After Confucius became Grand Minister of Crime (Dasikou), he was entrusted by Ji Sunsi (a powerful minister of the State of Lu) to act as acting prime minister. On the seventh day of attending court to govern, he executed the Lu official Shao Zhengmao on charges of disrupting governance. The disciples did not understand why Confucius killed Shao Zhengmao, and Zi Gong (a wealthy merchant and eloquent disciple) could not help but question the teacher: "Shao Zhengmao is a famous figure in Lu. Sir, just as you begin to govern, you have him executed first—surely there is no mistake."
Confucius was not angry at Zi Gong (his eloquent and wealthy disciple) for questioning him with righteous indignation; he merely pointed to a seat and said, “Sit down first, and I will explain the reasons to you in detail. There are five kinds of vile conduct in people: first, being versed in both past and present yet harboring malicious intent; second, acting perversely yet being stubborn and unrepentant; third, using clever words and being hypocritical and pretentious; fourth, having broad knowledge yet focusing on recording ugly matters, spreading them widely to confuse people; fifth, going along with wrong words and deeds while embellishing and defending them. If a person’s character contains any one of these ‘five evils,’ then the ‘Junzi’s execution’ cannot be avoided. Shao Zhengmao (a rival scholar and official of the State of Lu) possessed all five of these evils. When he settled down, he was able to gather a large following; his speeches were enough to shield evil and confuse the masses; his strong temperament was enough to confound right and wrong and establish his own school. He was a villain among the Xiaoren (Petty Persons), and he had to be killed. In ancient times, Tang of Shang executed Yin Xie, King Wen of Zhou executed Pan Zhi, Duke Zhou Dan executed Guan Shu (his rebellious brother), Jiang Taigong executed Hua Shi, Guan Zhong (Prime Minister of Qi State) executed Fu Liyi, and Zi Chan (a renowned statesman of Zheng State) executed Deng Xi and Shi Fu. These seven men, though living in different eras, all had the same evil hearts and had to be killed.” After providing these historical precedents, Confucius further cited the classics: “The Classic of Poetry (Shijing) says: ‘My worried heart is full of sorrow, hated by the herd of petty men.’ If petty men band together, it is truly cause for concern.”
Although Shao Zhengmao's teachings did not survive, scattered historical records reveal that he was a "famous person" (wenren) in the State of Lu. Like Confucius, he ran a private school and gathered disciples to lecture, but their philosophies were incompatible. Shao Zhengmao was highly talented—eloquent and widely learned—and he once caused "Confucius's school to be full three times and empty three times," repeatedly luring Confucius's disciples to attend his lectures. Only Yan Hui (Confucius's most beloved disciple) did not go.