The Analects (Upper, Middle, Lower)

Author: He Yan (Wei) and others
Publisher:
Publication Date: 1998-12-01
Features: The Analects is a collection of sayings by Confucius and his disciples, one of the important classics of Confucianism. The compilation was completed by Confucius's disciples and their successors. The origin of the name The Analects, as recorded in The Book of Han by Ban Gu, states: "The Analects refers to the words Confucius spoke in response to his disciples and contemporaries, as well as the conversations among the disciples themselves that were heard by Confucius. At that time, each disciple kept their own records. After Confucius's death, his disciples compiled and edited these records, hence the name The Analects." This explanation is largely credible. The original records were compiled by various hands, and the final editing likely took place in the early Warring States period, primarily led by the disciples of Zeng Can. The currently circulated The Analects consists of 20 chapters, with content primarily focused on ethics and education. During the Han Dynasty, different versions such as The Lu Analects, The Qi Analects, and The Ancient Analects circulated, which were later unified by Zheng Xuan. Existing old annotations include He Yan's annotations, Song Dynasty's Xing Bing's Explanatory Notes on the Analects, Song Dynasty Zhu Xi's Collected Annotations on the Analects, and Qing Dynasty Liu Bao'an's Explanatory Notes on the Analects. Modern annotated editions include Yang Bojun's Translation and Annotation of the Analects. This volume, The Analects from The Four Great Classics Annotated and Explained, includes the Qing Dynasty Tongzhi 12th Year edition from the Yuedong Book Bureau, based on the Collection of Ancient Classics from the Zhiyuquan, including The Zhengping Edition of the Collected Explanations of the Analects, Annotations and Explanations of the Meanings of the Analects, Annotations of the Analects with Collation Notes, Collected Annotations on the Analects, The Yuan Xuyuan Copy of the Zhengping Edition of the Collected Explanations of the Analects, Explanatory Notes on the Analects, Collected Explanations of the Analects, Annotations and Explanations of the Analects, and The Analects from the Kaicheng Stone Classics.