The Analects - A Collection of Chinese Classics

Author: Zhang Yanying
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-09-01
Features: This book is an important classic of ancient Chinese Confucianism, a record of the words and deeds of Confucius by his disciples and their successors. This book was approximately compiled in the early Warring States period. As it was written by multiple authors, the specific authorship is difficult to determine, but it comprehensively reflects the thoughts of Confucius. This book consists of two main parts: the main text and annotations. The main text is selected from Yang Bojun's Translation and Annotation of the Analects, with reference to other versions for collation. The Analects follows the format of compiling chapters into a book, with relatively weak relationships between chapters. Therefore, the chapter introductions first describe the division of chapters, then explain the main ideas of each chapter, and if the content of a chapter has a more concentrated theme, it is also explained. The Analects is a collection of dialogues between Confucius and his disciples, one of the important classics of Confucianism. The compilation work was completed by Confucius's disciples and their successors. The origin of the name "Analects," as stated in Ban Gu's Book of Han·Bibliography, is: "The Analects refers to the words of Confucius responding to his disciples and contemporaries, as well as the conversations among disciples that were heard by Confucius. At that time, each disciple had their own records. After Confucius's death, his disciples compiled and edited them together, hence the name 'Analects.'" This explanation is largely credible. The original records were compiled by multiple authors, and the final compilation likely took place in the early Warring States period, primarily led by the disciples of Zeng Can.