Introduction to the Analects: Classic Interpretation

Author: Huang Shen
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-08-01
Features: 【Confucius the Person】Confucius (551-479 BC) was the founder of the Confucian school. His name was Qiu, and his courtesy name was Zhongni. He was a native of Zouyi (now southeastern Qufu, Shandong Province) in the late Spring and Autumn period. His ancestors were nobles of the State of Song, but they moved to the State of Lu to escape turmoil. His father, Shu Liang He, was brave and strong, and was enfeoffed with Zouyi for his military achievements. His mother was Yan Shi, whose name was Zheng Zai. Confucius was born in the 22nd year of Duke Xiang of Lu. At the age of three, he lost his father, and his family fell into decline. He moved with his mother to Qufu's Queyi. Due to his poverty and low status in his youth, he learned many skills. Confucius himself claimed to have been "at the age of fifteen with aspirations for learning." In his early years, he mastered the Six Arts (Rites, Music, Archery, Charioteering, Calligraphy, and Mathematics), was knowledgeable in learning and rites, and was praised by his hometown. Confucius had no fixed teachers and was said to have studied rites from Lao Dan, music from Chang Hong, and music from Shi Qiang. At the age of thirty, Confucius established himself, engaged in social activities, and founded a private school to gather and teach students, using the "Book of Songs," "Book of Documents," Rites, and Music as his curriculum. This broke the tradition of education being controlled by the state and pioneered a free atmosphere for academic freedom, greatly promoting the spread of culture among the people. It is said that Confucius had three thousand disciples, among whom seven hundred and twenty were proficient in the Six Arts. The most famous among them were Yan Yuan, Zilu, Zigong, Zixia, and Zeng Can. When Confucius was fifty, he understood his destiny and began to pursue a career in politics, rising from the governor of Zhongdu to the Minister of Works and the Grand Minister of Justice, acting as a prime minister. Due to his disagreement with the ruling Ji family in Lu, he realized that he could not realize his political ambitions in the state and, in the 13th year of Duke Ding of Lu (497 BC), led some disciples to leave Lu. He traveled through states such as Wei, Chen, Cao, Song, Zheng, Cai, and Chu, enduring hardships along the way but being met with coldness and never being recognized. In the 11th year of Duke Ai of Lu (484 BC), after fourteen years of wandering, Confucius returned to Lu and engaged in education and the compilation of texts. He edited the "Book of Songs," "Book of Documents," standardized the Rites and Music, compiled the "Book of Changes," and revised the "Spring and Autumn Annals," passing down the way of the former kings. In the 16th year of Duke Ai of Lu, Confucius passed away and was buried north of the Si River in Qufu. 【The Book of Analects】Compiled by Confucius's disciples and their second-generation disciples. "Lun" means to discuss and write, and "Yu" refers to the words of Confucius. The "Analects" is a compilation of the sayings and deeds of Confucius and his disciples, serving as the most important material for studying Confucian thought. The "Book of Han·Bibliography" records: "The Analects are the words of Confucius in response to his disciples, contemporaries, and the words exchanged among disciples that were heard by the master. At that time, each disciple had his own records. After Confucius's death, his disciples compiled and edited them, hence the name 'Analects.'" The book was completed around the early Warring States period. It was transmitted to the Western Han Dynasty, with three versions: the present text "Lu Lun," the "Qi Lun," and the ancient text "Gulu Lun." In the late Eastern Han Dynasty, Zheng Xuan based his "Commentary on the Analects" on the "Lu Lun," referencing the "Qi Lun" and "Gulu Lun," resulting in a twenty-volume work that became the standard version for later generations. During the Eastern Han Dynasty, it was combined with the "Book of Songs," "Book of Documents," "Rites," "Book of Changes," "Spring and Autumn Annals," and "Classic of Filial Piety" as the "Seven Classics." Zhu Xi ranked the "Great Learning," "Doctrine of the Mean," "Analects," and "Mencius" together as the "Four Books," making them required reading for scholars after the Southern Song Dynasty. Many scholars have commented on the Analects, with important works including He Yan's "Collected Explanations of the Analects" from the Wei Dynasty, Zhu Xi's "Commentary on the Analects" from the Southern Song Dynasty, Liu Baonan's "Correct Interpretation of the Analects" from the Qing Dynasty, and Cheng Shude's "Comprehensive Explanation of the Analects" from modern times. 【Confucius's Era】Confucius lived in the late Spring and Autumn period, when the Zhou Dynasty was declining, the rites were in disarray, and the power of some large states was growing, even leading to the situation where "ministers held the power of the lords."