Chinese New Curriculum Standards -- Translation of the Analects

Author: Xu Zhigang
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2003-05-01
Features: The booklist of this series is designated by the new standard. To help students with reading, we have attached an introductory article before each classic, providing an in-depth yet accessible introduction to the relevant information of the book. The Analects is a collection of-style prose, primarily recording speeches, written in colloquial language. It features a concise, clear, elegant, and subtle style. Many of its sentences are rich in meaning and profound in intent, becoming well-known everyday expressions, such as "Only in the cold of winter do we know the resilience of pine and cypress," "Being diligent and eager to learn, not ashamed to ask questions from the lower," "A small patience can lead to great plans," "Those who follow different paths cannot cooperate," and "The army can be deprived of its commander, but a man cannot be deprived of his will." These phrases are still frequently quoted today, retaining a vibrant vitality. Many chapters of The Analects have a strong sense of immediacy, vividly depicting characters and scenes with just a few words. Reading it, you may suddenly feel as if you are among Confucius's disciples, listening to his teachings, without feeling too much of a temporal or linguistic barrier. All of this has established The Analects in the history of Chinese prose and rhetoric.