Zhuan Sun Shi (503-447 BCE), with the compound surname Zhuan Sun and personal name Shi, styled Zi Zhang, was forty-eight years younger than Confucius and a native of the State of Chen. He is mentioned twenty times in The Analects. He was magnanimous, exceptionally talented and handsome, and had a wide circle of friends. He revered Confucius, was fond of learning and deep thinking, and enjoyed discussing issues with Confucius. He repeatedly asked Confucius about "governance" and "conduct," and Confucius repeatedly instructed him, emphasizing Zhong (Loyalty) and Xin (Trustworthiness). Zhuan Sun Shi then wrote the teachings on loyalty and trustworthiness on his sash to show he would never forget them. He also said, "If one upholds virtue without broadening it and believes in the Dao (The Way) without seeking sincerity, how can such a person be considered to have anything, and how can they be considered to lack nothing?" Later, he used these teachings on loyalty and trustworthiness to instruct his own students. He accompanied Confucius on his travels through the various states and was once trapped in Chen and Cai. He proposed that a scholar-official should be willing to sacrifice his life when facing danger, consider whether gains are deserved when seeing benefits, be solemn and reverent during sacrifices, and be sorrowful and mournful during periods of mourning. He advocated "respecting the worthy and tolerating the masses" and enjoyed making friends with those more virtuous than himself. In daily life, he was not constrained by trivial matters, was easygoing and followed custom, did not pay attention to neat and tidy clothing, and his views had commonalities with the Mohist school.
Confucius believed that he was overly proud and arrogant, tending toward one-sidedness, and described him as "Pi" (extreme/imbalanced). Because of his unrestrained and unbridled nature, he could not uphold Ren (Benevolence), so Confucius's disciples kept him at a respectful distance. Thus, Zengzi (a disciple of Confucius) said, "How imposing is Zhang (Zhuansun Shi, a disciple of Confucius)! Yet it is difficult to practice Ren (Benevolence) alongside him." Although he studied the way of securing an official career with Confucius, he never entered government service.
After Confucius passed away, Zhuansun Shi (Zizhang, a disciple of Confucius) independently took on disciples and promoted Confucian teachings. The "Hanfeizi • Xianxue" chapter states that after Confucius's death, Confucianism split into eight schools, among which was the Zizhang school, listed as the first of the "Eight Confucian Schools." The "Da Dai Liji • Qiancheng" is a text from the Zizhang school.