Half of the Analects: A Guide to Success for Modern People

Author: Li Zhen
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2003-01-01
Features: For modern people, "success" is a highly alluring concept. Thousands of young men and women from rural areas enter the city with rose-colored dreams, engaging in construction, business, and seeking opportunities for success. Urban youth take the TOEFL, join multinational corporations, and pursue MBA degrees, aspiring to become successful figures like Bill Gates. The works of Western success gurus such as Dale Carnegie, Napoleon Hill, and Spencer Johnson become bestsellers. People clutch these books, striving to find the golden key to unlock the door to success.
The Analects is a book that records the thoughts and actions of Confucius and his disciples. It has been in existence for over two thousand years since its compilation. Some may dismissively ask: Such an old-fashioned book, when brought to today, could possibly be of any use? Others might say: Confucius, isn’t he just an old scholar who only talks about theories? His teachings are already outdated. For modern people to achieve success, do they really need to seek wisdom from an "orthodox" or "stubborn" rural scholar? That would be laughable. But wait. It is precisely in Confucius, in the Analects, that many wisdom lost by modern people is preserved. This wisdom can help us achieve true success and a happy life.
The ancients said, "Understanding the world is learning; mastering human relationships is literature." The Analects, which records Confucius’s words and actions, is the learning of understanding the world and the literature of mastering human relationships. As long as one understands half of it, they can achieve success. This success is not just in career but also in life—happiness, health, and wealth.
The Origin of Half of the Analects In 960 AD, Zhao Pu assisted Zhao Kuangyin in Huangqiao Yizhi, where he was given the yellow robe and ascended the throne, becoming the founding prime minister above all others. Later, when Emperor Taizong of the Song Dynasty ascended the throne, Zhao Pu served as prime minister twice more. At the time, people widely rumored that Zhao Pu read very little, only the Analects. Emperor Taizong asked Zhao Pu if this was true. Zhao Pu replied, "What little learning I have in my life is only half. When I first used half of the Analects to assist Emperor Taizu (i.e., Zhao Kuangyin) in pacifying the world, now I intend to use this same half to assist Your Majesty in achieving peace in the world." This is the origin of the saying, "Half of the Analects govern the world."
The Analects is not long, and half of it is even shorter. However, if a person truly understands the Half of the Analects and puts its teachings into practice, then they can surely overcome any difficulties on their life’s path and achieve success.