Nan Huaijin Selected Works (Volume 1) -- The Analects Decoded

Author: Nan Huaijin
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2003-09-03
Features: Nan Huaijin, a renowned scholar with a high reputation both in China and abroad, was born in 1918 into a scholarly family in Leqing County, Wenzhou, Zhejiang Province. At 85 years old, he received early education at home and studied the classics in his youth. When the War of Resistance against Japan broke out, the young Nan Huaijin took up arms and served on the southwestern frontier. After returning to Sichuan, he taught at the Central Military Academy and Jinling University. With exceptional talent and detachment from worldly matters, he often traveled the famous mountains and rivers with straw sandals and bamboo staffs, seeking out eminent monks and scholars. He once retreated to the Pingping Temple on Mount Emei for three years of seclusion, during which he thoroughly studied the vast Buddhist canon. Later, he traveled to Tibet, visiting great masters of Vajrayana Buddhism and conducting in-depth research on the various schools of Tibetan Buddhism. After leaving Tibet, he moved to Kunming, initially teaching at Yunnan University and later at Sichuan University. After the war, he returned to his hometown. Soon after, he retired to Mount Tianzhu in Hangzhou and Mount Lu in Jiangxi, dedicating himself to scholarly pursuits. After moving to Taiwan, he was appointed to teach at Cultural University, Fu Jen University, and other universities and research institutions, spreading his knowledge to Japan, the United States, and Central and South America. In recent years, he has resided in Hong Kong, contributing significantly to cultural exchange between the mainland and Taiwan. Nan Huaijin is well-versed in classics, history, and philosophy, bridging Eastern and Western cultures with his profound knowledge and extensive writings. Particularly notable is his approach of combining classics and history to explain the teachings of Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism. His explanations are rich in references, engaging, profound, and humorous, making him a beloved figure among readers across all levels in both mainland China and Taiwan. Fudan University Press is the earliest publisher of Nan Huaijin's works in China and the publisher with the most extensive and varied collection of his writings. They have published a total of twenty-four works by Nan Huaijin, most of which are his representative works. With the authorization of the author and the original publisher, these works have been compiled into ten volumes, bound in hardcover, to meet the needs of for reading and collecting. The contents of each volume are as follows:
Volume 1: The Unofficial Precepts of the Analects
Volume 2: The Way of Laozi and His Sayings, The Unofficial Commentary on Mencius
Volume 3: Random Talks on the I Ching, The Unofficial Commentary on the Commentary on the I Ching
Volume 4: Zen Buddhism and Taoism, Taoism, Esoteric Buddhism, and Eastern Mysticism, Meditation for Self-Cultivation and Immortality
Volume 5: Glimpses of the Zen Sea, Zen Talks, A Brief History of the Development of Buddhism in China, A Brief History of the Development of Taoism in China
Volume 6: Experiences from History, A New Generation That Is Both New and Old, General Remarks on Chinese Culture
Volume 7: How to Practice and Certify in Buddhism, The Worldly Perspective of the Lotus Sutra, The Fundamental Beliefs of a Buddhist
Volume 8: What Is the Heart Sutra Saying?, The Modern Interpretation of the Great Wisdom Sutra of the Perfection of Wisdom
Volume 9: A Brief Explanation of the Sutra of the Perfection of Wisdom in Samantabhadra, Initial Practices of Mindfulness and Wisdom, The Modern Interpretation of the Sutra on the Nature of Mind
Volume 10: The Subtle Meaning of the Great Learning
The Analects, compiled by Confucius's disciples and their successors, is an important Confucian classic that records the words and deeds of Confucius. Since the Western Han Dynasty, the teachings of Confucius as expressed in the Analects have rapidly expanded, influencing politics, thought, culture, education, ethics, and morality, becoming a major symbol of traditional Chinese culture. Annotations and commentaries on the Analects have been passed down through generations. The renowned scholar Nan Huaijin, with his profound knowledge and extensive references, has written The Unofficial Precepts of the Analects, a lecture record on the Analects. For each passage in the twenty chapters of the Analects, he provides detailed and vivid explanations. Not only does he highlight the structure and connections between chapters and paragraphs, but he also elucidates the meaning of the original text and the relevant historical anecdotes. What is particularly innovative is that he organizes his explanations into a series of historical stories, which are both profound and entertaining, setting it apart from other commentaries on the Analects. The original book was published by the Lao Gu Cultural Enterprise Company in Taiwan in May 1976. By 1988, it had gone through eighteen printings. To promote the shared Chinese culture of the mainland and Taiwan, the author and the original publisher have agreed to republish the eighteenth edition of The Unofficial Precepts of the Analects for research purposes.