The Analects. Great Learning. Doctrine of the Mean (Basic Collection of Chinese Family Classics. Volume of the Hundred Schools of Thought)

Author: Li Yuhua, translated and annotated by Ma Yinhua
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2003-01-01
Features: Half of the Analects can govern the world. — A quote from The Jade Room Records.
To be impartial is to be in the center; to be unchanging is to be the mean. — Cheng Yi.
The way of the Great Learning lies in manifesting virtue, in renewing the people, and in reaching perfection. — The Three Principles.
The Eightfold Path: Investigating things, extending knowledge, sincere intention, rectifying the mind, cultivating oneself, governing the family, governing the state, and bringing peace to the world.
The Analects is a record of the sayings and deeds of Confucius and his disciples, as well as their discussions with one another. It contains conversations between Confucius and his disciples, as well as discussions among the disciples themselves. Therefore, The Analects is a collection of fragments and chapters. The arrangement of these chapters has no logical order, and it was not written by a single person. The common view is that The Analects contains the writings of Confucius’s disciples as well as those of his second-generation disciples, and was finally compiled by Zeng Can’s students.
The Great Learning is a political essay by Confucianism that discusses the governance of the state and the pacification of the world. Its main idea is "to cultivate oneself in order to bring peace to the people." Its main content is the principle of "manifesting virtue, renewing the people, and reaching perfection," as well as the eightfold path of "investigating things, extending knowledge, sincere intention, rectifying the mind, cultivating oneself, governing the family, governing the state, and bringing peace to the world." The entire essay combines moral cultivation with political discussion, merging the philosophy of life with the philosophy of politics, fully embodying the "worldly-oriented" thought of Confucianism.
The author of The Doctrine of the Mean is Zisi (483–402 BC), whose surname was Kong, given name Ji, and courtesy name Zisi. He was the son of Kong Li and the grandson of Confucius, and was later revered as the "Paraphraser of the Sage." The theme of The Doctrine of the Mean lies in elaborating the perfection and highest moral of the "Doctrine of the Mean." At the same time, in terms of methodology, it advocates choosing a correct starting point when recognizing and addressing problems, opposing both "excess" and "insufficiency." From a cosmic perspective, The Doctrine of the Mean holds that "the world is one." From a political perspective, it advocates "rule by virtue" and "governance by virtue." The Doctrine of the Mean advocates adopting the method of "extensive learning, earnest inquiry, careful reflection, clear discrimination, and steadfast practice" as a basis for "sincerity."