The analects of Confucius PDF
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The Analects of Confucius translations from the asian classics Analects of Confucius, stone stele fragment. Imperial scholars, using a special style of calligraphy called li, inscribed the Analects and other classical texts on stone stele, which they erected in the Imperial Academy in a.d. 175. The stones were destroyed soon after during the wars that brought the dynasty to an end, and the fragments were buried for protection. They were later unearthed during the Song dynasty. This fragment depicts a section of the Analects and measures 52 by 35 centimeters. photograph and permission courtesy of the national library of china, beijing. The Analects of Confucius translated by burton watson columbia university press new york columbia university press Publishers Since 1893 New York Chichester, West Sussex Copyright © 2007 Columbia University Press All rights reserved Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Confucius. [Lun yü. English] The Analects of Confucius / translated by Burton Watson. p. cm.—(Translations from the Asian classics) Includes bibliographical references. isbn 978-0-231-14164-2 (cloth : alk. paper) isbn 978-0-231-51199-5 (electronic) i. Watson, Burton, 1925– ii. Title. iii. Series. pl2478.l3 2007 181'.112—dc22 2007005401 Columbia University Press books are printed on permanent and durable acid-free paper. Printed in the United States of America c 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Contents introduction • 1 Book One • 15 Book Two • 19 Book Three • 25 Book Four • 31 Book Five • 35 Book Six • 41 Book Seven • 47 Book Eight • 53 Book Nine • 59 Book Ten • 65 Book Eleven • 71 Book Twelve • 79 Book Thirteen • 87 Book Fourteen • 95 Book Fifteen • 105 Book Sixteen • 113 Book Seventeen • 119 Book Eighteen • 127 Book Nineteen • 133 Book Twenty • 139 glossary of persons and places • 143 The Analects of Confucius Introduction Lunyu, or The Analects of Confucius, has probably exercised a great- er influence on the history and culture of the Chinese people than any other work in the Chinese language. Not only has it shaped the thought and customs of China over many centuries, but it has played a key role in the development of other countries that were within the Chinese cultural sphere, such as Korea, Japan, and, later, Vietnam. Readers encountering the text for the first time might wonder how this rather brief collection of aphorisms and historical anecdotes could have been so influential. The text, probably compiled in stages some time during the fourth century b.c.e., was at first only one of many philosophical works that embodied the teachings of this or that school of early Chinese thought. The followers of the teachings of Confucius were referred to collectively as the Ru school, which de- notes persons who devote themselves to learning and the peaceful arts (as opposed to martial matters). Some centuries later, when Emperor Wu (r. 141–87 b.c.e.) of the Han dynasty declared Confucianism the official doctrine of the state, the Analects and other texts associated with Confucius assumed enor- mous importance. They were regarded as repositories of knowledge of how the empire had been governed in the model eras of antiquity and how the Chinese government system, and society as a whole, should be ordered. In still later centuries, the Analects was treated as a beginning text in the study of classical Chinese, to be committed to memory and, when students were more advanced, studied exhaus- tively and with its lessons examined in depth. introduction • 2 confucius According to tradition, Confucius was born in 551 b.c.e. His family name was Kong; his personal name, Qiu; and his polite name (the name by which most persons would have addressed him), Zhongni. The name Confucius is a Latinized form of Kong fuzi, or Respected Master Kong, a title commonly used to refer to him in Chinese. Confucius was born in the small feudal state of Lu, situated in north- eastern China in the area of present-day Shandong Province. His fa- ther, who was a member of the shi class, the lowest rank of the nobility, died when Confucius was very young. It is clear from the Analects that Confucius grew up in considerable poverty, an experience that seems to have made him particularly sensitive to matters of wealth and class. At an early age, as he tells us, he devoted himself to learning, and the importance of education is a major theme in the Analects. The extent to which this “learning” related to written texts and to which it was based on oral traditions is unclear. The Analects refers frequently to two texts, the Book of Odes and the Book of Documents, both of which Confucius, according to legend, had some hand in editing. A third early text, the Book of Changes, is mentioned in one version of the Analects. These constitute three of what later be- came known as the five Confucian Classics, the other two being the Spring and Autumn Annals, a chronicle of the state of Lu said to have been edited by Confucius, and the Book of Rites, a collection of texts on ritual. Whether Confucius’s learning derived from written texts or from oral traditions, he appears to have been intensely concerned with those that reflected the early culture of China, particularly that of the sage rulers Yao and Shun of high antiquity and of the early rulers of the Xia, Yin, and Zhou, the so-called Three Dynasties, when China was believed to have enjoyed exemplary eras of peace and social order. He was especially interested, it would seem, in the rites, music, and other cultural elements that distinguished these periods.
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