condition of the family was one of poverty. At a subsequent
period, when people were astonished at the variety of his
knowledge, he explained it by saying, 'When I was young, my
condition was low, and therefore I acquired my ability in many
things; but they were mean matters [3].'
When he was nineteen, he married a lady from the State of
Sung, of the Chien-kwan family [4], and in the following year his
son Li was born. On the occasion of this event, the duke Chao sent
him a present of a couple of carp. It was to signify his sense of
his prince's favour, that he called his son Li (The Carp), and
afterwards gave him the designation of Po-yu [5] (Fish Primus).
No mention is made of the birth of any other children, though we
know, from Ana. V. i, that he had at least one daughter. We know
also, from an inscription on her grave, that he had one other
daughter, who died when she was quite young. The fact of the duke
of Lu's sending him a gift on the occasion of Li's birth, shows that
he was not unknown, but was already commanding public
attention and the respect of the great.
It was about this time, probably in the year after his
marriage, that Confucius took his first public employment, as
keeper of the stores of grain [6], and in the following year he was
put in charge of the public fields and lands [7]. Mencius adduces
these employments in illustration of his doctrine that the
superior man may at times take office on account of his poverty,
but must confine himself in such a case to places of small
emolument, and aim at nothing but the discharge of their humble
duties. According to him. Confucius, as keeper of stores, said, 'My
calculations must all be right:-- that is all I have to care about;'
and when in charge of the public fields, he said, 'The oxen and
sheep must be fat and strong and