The Analects - Authentic Chinese Classics Collection

Author: Ma Hengjun
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2007-01-01
Features: The Analects is a book that records the words and deeds of Confucius and his disciples, and it relativelyly reflects Confucius's thoughts. Confucius (551 BC–479 BC), named Qiu, styled Zhongni, was a native of Zouyi (now Qufu, Shandong) in the state of Lu during the Spring and Autumn Period. Confucius's teachings were regarded as a prominent discipline during the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods but were also always considered one of the "Hundred Schools of Thought." In the Hundred Schools of Thought, history chose Confucius, and by the Han Dynasty, he attained the status of "sole supremacy," revered for over two thousand years, with his influence permeating every aspect of China. Confucius became China's most famous ancient thinker, statesman, and educator. Confucius was a descendant of the Shang Dynasty royal family, the lineage of Song Duke Wei. After the Zhou Dynasty conquered the Shang, Wei Ziqi was enfeoffed as the Duke of Song. Confucius's ancestor, Kong Fanji, was killed by Hu Du during the conflicts among nobles, and Confucius's great-grandfather, Kong Fangsun, moved to the state of Lu to escape persecution from the Hu family. Fangsun had a son named Bo Xia, who had a son named Shuliang He. Shuliang He and Yan Zhengzai had a son named Confucius. Confucius lost his father at the age of three and lived in poverty with his mother. In his youth, Confucius held low-ranking positions such as Weili (warehouse manager) and Chengtian (herdsman), but he was not recognized. He then began teaching and lecturing. During the reign of Duke Ding of Lu, Confucius served as the governor of Zhongdu, the Minister of Works, and the Chief Justice. At the age of fifty-two during the tenth year of Duke Ding's reign, Confucius served as the acting prime minister in the role of Chief Justice, reaching the peak of his political career. However, this period was short-lived because of disagreements with the powerful faction of the Ji family in Lu. Confucius resigned and went on a journey to various states, visiting Qi, Wei, Song, Chen, Cai, and Chu, hoping to realize his political ambitions elsewhere but was not given significant roles. In his later years, he returned to Lu to focus on education and the compilation of texts. The texts compiled by Confucius included the Book of Songs, the Book of Documents, the Book of Rites, and the Book of Music. He also collected historical records from various states and wrote the Spring and Autumn Annals. His students numbered over three thousand, among whom seventy-two were particularly renowned. This was Confucius's most glorious contribution to history. Deeply troubled by the chaos of his time, Confucius sought to establish a reasonable social order. Based on his research of history, he proposed a complete moral system. The "ren" (benevolence) he proposed was essentially an idea of public welfare, judging what is right in human affairs according to the requirements of public welfare—this is "yi" (righteousness). The order of "yi" is "li" (ritual propriety). He believed that the fundamental morality of a person is filial piety and sincerity. Extending filial piety to relationships between people is "zhong" (loyalty), and extending sincerity to relationships between people is "xin" (trustworthiness). Of course, different eras may have different standards of what is reasonable, and Confucius's views may differ from our modern understanding. However, his advocacy of public welfare and reasonable principles was not wrong, and his teachings still have a positive role in establishing modern civilization. If there are shortcomings in Confucius's thoughts, there are mainly two: first, he was limited by feudal patriarchal systems, with a strong sense of hierarchy, and second, his views on women were overly radical. Modern readers of The Analects should pay particular attention to these two points. The Analects was compiled by Confucius's disciples and their second-generation disciples. By the Han Dynasty, there were three versions in circulation: the Ruyu Analects, the Qiyu Analects, and the Guwen Analects. During the Eastern Han Dynasty, Zheng Xuan used the Ruyu Analects as the base text, comparing and annotating it with other versions, which became a widely accepted standard. Many scholars later wrote annotations on The Analects, with the most influential including He Yan's Collected Explanations of the Analects during the Three Kingdoms period, Huang Kan's Explanatory Notes on the Analects during the Southern and Northern Dynasties, and Xing Bing's Annotations and Explanatory Notes on the Analects during the Song Dynasty, which was included in the Annotations and Explanatory Notes of the Thirteen Classics. Additionally, the Song Dynasty saw Zhu Xi's Collected Annotations on the Analects. In the Qing Dynasty, Liu Bongan compiled The Correct Interpretation of the Analects, drawing on the strengths of previous works. My interpretation of The Analects is based on the Annotations and Explanatory Notes of the Thirteen Classics and Liu Bongan's The Correct Interpretation of the Analects. In the feudal society, The Analects was considered the golden rule for scholars, so some annotations inevitably contained exaggerated praise. My reinterpretation aims to remove the textual barriers for modern readers and to strip away the colors added by old annotations. Modern commentaries on The Analects include Yang Bojun's Translation and Annotation of the Analects, which has had a significant influence. Yang's annotations are meticulous, and most of his interpretations are acceptable. In this interpretation, the division of chapters follows the traditional practice and remains unchanged. If there are any shortcomings, Yang Bojun stated in the Preface that the arrangement of chapters in The Analects "may not have any logical order, and there may not be any connection between consecutive chapters." This does not align well with the actual content of The Analects. Many misunderstandings in ancient and modern annotations of The Analects may stem from this. The true situation must be more reliably determined by the internal evidence of The Analects. Regardless of who interprets The Analects, Confucius's true image is the most valuable goal. As for some works that derive topics from The Analects and expand on them, discussing profound truths in a free and unrestrained manner, those are another kind of valuable works. China originally had the tradition of "annotating the Five Classics," which is understandable. Readers can choose for themselves.