Encyclopedia of India–China Cultural Contacts v1.c7.s10.t2: Analects
Encyclopedia of India–China Cultural Contacts v1.c7.s10.t2
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Analects
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The Analects, one of the classics of Confucian school of thought, is a collection of scattered sayings of Confucius and his disciples which were recorded and compiled by the disciples of the second generation. The commonly circulated version of the Analects consists of 20 volumes (chapters) that are sub-divided into 492 chapters totaling 15900 Chinese characters. The period of completion of this book is estimated to be the early period of the Warring States.
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The present version of the 20 volumes (chapters) Analects discovered in the State of Lu, another version of the same 20 chapters discovered in the State of Qi are found to be more accurate. It is towards the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty that Zheng Xuan annotated the Qi version which is handed down to the present days (20 volumes).
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The Analects begins with study and ends with the comprehension of the Decree of Heaven (by
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‘Lun Yu (The Analects of Confucius)’, page fragments, Tang Dynasty
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the gentleman), reflecting the compiler’s thoughts to cultivate oneself through learning and to become a saint. The Analects, with words and deeds of Confucius with his disciples as contents, and the dialog of benevolence, filial piety, governance and differentiation between man of honour and petty-minded person as core, reveals the Confucian school’s approach of scholarly pursuit and self-cultivation characterised by rituals and music. Confucius gave different, but with the same essence, answers on the same inquiry to his disciples as he believed his disciples’ aptitude differed, embodying consistency of the Confucian school of learning of what it calls “Cherishing benevolence in one’s heart”. For instance, when Fan Chi asked about “humaneness”, Confucius replied, “The human being first of all thinks of overcoming the difficulties and then of enjoying the benefits. That is humaneness.” (Ranyong, The Analects, the quotations hereinafter only refer to the title of volume). Perhaps as Fan Chi had shortcomings of indolence, Confucius admonished him to first overcome the difficulties and then enjoy the benefits. But in giving an answer to the same question of Yan Hui’ on “humaneness”, Confucius, nevertheless, said, “To restrain oneself and observe the rituals constitute humaneness. Once you have done these, the world will consider you humane. However, the practice of humaneness depends on no one but yourself.” (Yan Hui) As Yan Hui is his brightest student, Confucius’ answer is straight to the point: Man of honour seeks the cause in himself. About the question of government, Confucius’ answer to Z Zhang was that “Never slacken your efforts at your post, show your loyalty when carrying out government orders”. (Yan Hui) As Confucius knows this student suspected to have weakness of seeking fame but lacking tenacity and endurance, so the Master exhorts him not to avoid boredom but to do practical job in good faith. Regarding the same question by Zi Xia, Confucius said, “Do not make haste. Do not covet small gains. Haste makes waste. Great tasks will not be accomplished if you covet small gains.” (Zi Lu) As Zi Xia has shortcomings of being easy to be content but acting rashly, Confucius then advises him to widen his horizon and make steady and sure efforts. The man of honour is mentioned in 107 separate occasions in the Analects, the core concepts are mostly elaborated as “seek the cause in oneself”.
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The Analects of Confucius (Lun Yu), Yuan Dynasty edition
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Ever since the times of Emperor Wu, Confucianism had gradually taken a domineering position in the realm of Chinese thought, and the Analects also exerted a wide ranging profound influence on the Chinese society. Zhu Xi of the Southern Song Dynasty combined the Analects, the Great Learning, Doctrine of the Mean, and Mencius into The Four Books. And in the Yuan Dynasty, this collection of books were taken as officially assigned required book for students who intend to appear and pass the imperial examination, thus further expanding the influence of the Analects. As for annotation for this classic, there were several annotators even in the Han Dynasty, and more were on the increase in the ensuing dynasties; out of them, the important and influential annotators are He Yan of the Three Kingdoms Period, with works entitled Concentrated Explanation of Analects, Xing Bing of the Song Dynasty, with works entitled Paraphrasing Analects, Zhu Xi’s Concentrated Annotation of Analects, and Liu Baonan’s Full Connotation of Analects.
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(*Jiang Julang*)