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II. THE LIFE AND TIMES OF CONFUCIUS. 41
Duke, pleased with his reply to a question, that "the
art of government lay in an economic use of the
revenues," again proposed to offer him the district of
I Ni ISJkJ_ but was dissuaded, according to the Family
Sayings _ _-_, by his chief minister Yen gung
_, who looked upon Confucius as a visionary and
impracticable.
Confucius apparently remained eight years in Ch'i, but
after the death of Duke Chao returned to his native State.
B. C. 5o9. In the meantime the heir to the dukedom had
been deprived of his birthright, and another representative
of the ducal house, named Ting _[_ made Duke. It was
in the first year of this prince that Confucius then in his
43rd year returned to Lu. At that time Lu was indeed
in low water, for the nominal ,uler was a mere puppet,
and the very chieftai,ls who had expelled his predecessols
were themselves in the hands of their own underlings.
Two of the more powerful of these subordinates were
Yang Huo [I_ _ XVII. I, and Kung-shan Fu-jao _
_ _ XVII. 5, the former of whom once actually imprisoued
his master Chi Huan -:_ JL_ then the most
influential of the chieftains, who had to make terms with
his own servant Yang Huo for his release.
During this period, in all about fifteen years, Confucius
was out of office, though often tempted thereto by the
recalcitrant servants of their equally recalcitrant masters,
and without doubt he put his time to better use in research,
in recording, and in teaching. To this period also is
ascribed the only instance that has been handed down to
us of his conversing with his son, whom 'he apparently