Ran Qiu
| Ran Qiu | |||||||
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Ran Qiu 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 | |||||||
| Chinese | 冉求 | ||||||
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| Other names | |||||||||
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| Ziyou (Courtesy name) | |||||||||
| Chinese | 子有 | ||||||||
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| Ran You | |||||||||
| Chinese | 冉有 | ||||||||
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Ran Qiu (born 522 BC), also known by his courtesy name Ziyou and as Ran You, was a leading disciple of Confucius. Among Confucius's disciples, he was the foremost in terms of ability and accomplishment in statesmanship. As a military commander of the State of Lu, he repelled an invasion from the neighbouring State of Qi. His influence in Lu facilitated the return of Confucius to his native state after fourteen years of exile.