New Edition of the Analects

Author: Lin Zhenheng
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-03-01
Features: The profound and extensive thoughts of Confucius are primarily reflected in the classic work of Confucianism, The Analects. The Analects is a collection of-style prose that records the daily remarks of Confucius and some of his disciples. The book consists of twenty chapters, each titled with two or three characters taken from a sentence within the chapter, composed of several passages known as chapters. The entire book contains 512 chapters. The Analects New Edition is titled "New Edition" because it organizes the original famous chapters of The Analects into categories, arranging hundreds of shining "fragments" in their proper places to clearly reveal the overall picture of Confucius's thoughts. Chapters belonging to the same theme are grouped together. The entire book is divided into 15 categories, summarized as 15 sections: Academic Pursuits, Teaching, Scholars, Gentlemen and Commoners, Serving as an Official and Governing the People, Attitude Towards Life, Daily Self-Cultivation, Recognizing People, Rationality, Benevolence, Filial Piety, Friendship and Dealing with Others, Etiquette, Poetry and Music, and Social Outlook. The core of its thoughts is the Social Outlook, while the other sections all derive from it, serving as the necessary conditions and means to realize and maintain the "Social Outlook." The chapters of each section are arranged in a logical order into several levels. Each level of chapters is also arranged in a certain logical sequence. This forms a comprehensive thought network that runs through both vertically and horizontally, revealing the true nature of the thought system of the founder of Confucianism, The Analects.