Crone T (2026)
Publication Type: Journal article
Publication year: 2026
DOI: 10.1017/S0041977X2610113X
This article examines the distinction between dizi 弟子 and menren 門人 in early Chinese texts, with particular attention paid to the Lunyu 論語 (Analects of Confucius) and the broader Ru 儒 (“Confucian” or “Classicist”) tradition. Whether these terms designate identical or distinct groups of disciples has long been a matter of debate, beginning with early medieval commentaries and culminating in the interpretation that they refer to “first-” and “second-generation” followers. Advancing this discussion, the article offers a systematic analysis of menren across early Chinese sources and presents substantial, previously overlooked evidence supporting a meaningful distinction between the two designations. In doing so, it sheds new light on early conceptions of Confucius’s following and on the social organization of the Ru tradition more broadly. This article argues that menren are best understood not as “second-generation” disciples, but as “second-rank” students who, while occupying a formally subordinate position within an extended circle of adherents, nevertheless remained closely affiliated with their teacher.
APA:
Crone, T. (2026). “People at the gate”: the menren 門人 in early Chinese texts. Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0041977X2610113X
MLA:
Crone, Thomas. "“People at the gate”: the menren 門人 in early Chinese texts." Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies (2026).
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