The analects of Confucius

170 Pages·2007·1.68 MB·English

by  Confucius.

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.