The ''Analects'' (; ;
Old Chinese
Old Chinese, also called Archaic Chinese in older works, is the oldest attested stage of Chinese language, Chinese, and the ancestor of all modern varieties of Chinese. The earliest examples of Chinese are divinatory inscriptions on oracle bones ...
: ''
ŋ(r)aʔ''; meaning "Selected Sayings"), also known as the ''Analects of Confucius'', the ''Sayings of Confucius'', or the ''Lun Yu'', is an ancient Chinese book composed of a large collection of sayings and ideas attributed to the
Chinese philosopher
Chinese philosophy originates in the Spring and Autumn period () and Warring States period (), during a period known as the "Hundred Schools of Thought", which was characterized by significant intellectual and cultural developme ...
Confucius
Confucius ( ; zh, s=, p=Kǒng Fūzǐ, "Master Kǒng"; or commonly zh, s=, p=Kǒngzǐ, labels=no; – ) was a Chinese philosopher and politician of the Spring and Autumn period who is traditionally considered the paragon of Chinese sages. C ...
and his contemporaries, traditionally believed to have been compiled and written by Confucius's followers. It is believed to have been written during the
Warring States period
The Warring States period () was an era in History of China#Ancient China, ancient Chinese history characterized by warfare, as well as bureaucratic and military reforms and consolidation. It followed the Spring and Autumn period and concluded ...
(475–221 BC), and it achieved its final form during the mid-
Han dynasty
The Han dynasty (, ; ) was an imperial dynasty of China (202 BC – 9 AD, 25–220 AD), established by Liu Bang (Emperor Gao) and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–207 BC) and a warr ...
(206 BC–220 AD). By the early Han dynasty the ''Analects'' was considered merely a "commentary" on the
Five Classics
The Four Books and Five Classics () are the authoritative books of Confucianism, written in China before 300 BCE. The Four Books and the Five Classics are the most important classics of Chinese Confucianism.
Four Books
The Four Books () are C ...
, but the status of the ''Analects'' grew to be one of the central texts of
Confucianism
Confucianism, also known as Ruism or Ru classicism, is a system of thought and behavior originating in ancient China. Variously described as tradition, a philosophy, a religion, a humanistic or rationalistic religion, a way of governing, or ...
by the end of that dynasty.
During the late
Song dynasty
The Song dynasty (; ; 960–1279) was an imperial dynasty of China that began in 960 and lasted until 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song following his usurpation of the throne of the Later Zhou. The Song conquered the rest ...
(960–1279 AD) the importance of the ''Analects'' as a
Chinese philosophy
Chinese philosophy originates in the Spring and Autumn period () and Warring States period (), during a period known as the "Hundred Schools of Thought", which was characterized by significant intellectual and cultural developmen ...
work was raised above that of the older Five Classics, and it was recognized as one of the "
Four Books
The Four Books and Five Classics () are the authoritative books of Confucianism, written in China before 300 BCE. The Four Books and the Five Classics are the most important classics of Chinese Confucianism.
Four Books
The Four Books () are C ...
". The ''Analects'' has been one of the most widely-read and studied books in China for the last 2,000 years, and continues to have a substantial influence on Chinese and
East Asian thought and values today.
Confucius believed that the welfare of a country depended on the moral cultivation of its people, beginning from the nation's leadership. He believed that individuals could begin to cultivate an all-encompassing sense of virtue through ''
ren'', and that the most basic step to cultivating ''ren'' was
devotion to one's parents and older siblings. He taught that one's individual desires do not need to be suppressed, but that people should be educated to reconcile their desires via
rituals and forms of propriety, through which people could demonstrate their respect for others and their responsible roles in society.
Confucius taught that a ruler's sense of
virtue
Virtue ( la, virtus) is moral excellence. A virtue is a trait or quality that is deemed to be morally good and thus is valued as a foundation of principle and good moral being. In other words, it is a behavior that shows high moral standard ...
was his primary prerequisite for leadership. His primary goal in educating his students was to produce
ethically well-cultivated men who would carry themselves with gravity, speak correctly, and demonstrate consummate integrity in all things.
History
Creation of the text
![Analects](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a0/Analects.JPG)
According to
Ban Gu
Ban Gu (AD32–92) was a Chinese historian, politician, and poet best known for his part in compiling the ''Book of Han'', the second of China's 24 dynastic histories. He also wrote a number of '' fu'', a major literary form, part prose ...
, writing in the ''
Book of Han
The ''Book of Han'' or ''History of the Former Han'' (Qián Hàn Shū,《前汉书》) is a history of China finished in 111AD, covering the Western, or Former Han dynasty from the first emperor in 206 BCE to the fall of Wang Mang in 23 CE. I ...
'', the ''Analects'' originated as individual records kept by Confucius's disciples of conversations between the Master and them, which were then collected and jointly edited by the disciples after Confucius's death in 479 BC. The work is therefore titled ''Lunyu'' meaning "edited conversations" or "selected speeches" (i.e. analects). This broadly forms the traditional account of the genesis of the work accepted by later generations of scholars, for example the
Song dynasty
The Song dynasty (; ; 960–1279) was an imperial dynasty of China that began in 960 and lasted until 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song following his usurpation of the throne of the Later Zhou. The Song conquered the rest ...
neo-Confucian scholar
Zhu Xi
Zhu Xi (; ; October 18, 1130 – April 23, 1200), formerly romanized Chu Hsi, was a Chinese calligrapher, historian, philosopher, poet, and politician during the Song dynasty. Zhu was influential in the development of Neo-Confucianism. He con ...
stated that ''Analects'' is the records of Confucius's first- and second-generation pupils.
This traditional view has been challenged by Chinese, Japanese, and Western scholars. The Qing dynasty
philologist
Philology () is the study of language in oral and written historical sources; it is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics (with especially strong ties to etymology). Philology is also defined as th ...
Cui Shu argued on linguistic ground that the last five books were produced much later than the rest of the work.
Itō Jinsai
, who also went by the pen name Keisai, was a Japanese Confucian philosopher and educator. He is considered to be one of the most influential Confucian scholars of seventeenth century Japan, and the Tokugawa period (1600–1868) generally, his t ...
claimed that, because of differences he saw in patterns of language and content in the ''Analects'', a distinction in authorship should be made between the "upper ''Analects''" (Books 1–10) and "lower ''Analects''" (Books 11–20).
Arthur Waley
Arthur David Waley (born Arthur David Schloss, 19 August 188927 June 1966) was an English orientalist and sinologist who achieved both popular and scholarly acclaim for his translations of Chinese and Japanese poetry. Among his honours were ...
speculated that Books 3–9 represent the earliest parts of the book. E. Bruce Brooks and A. Taeko Brooks reviewed previous theories of the chapters' creation and produced a "four stratum theory" of the text's creation. Many modern scholars now believe that the work was compiled over a period of around two hundred years, some time during the
Warring States period
The Warring States period () was an era in History of China#Ancient China, ancient Chinese history characterized by warfare, as well as bureaucratic and military reforms and consolidation. It followed the Spring and Autumn period and concluded ...
(476–221 BC), with some questioning the authenticity of some of the sayings. Because no texts dated earlier than about 50 BC have been discovered, and because the ''Analects'' was not referred to by name in any existing source before the early Han dynasty, some scholars have proposed dates as late as 140 BC for the text's compilation.
Regardless of how early the text of the ''Analects'' existed, most ''Analects'' scholars believe that by the early
Han dynasty
The Han dynasty (, ; ) was an imperial dynasty of China (202 BC – 9 AD, 25–220 AD), established by Liu Bang (Emperor Gao) and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–207 BC) and a warr ...
(206 BC–220 AD) the book was widely known and transmitted throughout China in a mostly complete form, and that the book acquired its final, complete form during the Han dynasty. However, Han dynasty writer
Wang Chong
Wang Chong (; 27 – c. 97 AD), courtesy name Zhongren (仲任), was a Chinese astronomer, meteorologist, naturalist, philosopher, and writer active during the Han Dynasty. He developed a rational, secular, naturalistic and mechanistic account ...
claimed that all copies of the ''Analects'' that existed during the Han dynasty were incomplete and formed only a part of a much larger work. This is supported by the fact that a larger collection of Confucius's teachings did exist in the Warring States period than has been preserved directly in the ''Analects'': 75% of Confucius's sayings cited by his second-generation student,
Mencius
Mencius ( ); born Mèng Kē (); or Mèngzǐ (; 372–289 BC) was a Chinese Confucianism, Confucian Chinese philosophy, philosopher who has often been described as the "second Sage", that is, second to Confucius himself. He is part of Confuc ...
, do not exist in the received text of the ''Analects''.
Versions
According to the Han dynasty scholar
Liu Xiang, there were two versions of the ''Analects'' that existed at the beginning of the Han dynasty: the "
Lu version" and the "
Qi version". The Lu version contained twenty chapters, and the Qi version contained twenty-two chapters, including two chapters not found in the Lu version. Of the twenty chapters that both versions had in common, the Lu version had more passages. Each version had its own masters, schools, and transmitters.
In the reign of
Emperor Jing of Han
Emperor Jing of Han (Liu Qi (劉啟); 188 BC – 9 March 141 BC) was the sixth emperor of the Chinese Han dynasty from 157 to 141 BC. His reign saw the limiting of the power of the feudal kings/princes which resulted in the Rebellion of the Sev ...
(r. 157–141 BC), a third version (the "
Old Text
In Chinese language, Chinese philology, the Old Texts () refer to some versions of the Five Classics discovered during the Han Dynasty, written in archaic Chinese character, characters and supposedly produced before the To burn the classics and to ...
" version) was discovered hidden in a wall of the home then believed to be Confucius's when the home was in the process of being destroyed by King Gong of Lu (r. 153–128 BC) in order to expand the king's palace. The new version did not contain the two extra chapters found in the Qi version, but it split one chapter found in the Lu and Qi versions in two, so it had twenty-one chapters, and the order of the chapters was different.
The old text version got its name because it was written in characters not used since the earlier Warring States period (i.e. before 221 BC), when it was assumed to have been hidden. According to the Han dynasty scholar
Huan Tan
Huan Tan (BC– AD28) was a Chinese philosopher, poet, and politician of the Western Han and its short-lived interregnum between AD9 and 23, known as the Xin Dynasty.
Life
Huan worked as an official under the administrations of Emperor Ai of ...
, the old text version had four hundred characters different from the Lu version (from which the received text of the ''Analects'' is mostly based), and it seriously differed from the Lu version in twenty-seven places. Of these twenty-seven differences, the received text only agrees with the old text version in two places.
Over a century later, the tutor of the ''Analects'' to
Emperor Cheng of Han
Emperor Cheng of Han (51 BC – 17 April 7 BC) was an emperor of the Chinese Han dynasty ruling from 33 until 7 BC. He succeeded his father Emperor Yuan of Han. Under Emperor Cheng, the Han dynasty continued its growing disintegration as the emp ...
,
Zhang Yu Zhang may refer to:
Chinese culture, etc.
* Zhang (surname) (張/张), common Chinese surname
** Zhang (surname 章), a rarer Chinese surname
* Zhang County (漳县), of Dingxi, Gansu
* Zhang River (漳河), a river flowing mainly in Henan
* ''Z ...
(d. 5 BC), synthesized the Lu and Qi versions by taking the Lu version as authoritative and selectively adding sections from the Qi version, and produced a composite text of the ''Analects'' known as the "Zhang Hou Lun". This text was recognized by Zhang Yu's contemporaries and by subsequent Han scholars as superior to either individual version, and is the text that is recognized as the ''Analects'' today. The Qi version was lost for about 1800 years but re-found during the excavation of the tomb of
Marquis of Haihun
Liu He (; 92–59 BC) was an emperor of the Chinese Han dynasty with the era name Yuanping (). Originally King (or Prince) of Changyi (), he was installed by the powerful minister Huo Guang as emperor in 74 BC, but deposed only 27 days later, and ...
in 2011. No complete copies of either the Lu version or the old text version of the ''Analects'' exist today, though fragments of the old text version were discovered at
Dunhuang
Dunhuang () is a county-level city in Northwestern Gansu Province, Western China. According to the 2010 Chinese census, the city has a population of 186,027, though 2019 estimates put the city's population at about 191,800. Dunhuang was a major ...
.
Before the late twentieth century the oldest existing copy of the ''Analects'' known to scholars was found in the "Stone Classics of the Xinping Era", a copy of the Confucian classics written in stone in the old Eastern Han dynasty capital of
Luoyang
Luoyang is a city located in the confluence area of Luo River (Henan), Luo River and Yellow River in the west of Henan province. Governed as a prefecture-level city, it borders the provincial capital of Zhengzhou to the east, Pingdingshan to the ...
around 175 AD. Archaeologists have since discovered two handwritten copies of the ''Analects'' that were written around 50 BC, during the Western Han dynasty. They are known as the "
Dingzhou
Dingzhou, or Tingchow in Postal Map Romanization, and formerly called Ding County or Dingxian, is a county-level city in the prefecture-level city of Baoding, Hebei Province. As of 2009, Dingzhou had a population of 1.2 million. Dingzhou has 3 ...
''Analects''", and the "
Pyongyang
Pyongyang (, , ) is the capital and largest city of North Korea, where it is known as the "Capital of the Revolution". Pyongyang is located on the Taedong River about upstream from its mouth on the Yellow Sea. According to the 2008 populatio ...
''Analects''", after the location of the tombs in which they were found. The Dingzhou ''Analects'' was discovered in 1973, but no transcription of its contents was published until 1997. The Pyongyang ''Analects'' was discovered in 1992. Academic access to the Pyongyang ''Analects'' has been highly restricted, and no academic study on it was published until 2009.
The Dingzhou ''Analects'' was damaged in a fire shortly after it was entombed in the Han dynasty. It was further damaged in
an earthquake shortly after it was recovered, and the surviving text is just under half the size of the received text of the ''Analects''. Of the sections that survive, the Dingzhou ''Analects'' is shorter than the received ''Analects'', implying that the text of the ''Analects'' was still in the process of expansion when the Dingzhou ''Analects'' was entombed. There was evidence that "additions" may have been made to the manuscript after it had been completed, indicating that the writer may have become aware of at least one other version of the ''Analects'' and included "extra" material for the sake of completeness.
The content of the Pyongyang ''Analects'' is similar to the Dingzhou ''Analects''. Because of the secrecy and isolationism of the
North Korea
North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu River, Y ...
n government, only a very cursory study of it has been made available to international scholars, and its contents are not completely known outside of North Korea. Scholars do not agree about whether either the Dingzhou ''Analects'' or the Pyongyang ''Analects'' represent the Lu version, the Qi version, the old text version, or a different version that was independent of these three traditions.
Importance within Confucianism
During most of the Han period the ''Analects'' was not considered one of the principal texts of
Confucianism
Confucianism, also known as Ruism or Ru classicism, is a system of thought and behavior originating in ancient China. Variously described as tradition, a philosophy, a religion, a humanistic or rationalistic religion, a way of governing, or ...
. During the reign of
Han Wudi
Emperor Wu of Han (156 – 29 March 87BC), formally enshrined as Emperor Wu the Filial (), born Liu Che (劉徹) and courtesy name Tong (通), was the seventh emperor of the Han dynasty of ancient China, ruling from 141 to 87 BC. His reign las ...
(141–87 BC), when the Chinese government began promoting Confucian studies, only the
Five Classics
The Four Books and Five Classics () are the authoritative books of Confucianism, written in China before 300 BCE. The Four Books and the Five Classics are the most important classics of Chinese Confucianism.
Four Books
The Four Books () are C ...
were considered by the government to be canonical (''jing''). They were considered Confucian because Confucius was assumed to have partially written, edited, and/or transmitted them. The ''Analects'' was considered secondary as it was thought to be merely a collection of Confucius's oral "commentary" (''zhuan'') on the Five Classics.
The political importance and popularity of Confucius and Confucianism grew throughout the Han dynasty, and by the
Eastern Han
The Han dynasty (, ; ) was an imperial dynasty of China (202 BC – 9 AD, 25–220 AD), established by Liu Bang (Emperor Gao) and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–207 BC) and a warr ...
the ''Analects'' was widely read by schoolchildren and anyone aspiring to literacy, and often read before the Five Classics themselves. During the Eastern Han, the heir apparent was provided a tutor specifically to teach him the ''Analects''. The growing importance of the ''Analects'' was recognized when the Five Classics was expanded to the "Seven Classics": the Five Classics plus the ''Analects'' and the ''
Classic of Filial Piety
The ''Classic of Filial Piety'', also known by its Chinese name as the ''Xiaojing'', is a Confucian classic treatise giving advice on filial piety: that is, how to behave towards a senior such as a father, an elder brother, or a ruler.
The tex ...
'', and its status as one of the central texts of Confucianism continued to grow until the late
Song dynasty
The Song dynasty (; ; 960–1279) was an imperial dynasty of China that began in 960 and lasted until 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song following his usurpation of the throne of the Later Zhou. The Song conquered the rest ...
(960–1279), when it was identified and promoted as one of the
Four Books
The Four Books and Five Classics () are the authoritative books of Confucianism, written in China before 300 BCE. The Four Books and the Five Classics are the most important classics of Chinese Confucianism.
Four Books
The Four Books () are C ...
by
Zhu Xi
Zhu Xi (; ; October 18, 1130 – April 23, 1200), formerly romanized Chu Hsi, was a Chinese calligrapher, historian, philosopher, poet, and politician during the Song dynasty. Zhu was influential in the development of Neo-Confucianism. He con ...
and generally accepted as being more insightful than the older Five Classics.
The writing style of the ''Analects'' also inspired future Confucian writers. For example,
Sui Dynasty
The Sui dynasty (, ) was a short-lived imperial dynasty of China that lasted from 581 to 618. The Sui unified the Northern and Southern dynasties, thus ending the long period of division following the fall of the Western Jin dynasty, and layi ...
writer
Wang Tong's 中说 (''Explanation of the Mean'') was purposely written to emulate the style of the ''Analects'', a practice praised by
Ming Dynasty
The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last ort ...
philosopher
Wang Yangming
Wang Shouren (, 26 October 1472 – 9 January 1529), courtesy name Bo'an (), art name Yangmingzi (), usually referred to as Wang Yangming (), was a Chinese calligrapher, general, philosopher, politician, and writer during the Ming dynasty ...
.
Commentaries
![Commentaries of the Analects of Confucius](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0f/Commentaries_of_the_Analects_of_Confucius.jpg)
Since the Han dynasty, Chinese readers have interpreted the ''Analects'' by reading scholars' commentaries on the book. There have been many commentaries on the ''Analects'' since the Han dynasty, but the two which have been most influential have been the ''Collected Explanations of the Analects'' (''Lunyu Jijie'') by
He Yan
He Yan ( 195 – 9 February 249), courtesy name Pingshu, was a Chinese philosopher and politician of the state of Cao Wei in the Three Kingdoms period of China. He was a grandson of He Jin, a general and regent of the Eastern Han dynasty. Hi ...
(c. 195–249) and several colleagues, and the ''Collected Commentaries of the Analects'' (''Lunyu Jizhu'') by
Zhu Xi
Zhu Xi (; ; October 18, 1130 – April 23, 1200), formerly romanized Chu Hsi, was a Chinese calligrapher, historian, philosopher, poet, and politician during the Song dynasty. Zhu was influential in the development of Neo-Confucianism. He con ...
(1130–1200). In his work, He Yan collected, selected, summarized, and rationalized what he believed to be the most insightful of all preceding commentaries on the ''Analects'' which had been produced by earlier Han and
Wei dynasty
Wei or WEI may refer to:
States
* Wey (state) (衛, 1040–209 BC), Wei in pinyin, but spelled Wey to distinguish from the bigger Wei of the Warring States
* Wei (state) (魏, 403–225 BC), one of the seven major states of the Warring States per ...
(220–265 AD) scholars.
He Yan's personal interpretation of the ''Lunyu'' was guided by his belief that
Daoism
Taoism (, ) or Daoism () refers to either a school of philosophical thought (道家; ''daojia'') or to a religion (道教; ''daojiao''), both of which share ideas and concepts of Chinese origin and emphasize living in harmony with the ''Tao'' ...
and
Confucianism
Confucianism, also known as Ruism or Ru classicism, is a system of thought and behavior originating in ancient China. Variously described as tradition, a philosophy, a religion, a humanistic or rationalistic religion, a way of governing, or ...
complemented each other, so that by studying both in a correct manner a scholar could arrive at a single, unified truth. Arguing for the ultimate compatibility of Daoist and Confucian teachings, he argued that "Laozi
n fact
N, or n, is the fourteenth letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''en'' (pronounced ), plural ''ens''.
History
...
was in agreement with the Sage" (sic). The ''Explanations'' was written in 248 AD, was quickly recognized as authoritative, and remained the standard guide to interpreting the ''Analects'' for nearly 1,000 years, until the early
Yuan dynasty
The Yuan dynasty (), officially the Great Yuan (; xng, , , literally "Great Yuan State"), was a Mongol-led imperial dynasty of China and a successor state to the Mongol Empire after its division. It was established by Kublai, the fifth ...
(1271–1368). It is the oldest complete commentary on the ''Analects'' that still exists.
He Yan's commentary was eventually displaced as the definitive, standard commentary by Zhu Xi's commentary. Zhu Xi's work also brought together the commentaries of earlier scholars (mostly from the Song dynasty), along with his own interpretations. Zhu's work took part in the context of a period of renewed interest in Confucian studies, in which Chinese scholars were interested in producing a single "correct" intellectual orthodoxy that would "save" Chinese traditions and protect them from foreign influences, and in which scholars were increasingly interested in metaphysical speculation.
In his commentary Zhu made a great effort to interpret the ''Analects'' by using theories elaborated in the other Four Books, something that He Yan had not done. Zhu attempted to give an added coherence and unity to the message of the ''Analects'', demonstrating that the individual books of the Confucian canon gave meaning to the whole, just as the whole of the canon gave meaning to its parts. In his preface, Zhu Xi stated, "
e ''Analects'' and the ''
Mencius
Mencius ( ); born Mèng Kē (); or Mèngzǐ (; 372–289 BC) was a Chinese Confucianism, Confucian Chinese philosophy, philosopher who has often been described as the "second Sage", that is, second to Confucius himself. He is part of Confuc ...
'' are the most important works for students pursuing the
Way
Way may refer to:
Paths
* a road, route, path or pathway, including long-distance paths.
* a straight rail or track on a machine tool, (such as that on the bed of a lathe) on which part of the machine slides
* Ways, large slipway in shipbuildin ...
..The words of the ''Analects'' are all inclusive; what they teach is nothing but the essentials of preserving the mind and cultivating
ne'snature."
From the first publication of the ''Commentaries'', Zhu continued to refine his interpretation for the last thirty years of his life. In the fourteenth century, the
Chinese government
The Government of the People's Republic of China () is an authoritarian political system in the People's Republic of China under the exclusive political leadership of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). It consists of legislative, executive, mili ...
endorsed Zhu's commentary. Until 1905 it was read and memorized along with the ''Analects'' by all Chinese aspiring to literacy and employment as government officials.
Contents
Very few reliable sources about Confucius exist besides that of the Analects. The principal biography available to historians is included in
Sima Qian
Sima Qian (; ; ) was a Chinese historian of the early Han dynasty (206AD220). He is considered the father of Chinese historiography for his ''Records of the Grand Historian'', a general history of China covering more than two thousand years b ...
's ''
Shiji
''Records of the Grand Historian'', also known by its Chinese name ''Shiji'', is a monumental history of China that is the first of China's 24 dynastic histories. The ''Records'' was written in the early 1st century by the ancient Chinese hist ...
'', but because the ''Shiji'' contains a large amount of (possibly legendary) material not confirmed by extant sources, the biographical material on Confucius found in the ''Analects'' makes the ''Analects'' arguably the most reliable source of biographical information about Confucius. Confucius viewed himself as a "transmitter" of social and political traditions originating in the early
Zhou dynasty
The Zhou dynasty ( ; Old Chinese ( B&S): *''tiw'') was a royal dynasty of China that followed the Shang dynasty. Having lasted 789 years, the Zhou dynasty was the longest dynastic regime in Chinese history. The military control of China by th ...
(c. 1000–800 BC), and claimed not to have originated anything (''Analects'' 7.1), but Confucius's social and political ideals were not popular in his time.
Social philosophy
Confucius' discussions on the nature of the supernatural (''Analects'' 3.12; 6.20; 11.11) indicate his belief that while "ghosts" and "spirits" should be respected, they are best kept at a distance. Instead human beings should base their values and social ideals on moral philosophy, tradition, and a natural love for others. Confucius' social philosophy largely depended on the cultivation of
''ren'' by every individual in a community.
Later Confucian philosophers explained ''ren'' as the quality of having a kind manner, similar to the English words "humane", "altruistic", or "benevolent", but, of the sixty instances in which Confucius discusses ''ren'' in the ''Analects'', very few have these later meanings. Confucius instead used the term ''ren'' to describe an extremely general and all-encompassing state of virtue, one which no living person had attained completely. (This use of the term ''ren'' is peculiar to the ''Analects''.)
Throughout the ''Analects'', Confucius's students frequently request that Confucius define ''ren'' and give examples of people who embody it, but Confucius generally responds indirectly to his students' questions, instead offering illustrations and examples of behaviours that are associated with ''ren'' and explaining how a person could achieve it. According to Confucius, a person with a well-cultivated sense of ''ren'' would speak carefully and modestly (''Analects'' 12.3); be resolute and firm (''Analects'' 12.20), courageous (''Analects'' 14.4), free from worry, unhappiness, and insecurity (''Analects'' 9.28; 6.21); moderate their desires and return to propriety (''Analects'' 12.1); be respectful, tolerant, diligent, trustworthy and kind (''Analects'' 17.6); and love others (''Analects'' 12.22). Confucius recognized his followers' disappointment that he would not give them a more comprehensive definition of ''ren'', but assured them that he was sharing all that he could (''Analects'' 7.24).
To Confucius, the cultivation of ''ren'' involved depreciating oneself through modesty while avoiding artful speech and ingratiating manners that would create a false impression of one's own character (''Analects'' 1.3). Confucius said that those who had cultivated ''ren'' could be distinguished by their being "simple in manner and slow of speech." He believed that people could cultivate their sense of ''ren'' through exercising the inverted
Golden Rule: "Do not do to others what you would not like done to yourself"; "a man with ''ren'', desiring to establish himself, helps others establish themselves; desiring to succeed himself, helps others to succeed" (''Analects'' 12.2; 6.28).
Confucius taught that the ability of people to imagine and project themselves into the places of others was a crucial quality for the pursuit of moral self-cultivation (''Analects'' 4.15; see also 5.12; 6.30; 15.24). Confucius regarded the exercise of
devotion to one's parents and older siblings as the simplest, most basic way to cultivate ''ren''. (''Analects'' 1.2).
Confucius believed that ''ren'' could best be cultivated by those who had already learned self-discipline, and that self-discipline was best learned by practicing and cultivating one's understanding of
''li'': rituals and forms of propriety through which people demonstrate their respect for others and their responsible roles in society (''Analects'' 3.3). Confucius said that one's understanding of ''li'' should inform everything that one says and does (''Analects'' 12.1). He believed that subjecting oneself to ''li'' did not mean suppressing one's desires, but learning to reconcile them with the needs of one's family and broader community.
By leading individuals to express their desires within the context of social responsibility, Confucius and his followers taught that the public cultivation of ''li'' was the basis of a well-ordered society (''Analects'' 2.3). Confucius taught his students that an important aspect of ''li'' was observing the practical social differences that exist between people in daily life. In
Confucian philosophy
Confucianism, also known as Ruism or Ru classicism, is a system of thought and behavior originating in ancient China. Variously described as tradition, a philosophy, a religion, a humanistic or rationalistic religion, a way of governing, or ...
these "five relationships" include: ruler to ruled; father to son; husband to wife; elder brother to younger brother; and friend to friend.
''Ren'' and ''li'' have a special relationship in the ''Analects'': ''li'' manages one's relationship with one's family and close community, while ''ren'' is practiced broadly and informs one's interactions with all people. Confucius did not believe that ethical self-cultivation meant unquestioned loyalty to an evil ruler. He argued that the demands of ''ren'' and ''li'' meant that rulers could oppress their subjects only at their own peril: "You may rob the Three Armies of their commander, but you cannot deprive the humblest peasant of his opinion" (''Analects'' 9.26). Confucius said that a morally well-cultivated individual would regard his devotion to loving others as a mission for which he would be willing to die (''Analects'' 15.8).
Political philosophy
Confucius' political beliefs were rooted in his belief that a good ruler would be self-disciplined, would govern his subjects through education and by his own example, and would seek to correct his subjects with love and concern rather than punishment and coercion. "If the people be led by laws, and uniformity among them be sought by punishments, they will try to escape punishment and have no sense of shame. If they are led by virtue, and uniformity sought among them through the practice of ritual propriety, they will possess a sense of shame and come to you of their own accord" (''Analects'' 2.3; see also 13.6). Confucius' political theories were directly contradictory to the
Legalistic political orientations of China's rulers, and he failed to popularize his ideals among China's leaders within his own lifetime.
Confucius believed that the social chaos of his time was largely due to China's ruling elite aspiring to, and claiming, titles of which they were unworthy. When the ruler of the large state of
Qi asked Confucius about the principles of good government, Confucius responded: "Good government consists in the ruler being a ruler, the minister being a minister, the father being a father, and the son being a son" (''Analects'' 12.11).
The analysis of the need to raise officials' behavior to reflect the way that they identify and describe themselves is known as the
rectification of names
The rectification of names () is originally a doctrine of feudal Confucian designations and relationships, behaving accordingly to ensure social harmony. Without such accordance society would essentially crumble and "undertakings would not be comp ...
, and he stated that the rectification of names should be the first responsibility of a ruler upon taking office (''Analects'' 13.3). Confucius believed that, because the ruler was the model for all who were under him in society, the rectification of names had to begin with the ruler, and that afterwards others would change to imitate him (''Analects'' 12.19).
Confucius judged a good ruler by his possession of ''
de'' ("virtue"): a sort of moral force that allows those in power to rule and gain the loyalty of others without the need for physical coercion (''Analects'' 2.1). Confucius said that one of the most important ways that a ruler cultivates his sense of ''de'' is through a devotion to the correct practices of ''li''. Examples of rituals identified by Confucius as important to cultivate a ruler's ''de'' include: sacrificial rites held at ancestral temples to express thankfulness and humility; ceremonies of enfeoffment, toasting, and gift exchanges that bound nobility in complex hierarchical relationships of obligation and indebtedness; and, acts of formal politeness and decorum (i.e. bowing and yielding) that identify the performers as morally well-cultivated.
Education
The importance of education and study is a fundamental theme of the ''Analects''. For Confucius, a good student respects and learns from the words and deeds of his teacher, and a good teacher is someone older who is familiar with the ways of the past and the practices of antiquity (''Analects'' 7.22). Confucius emphasized the need to find balance between formal study and intuitive self-reflection (''Analects'' 2.15). When teaching he is never cited in the ''Analects'' as lecturing at length about any subject, but instead challenges his students to discover the truth through
asking direct questions, citing passages from the classics, and using analogies (''Analects'' 7.8). He sometimes required his students to demonstrate their understanding of subjects by making intuitive conceptual leaps before accepting their understanding and discussing those subjects at greater levels of depth. (''Analects'' 3.8)
His primary goal in educating his students was to produce
ethically well-cultivated men who would carry themselves with gravity, speak correctly, and demonstrate consummate integrity in all things (''Analects'' 12.11; see also 13.3). He was willing to teach anyone regardless of social class, as long as they were sincere, eager, and tireless to learn (''Analects'' 7.7; 15.38). He is traditionally credited with teaching three thousand students, though only seventy are said to have mastered what he taught. He taught
practical skills, but regarded moral self-cultivation as his most important subject.
Chapters
The traditional titles given to each chapter are mostly an initial two or three
incipit
The incipit () of a text is the first few words of the text, employed as an identifying label. In a musical composition, an incipit is an initial sequence of notes, having the same purpose. The word ''incipit'' comes from Latin and means "it beg ...
s. In some cases a title may indicate a central theme of a chapter, but it is inappropriate to regard a title as a description or generalization of the content of a chapter. Chapters in the ''Analects'' are grouped by individual themes, but the chapters are not arranged in a way as to carry a continuous stream of thoughts or ideas. The themes of adjacent chapters are completely unrelated to each other. Central themes recur repeatedly in different chapters, sometimes in exactly the same wording and sometimes with small variations.
Chapter 10 contains detailed descriptions of Confucius's behaviors in various daily activities.
Voltaire
François-Marie Arouet (; 21 November 169430 May 1778) was a French Age of Enlightenment, Enlightenment writer, historian, and philosopher. Known by his ''Pen name, nom de plume'' M. de Voltaire (; also ; ), he was famous for his wit, and his ...
and
Ezra Pound
Ezra Weston Loomis Pound (30 October 1885 – 1 November 1972) was an expatriate American poet and critic, a major figure in the early modernist poetry movement, and a Fascism, fascist collaborator in Italy during World War II. His works ...
believed that this chapter demonstrated how Confucius was a mere human.
Simon Leys
Pierre Ryckmans (28 September 1935 – 11 August 2014), better known by his pen name Simon Leys, was a Belgian-Australian writer, essayist and literary critic, translator, art historian, sinologist, and university professor, who lived in Austral ...
, who recently translated the ''Analects'' into English and French, said that the book may have been the first in human history to describe the life of an individual, historic personage.
Elias Canetti
Elias Canetti (; bg, Елиас Канети; 25 July 1905 – 14 August 1994) was a German-language writer, born in Ruse, Bulgaria to a Sephardic family. They moved to Manchester, England, but his father died in 1912, and his mother took her t ...
wrote: "Confucius's ''Analects'' is the oldest complete intellectual and spiritual portrait of a man. It strikes one as a modern book; everything it contains and indeed everything it lacks is important."
Chapter 20, "
Yao Yue
Yao Yue () is one of the 20 books of the Analects of Confucius. Notably, it is the last book of the Analects. As the concluding book, Yaoyue is one of the hotly debated book of the Analects due to its distinct writing style and inconsistency with ...
", particularly the first verse, is bizarre in terms of both language and content. In terms of language, the text appears to be archaic (or a deliberate imitation of the archaic language of the Western Zhou) and bears some similarity with the language of the speeches in the ''
Shujing
The ''Book of Documents'' (''Shūjīng'', earlier ''Shu King'') or ''Classic of History'', also known as the ''Shangshu'' (“Venerated Documents”), is one of the Five Classics of ancient Chinese literature. It is a collection of rhetorica ...
''. In terms of the content, the passage appears to be an admonition by
Yao to
Shun
Shun may refer to one of the following:
*To shun, which means avoiding association with an individual or group
* Shun (given name), a masculine Japanese given name
*Seasonality in Japanese cuisine (''shun'', 旬)
Emperor Shun
* Emperor Shun ( ...
on the eve of Yao's abdication, which seems to be only tangentially related to Confucius and his philosophy. Moreover, there appear to be some problems with the text's continuity, and scholars have speculated that parts of the text were lost in the process of transmission and possibly transmitted with errors in the order. The fragmentary nature of the final chapter of the received Lu text has been explained by the "accretion theory", in which the text of the ''Analects'' was gradually accreted over a 230-year period, beginning with the death of Confucius and ending suddenly with the conquest of Lu in 249 BCE.
Within these incipits a large number of passages in the Analects begin with the formulaic ''ziyue'', "The Master said," but without punctuation marks in classical Chinese, this does not confirm whether what follows ''ziyue'' is direct quotation of actual sayings of Confucius, or simply to be understood as "the Master said that.." and the paraphrase of Confucius by the compilers of the Analects.
[Roger T. Ames ''The Analects of Confucius: A Philosophical Translation'' 2010 p. 285 "A large number of passages in the Analects begin with the formulaic ziyue 子曰, "The Master said," but because there are no punctuation marks in classical Chinese, we must ask if whatever follows ziyue is a literal transcription of speech, or a paraphrase of it, or a method of transmitting ideas in a written language which existed in important ways independently of the spoken language."]
Notable translations
*
Revised second edition(1893), Oxford: Clarendon Press, reprinted by Cosimo in 2006.
*
* ; rpt. London: Oxford University Press (1937).
*
* Rpt. (2000), New York: Alfred A. Knopf.
* Yoshikawa, Kōjirō 吉川幸次郎 (1978). ''Rongo'' 論語
'Lunyu'' 3 vols. Tokyo: Asahi Shinbun. Rpt. 2 vols, Asahi Shinbun (1996).
* ; rpt. with Chinese text, Hong Kong: Chinese University Press (1979).
*
* English version published as Simon Leys, trans. (1997), ''The Analects of Confucius'' (New York: W. W. Norton).
*
*
*
*
*
*
See also
* ''
Kongzi Jiayu
The ''Kongzi Jiayu'' (), translated as ''The School Sayings of Confucius'' or ''Family Sayings of Confucius'', is a collection of sayings of Confucius (Kongzi), written as a supplement to the ''Analects'' (''Lunyu'').
A book by the title had exi ...
'', sayings of Confucius not included in the ''Analects''
*
Chinese classic texts
Chinese classic texts or canonical texts () or simply dianji (典籍) refers to the Chinese texts which originated before the imperial unification by the Qin dynasty in 221 BC, particularly the "Four Books and Five Classics" of the Neo-Confucian ...
*
Sacred text
Religious texts, including scripture, are texts which various religions consider to be of central importance to their religious tradition. They differ from literature by being a compilation or discussion of beliefs, mythologies, ritual prac ...
*
Virtue jurisprudence
*
Disciples of Confucius
According to Sima Qian, Confucius said: "The disciples who received my instructions, and could themselves comprehend them, were seventy-seven individuals. They were all scholars of extraordinary ability." It was traditionally believed that Confuciu ...
*
Hadith
Ḥadīth ( or ; ar, حديث, , , , , , , literally "talk" or "discourse") or Athar ( ar, أثر, , literally "remnant"/"effect") refers to what the majority of Muslims believe to be a record of the words, actions, and the silent approval ...
*
Mahāvākyas
The Mahāvākyas (''sing.:'' mahāvākyam, महावाक्यम्; ''plural:'' mahāvākyāni, महावाक्यानि) are "The Great Sayings" of the Upanishads, as characterized by the Advaita school of Vedanta with mahā ...
* ''
The Maxims of Ptahhotep
''The Maxims of Ptahhotep'' or ''Instruction of Ptahhotep'' is an ancient Egyptian literary composition composed by the Vizier Ptahhotep around 2375–2350 BC, during the rule of King Djedkare Isesi of the Fifth Dynasty. The text was discovered ...
''
References
Citations
Sources
*
*
*
* China Daily
"Qi Version of 'Analects of Confucius' Discovered in Haihunhou Tomb" ''Chinese Archaeology''. January 13, 2017. Retrieved April 17, 2019.
*
*
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*
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*
*
*
*
* Waley, Arthur. "Terms". In ''The Analects of Confucius''. Trans. Arthur Waley. New York: Vintage Books. 1938.
Further reading
*
Van Norden, Bryan W. ''Confucius and the Analects : New Essays''.
Oxford University Press
Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print books ...
, 2001. .
The ''Analects''at the Database of Religious History.
External links
*
Bilingual excerpts and children's audio in Chinese and Japanese.Chinese-English bilingual text (Legge's translation)with links to
Zhu Xi
Zhu Xi (; ; October 18, 1130 – April 23, 1200), formerly romanized Chu Hsi, was a Chinese calligrapher, historian, philosopher, poet, and politician during the Song dynasty. Zhu was influential in the development of Neo-Confucianism. He con ...
's commentary, at
Chinese Text Project
The Chinese Text Project (CTP; ) is a digital library project that assembles collections of early Chinese texts. The name of the project in Chinese literally means "The Chinese Philosophical Book Digitization Project", showing its focus on books ...
.
English translation by A. Charles Muller, with Chinese text.Legge's English translation from the University of Adelaide Library(no section numbers)
Multilingual edition of the ''Analects'' in Chinese, English and French
{{Analects
Confucian texts
Chinese philosophy
Chinese classic texts
Philosophy books
Secularism
Public domain books
Zhou dynasty texts
1st-millennium BC books
Four Books and Five Classics
Thirteen Classics