Home | Categories | Asia | China | Confucianism & Taoism | Philosophy & Ethics

The Analects

Confucius

Format: Global Grey free PDF, epub, Kindle ebook
Pages (PDF): 95
Publication Date: This translation by James Legge, 1893

Download Links (below donate buttons):

Last week, out of 31,000 people who got books from the site - 8 people gave donations. These books can take me from 2 to 10 hours to create. I want to keep them free, but need some support to be able to do so. If you can, please make a small donation (the average is £2.50). If you prefer to donate using bitcoin, go here.

PayPal:

Stripe:

PDF ePub Kindle

Don't want to donate? You can also support the site by buying a collection, such as the Religion one, with 100 ebooks for only £7.00

Summary:

The Analects, or Lunyu, also known as the Analects of Confucius, is the collection of sayings and ideas attributed to the Chinese philosopher Confucius and his contemporaries, traditionally believed to have been written by Confucius' followers. It is believed to have been written during the Warring States period (475 BC–221 BC), and it achieved its final form during the mid-Han dynasty (206 BC–220 AD). By the early Han dynasty the Analects was considered merely a "commentary" on the Five Classics, but the status of the Analects grew to be one of the central texts of Confucianism by the end of that dynasty. During the late Song dynasty (960-1279) the importance of the Analects as a philosophy work was raised above that of the older Five Classics, and it was recognized as one of the "Four Books". The Analects has been one of the most widely read and studied books in China for the last 2,000 years, and continues to have a substantial influence on Chinese and East Asian thought and values today.