Analects

Confucius is one of the most influential figures in Chinese philosophy. His teachings are laid out most fully in the Analects, a compilation of sayings, aphorisms, and ideas organized by his followers after his death.

Modern scholarship suggests that the Analects were composed over a period of two hundred years, between around 476–221 BC, with the earliest physical evidence dating to around 300 BC. Over time, it became recognized as one of the “Four Books,” alongside the “Five Classics,” which together form the core of the Confucian canon; this canon was the foundation for the Imperial Examinations, the Chinese system for training and selecting bureaucrats that remained in use for over 1,300 years, until the early 20th century. Consequently it has been one of the most read books in China for over two millennia.

The book is organized into a series of chapters, each broadly encompassing an individual theme, but without any particular narrative thread. The content varies widely, from sayings attributed to Confucius by his followers, to descriptions of his everyday life and habits. Some scholars even consider it to be the first book to ever record the life of an important historical figure.

In it, Confucius elaborates on what is the focus of his teachings: the cultivation of virtue, filial piety as a core principal of an ethical life, leading with integrity, and a respect for the rules of propriety. These teachings are what became the basic tenets of Confucianism.

This translation by James Legge, a highly respected Scottish scholar and sinologist, was first published in 1861 and is perhaps the Analects’ first translation to English; it remained popular well into the mid 20th-century.