Zhong You (542-480 BCE), also known by his courtesy name Zi Lu or Ji Lu because he served as steward to the Ji family, was nine years younger than Confucius and a native of the State of Lu. He is mentioned forty-one times in The Analects. Zhong You came from a humble and poor background but was extremely filial to his parents. He drank plain water and ate wild vegetables, yet he carried rice over a hundred li (about 50 km) for his parents to cook. When he grew older and became wealthier, his parents had already passed away. He once lamented, "How sad! In poverty, while my parents lived, I could not support them properly, and when they died, I could not give them proper funerary rites." He was bold, straightforward, brave, and talented. Zi Lu often criticized Confucius, and Confucius often criticized him in return. He liked to hear of his own faults, gladly accepting criticism and correcting himself. Confucius praised him highly, saying that in a state with a thousand war chariots, Zi Lu could be entrusted with military and political affairs. Zi Lu served as steward to the Ji family in Lu and earned their deep trust. He accompanied Confucius on his travels to the State of Wei, where he served as a district steward under the Wei official Kong Kui. He organized irrigation projects for the people, and when Confucius passed through his territory three years later, he praised Zi Lu's governance repeatedly. Zi Lu is listed among Confucius's "Four Subjects and Ten Philosophers" (the subject of Governance).
Zhong You (Zilu) was loyal to Confucius throughout his life and was one of his closest and most renowned disciples. Confucius said, "If my Way cannot be practiced, I will take a small raft and go to sea; the one who will follow me, I fear, will be Zhong You!" Zilu protected Confucius with utmost care, unwilling to let him suffer criticism. Confucius remarked, "Since I acquired Zhong You, I have not heard any harsh words." During his service in the State of Lu, Zilu was one of the chief collaborators and most capable assistants in Confucius's campaign to "dismantle the Three Cities" (a plan to weaken the powerful noble families). Because he had served as the steward of the Ji family (the head of the Three Huan clans), when Confucius returned from Wei to Lu in his later years, Zilu was retained by Kong Wenzi (a senior official of Wei) as a district steward. After Kong Wenzi's death, Zilu continued to assist his son Kong Kui and was known for his administrative affairs. At the age of sixty-three, a palace coup occurred in Wei: Kong Wenzi's wife, Kong Ji, was the elder sister of the former crown prince Kuai Kui, while the reigning Duke of Wei, Duke Chu, was Kuai Kui's son. Kuai Kui sought to seize the throne. Kong Ji helped Kuai Kui kidnap Kong Kui, forcing him to swear a blood oath to support Kuai Kui's bid for power. Hearing of this, Zilu believed, "One who eats the ruler's salary must be loyal to the ruler's affairs," and went to rescue Kong Kui. During the fight, his hat strap was struck off; recalling Confucius's teaching that "a Junzi (Exemplary Person) does not remove his cap even in death," he stopped to re-tie it and was chopped into meat paste by the enemy. Zilu's death was a heavy blow to Confucius, who was then seventy-two years old.