微子

Wēizǐ

proper noun

Meanings

1 Weizi, elder brother of the last Shang king, who left his court and was later given the state of Song
2 Weizi, Book 18 of the Analects

About Weizi

历史人物 historical figure

Shang prince who warned his brother 纣王 in vain and left the court; the Zhou made him ruler of 宋 to keep up the Shang sacrifices. Confucius named him among the three humane men of the Shang.

Also called 微子启

Characters

viscount (noble rank)

Examples

HSK 5

微子多次劝纣王，可是纣王都不听。

Wēizǐ duō cì quàn Zhòuwáng, kěshì Zhòuwáng dōu bù tīng.

Weizi warned King Zhou again and again, but King Zhou never listened.

HSK 7-9

“往者不可谏，来者犹可追”出自《论语·微子》。

" Wǎng zhě bù kě jiàn, lái zhě yóu kě zhuī " chūzì 《 Lúnyǔ · Wēizǐ 》.

'The past cannot be put right, but the future can still be pursued' comes from the Weizi book of the Analects.

Tips

history

Named 启, he held the fief of 微, and 子 was his noble rank. Confucius's own family descended from the Song nobility. The Analects line praising him is 殷有三仁焉 'the Yin had three humane men'; the other two are 箕子 and 比干.

usage

Book 18 opens 微子去之 'Weizi left him', hence its name. The physics word 中微子 'neutrino' only shares the characters.

Stroke Order

微 wēi

子 zǐ

微子