote|Ran|lang=Chinese}} {{chinese |pic=File:Half Portraits of the Great Sage and Virtuous Men of Old - Ran Geng Boniu (冉耕 伯牛).jpg |piccap=Ran Geng in ''Half-Portraits of the Great Sage and Virtuous Men of Old'' (至聖先賢半身像), housed in the National Palace Museum |w=Jan Keng |c={{linktext|冉|耕}} |p=Rǎn Gēng }} {{chinese |title=Other names |altname=Boniu<br>(Courtesy name) |c2={{linktext|伯|牛}} |p2=Bóniú |w2=Po-niu |l2=Uncle{{nbsp}}Ox }} '''Ran Geng''' (born 544{{nbsp}}BC), also known by his courtesy name '''Boniu''', was one of the most prominent disciples of Confucius. Confucius considered him his third best disciple, after Yan Hui and Min Sun, in terms of moral conduct.{{sfn|Confucius|1997|pp=201-2}}

{{anchor|Biography|History}}

==Life== Ran Geng was a native of the State of Lu, and was only seven years younger than Confucius. He was from the same clan as Ran Yong and Ran Qiu, two other prominent disciples of Confucius.{{sfn|Legge|2009|p=114}} When Confucius served as the Minister of Justice of Lu, Ran became the magistrate of Zhongdu.{{sfn|Confucius|1997|pp=201-2}} He contracted a vile disease, possibly leprosy,{{sfn|Han|2010|p=4571}} and died young. Confucius lamented his early death with great pain.{{sfn|Confucius|1997|pp=201-2}}

==Legacy== In Confucian temples, Ran Geng's spirit tablet is placed the fourth among the Twelve Wise Ones, on the west.{{sfn|Legge|2009|p=114}}

Ran Geng's offspring held the title of Wujing Boshi (五經博士; Wǔjīng Bóshì).<ref name="BrunnertHagelstrom2013">{{cite book|author1=H.S. Brunnert|author2=V.V. Hagelstrom|title=Present Day Political Organization of China|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=s0wrdzMXPZ8C&pg=PA494 |date=15 April 2013|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-135-79795-9|pages=494–}}</ref>

==References== ===Citations=== {{Reflist|30em}}

===Bibliography=== *{{cite book |author=Confucius |author-link=Confucius |title=The Analects of Confucius |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wqym0cOd33MC&pg=PA201 |year=1997 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-506157-4}} *{{cite book |title=Shiji ''(史记)'' |last=Han |first=Zhaoqi |year=2010 |publisher=Zhonghua Book Company |location=Beijing |isbn=978-7-101-07272-3 |chapter=Biographies of Disciples of Confucius |language=Chinese}} *{{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=PA114 |year=2009 |publisher=Cosimo |isbn=978-1-60520-644-8}}

{{Disciples of Confucius}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ran, Geng}} Category:544 BC births Category:Disciples of Confucius Category:6th-century BC Chinese philosophers Category:Philosophers from Lu (state) Category:Year of death unknown Category:6th-century BC Chinese people