Min Sun (536-487 BCE), with the family name Min, given name Sun, and courtesy name Zi Qian, was fifteen years younger than Confucius and a native of the State of Lu. He is mentioned five times in The Analects. Among Confucius's disciples, he was renowned for his virtuous conduct and mature steadiness, but especially for his extraordinary filial piety. According to Liu Xiang's *Shuo Yuan* (Garden of Stories) from the Han Dynasty, Min Zi Qian came from a poor family. His mother died early, and his father remarried a stepmother who had two more children. The stepmother favored her own children and often mistreated Min Zi Qian, not letting him eat his fill, constantly assigning him hard labor, and dressing him in a padded coat made of reed catkins in winter. Yet, to protect his half-brothers, he endured these hardships willingly. When his father accidentally discovered this and wanted to drive the stepmother away, Min Sun knelt before his father and pleaded, "With Mother at home, only one son suffers cold; without her, three sons will be left alone." From then on, the stepmother treated him as her own.
He fully fulfilled his filial duties to his parents and showed fraternal affection to his brothers, earning praise from his parents and siblings, as well as admiration from others at the time. Confucius once said with deep feeling, "How filial is Min Ziqian (a disciple of Confucius)! People do not doubt the sincere praise of his parents and brothers for him." Ordinarily quiet and reserved, when the State of Lu planned to rebuild the state treasury and sought Min Sun's (Min Ziqian's) opinion, he said, "Wasn't the original treasury good enough? Why trouble the people and waste resources to rebuild it?" Upon hearing this, Confucius remarked, "Min Ziqian usually says little, but when he speaks, he hits the mark."
During his studies with Confucius, Min Sun (a disciple known for his filial piety) consistently displayed a composed and upright character. Not only was he diligent and hardworking, but like Yan Hui (Confucius's most beloved disciple), he was extremely respectful and reverent toward his teacher. Having the opportunity to frequently accompany Confucius, he always maintained a respectful and righteous demeanor and conduct, earning him great praise and trust from Confucius and his fellow disciples. He was principled and of noble character, guarding his integrity by refusing to accept the salary of a corrupt ruler; he was the only one among Confucius's disciples who explicitly advocated not holding office. When the Ji family sent someone to invite him to serve as steward of Fei County, he asked the messenger to politely decline on his behalf, adding that if they summoned him again, he would cross the Wen River and leave the State of Lu. On one occasion, both the states of Jin and Chu tried to entice him with high positions and generous salaries to commit acts that would harm his De (Virtue), but he resolutely refused. Later, when Confucius summarized the special strengths of his accomplished disciples, he placed Min Sun in the same category as Yan Yuan (Yan Hui), who was renowned for his virtuous conduct.