# Min Tsze-ch’ien — Analects character guide

> Min Tsze-ch’ien in Analects by Confucius.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Min Tsze - ch’ien, Tsze - ch’ien

**First appearance:** 0000-book-i-hsio-r

## Snapshot

A disciple of scrupulous filial piety and personal purity who repeatedly declined office, preferring a clean name to a powerful post.

## Who they are

Min Tsze-ch'ien stands among the disciples as the one who would not be bought, the man whose refusal of office is itself a form of teaching. Where Yen Yû takes the Chî family's salary, Min Tsze-ch'ien keeps his distance, and the contrast is deliberate: the Analects needs at least one figure who proves that the Master's standards can be lived without compromise. His purity is not passivity — it is a quiet argument that some positions cost more than they pay, and that a disciple's first duty may be to remain unentangled.

## In the story

### [II](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/analects_se/chapters/ii)

Praised by Confucius for his superior virtue.

### [VII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/analects_se/chapters/vii)

Declines the offer to be governor of Pî, preferring to live by the Wǎn rather than accept a second invitation.

### [Book XI: Hsien Tsin](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/analects_se/chapters/book-xi-hsien-tsin)

Commended for his filial piety and his prudent, precise speech.

### [II](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/analects_se/chapters/ii)

Distinguished for virtuous principles and practice.

### [IV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/analects_se/chapters/iv)

Praised by Confucius for his filial piety, with others' reports matching his family's.

### [Chapter XII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/analects_se/chapters/xii)

Standing by Confucius's side, looking bland and precise.

### [XIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/analects_se/chapters/xiii)

Advises repairing the Long Treasury in the old style, demonstrating his preference for tradition and restraint.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/analects_se/characters/min-tsze-chien
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/analects_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/analects_se/characters