At that time, there was a custom in society, that is, after the death of the supreme ruler or other people with status, they were given a title called Shi. According to this custom, after his death, Kong Cong was canonized as "Wen", so people later called him Zi.
Confucius' student Zi Gong was unconvinced. He thought that Confucius also had shortcomings, so he asked Confucius, "Teacher, why can Zi be called Wen?" Confucius said, "I am quick and eager to learn, and I am not ashamed to ask questions. It is called' Wen'." It means that Kong Cong is smart and diligent, and he is not ashamed to study with people whose positions are lower than himself and whose knowledge is worse than himself, so he can use the word "Wen" as posthumous title.
2. Translation of ancient prose: Confucius said: "I am sensitive and eager to learn, and I am not ashamed to ask questions, so I call it' Wen'. At that time, there was a doctor in Weiguo named Kong Wei, who was open-minded, studious and upright. At that time, there was a custom in society, that is, after the death of the supreme ruler or other people with status, they were given a title called Shi. According to this custom, after his death, Kong Cong was canonized as "Wen", so people later called him Zi.
Confucius' student Zi Gong was unconvinced. He thought that Confucius also had shortcomings, so he asked Confucius, "Teacher, why can Zi be called Wen?" Confucius said, "I am quick and eager to learn, and I am not ashamed to ask questions. It is called' Wen'." It means that Kong Cong is smart and diligent, and he is not ashamed to study with people whose positions are lower than himself and whose knowledge is worse than himself, so he can use the word "Wen" as posthumous title.