THE ANALECTS, Confucius, transl. D.C. Lau, Penguin, Harmondsworth,
1979

The twenty short "books" of the Lun yu present the teachings of the
Sage popular throughout the ages. These are typical proverbs, maxims
and anecdotes concerning the primacy of morality, the importance of
ethical and ritual conduct and the supremecy of the way of learning
and virtue. This English edition has some one hundred pages of text
(pp. 59-160) stating philosophic detachment, upright behaviour and
the striving for superior attainment in one's behaviour, attitude
and awareness within the cultural context which produced this
encouragement to proceed along the Way.

   The Master said, 'I was not born with knowledge but, being fond
   of antiquity, I am quick to seek it. vii.20

There is much advice on government, with an indication of the
connection between effectively regulating one's personal conduct and
effectively administering public affairs. An official or ruler ought
to provide a personal example of benefit for the state.

   On becoming prefect of Chu Fu, Tzu-hsia asked about government.
   The Master said, 'Do not be impatient. Do not see only petty
   gains. If you are impatient, you will not reach your goal. if you
   see only petty gains, the great tasks will not be accomplished.
   xiii.17

The text provides a glimpse at some of the material and cultural
context within which it developed. Of course, much of it is
concerned with advising students, officials and rulers, in
governing, as the disorder of the times and the existence of
contending states provided the opportunity for such consideration of
statecraft. The hierarchical structure and the male supremecy of
society is reflected in this work. The importance of tradition,
ancestors and family comes through. One point elucidated (xvii.21)
is that one mourns a parent for three years as one was nursed for
three years.

Many interesting details can be observed, including: the use of fox
and badger fur (ix.27), a carriage mounting cord (x.26), a Rain
Altar (xi.26), blind musicians (xv.42) stated in a note (p. 137) to
entirely compose the musical profession, and the games po and yi
(xvii.22), yi identified in a note (p. 147) as wei ch'i (go) and po
as a board and dice game.

There are also little offerings of the character of Confucius,
herein described as dreaming of the Duke of Chou (vii.5), of not
having dinner-table conversations (x.10) and of being very
interested in the Odes and music (i.15, vii.14, etc.).

This volume has placed a rich frame around the ancient treasure.
There is a forty-five page introduction, seventy-three pages of
appendices, as well as fourteen textual notes, a brief bibliography
and a thirteen page glossary of personal and place names mentioned
in the text.

The introduction focuses largely on the thought of Confucius. It
mentions his concern for character, the concepts of tao (either the
way of someone or the Way as, "the sum total of truths about the
universe and man." p.11), of te or virtue, of chun tzu (gentlemen),
of shih (Gentleman with a capital G) and sheng jen (Sage).

A key quality is jen ("benevolence") composed of shu ("the method
of discovering what other people wish or do not wish done to them."
pp. 15-16) and chung ("Chung is the doing of one's best and it is
through chung that one puts into effect what one had found out by
the method of shu." p. 16).

The ideal respectful relationships within the family, hsiao ("The
love one owes to one's parents" p. 18) and t'i ("the respect due
one's elder brother" p. 18) offer correspondences to relationships
between citizens and states. Benevolence has no connection to self
interest, neither the pursuing nor the deliberate opposition of self
interest. Benevolence also returns one to ritual behaviour (li).

Other important qualities are chih "wisdom"(including correct
awareness of human character) and yung "courage", the determination
to persevere, and, hence virtuous only in steadfastness in virtuous
behaviour, hsin (trustworthiness, especially in the connotation of
the reliability of one's spoken word), and ching (reverence):

   In early Chou literature ching describes the frame of mind of a
   man taking part in a sacrifice. It is different from that shown
   in other religions. In other religions, there is fear and abject
   submission in face of the power of the deity. Ching, on the other
   hand, is born of the awareness of the immensity of one's
   responsibility to promote the welfare of the common people. It is
   a combination of the fear of failing in the responsibility one is
   charged with and the solemn single-mindedness directed towards
   the satisfactory discharging of that responsibility. p. 26

Benevolence pertains to the agent, contrasting with rightness
pertaining to the act. Yi (right, righteous, dutiful, duty or
morality) can refer to what is done, what ideally ought to be done
or the agent. The expression t'ien ming (Decree of Heaven) appears
only twice in THE ANALECTS. Ming appears more often on its own,
means destiny and refers to what ought not distract human effort
from morality.

A gentleman, not only acquires the qualities, but also studies and
serves the state in government. Such government service depends on
the Way prevailing within the state, as otherwise such service could
not correspond to principle. More effective than the decrees of
rulers are the examples of rulers. The common people (min) may not
be very intelligent, but they deserve the care of rulers, who, as in
the words of Mencius are, "as father and mother to the people"
(p. 36)

There is chih, one's natural substance and wen, the pattern of
one's acquired learning.

   Besides denoting the accomplishments of an individual, wen can
   also be used for the culture of a society as a whole. Thus wen is
   a word with a wide range of meanings covered by a variety of
   words in English, such as ornament, adornment, refinement,
   accomplishment, good breeding and culture. p. 38

Music and poetry are a significant part of such refined culture, and
this is for their moral tone, as well as the charm of words and
tune. Hsueh (learning or study) is important and so is ssu
(thinking). If one is only to do one, then that should be learning.
The rites were important, though changes could be required in them
due to changing times.

This introduction closes with appreciative words on the impressive
influence, attainment and likeable personality of Confucius.

Appendix One, "Events in the Life of Confucius" (pp. 161-195),
begins by mentioning the biography in Ssu-ma Ch'ien's RECORDS OF THE
HISTORIAN:

   It is a biography of some length and seems, at first sight, to be
   full of information, but this impression turns out to be
   deceptive. The greater part of this information is unreliable.
   Indeed, Ts'ui Shu (1740-1816), who examined meticulously the
   evidence for the events in Confucius' life in his Chu Ssu k'ao
   hsin lu which is still the standard work on the subject, quite
   rightly summed up the matter by saying, 'In the Shih chi
   (biography) what is unfounded amounts to seventy or eighty per
   cent.' p. 161

Ssu-ma Ch'ien carefully retained all that had not been disproved,
leaving it to his reader to assess doubtful material for its
reliability. The translator, D.C. Lau, chooses to discount all such
unsubstantiated material.

Confucius was said to be the son of Shu Liang He, descended from
K'ung Fu Chia and earlier Fu Fu He, prince of Sung. Confucius was
born in Lu in 551 B.C.E. He held a minor post, inquired of the
Viscount of T'an about an early system of using the names of birds
to designate offices, travelled to Ch'i, returned to Lu, was police
commissioner (ssu k'ou), failed to destroy the strongholds of the
leading three families, moved to Wei, travelled through various
states, returned to Lu in 484 B.C.E. and died in 479.

Considered are some references in the Shih chi to events highly
problematic, such as Confucius' encounter with Lao Tzu, Confucius
being prime minister of Lu and Confucius executing Shao Cheng Mao.

Appendix Two, "The Disciples as They Appear in the Analects"
(pp. 196), mentions early numbers of three thousand, or seventy
seven, etc.

   If one examines the Analects one finds that the number is
   approximately twenty-five, and this includes some who appear only
   once and some who never speak at all. p. 196

Five are considered important for continuing Confucian teachings
after his death: "Tseng Tzu, Tzu-hsia, Tzu-yu, Tzu-chang and Yu
Tzu." (p. 196). After some others named are discounted as unlikely
to have been disciples or as expressing little, if any, opinions in
the Analects, treated are Ssu-ma Niu, Kung-hsi Hua and Fan Chi. Then
come the disciples named in xi.3

   Virtuous conduct: Yen Yuan, Min Tzu-ch'ien, Jan Po-niu and
   Chung-kung; speech: Tsai Wo and Tzu-kung; government: Jan Yu and
   Chi-lu; culture and learning: Tzu-lu and Tzu-hsia. xi.3

Yen Yuan was the favourite, but he died young. Tsai Wo was more
criticized than other disciples. Tzu-kung was an accomplished
diplomat and merchant. Jan Yu lacked ambition. Tzu-lu was criticized
as being excessively courageous, and, indeed, died in battle.

   In subsequent tradition, Tzu-hsia has been credited with a major
   role in the transmission of the Classics, with the exception of
   the Book of History. It comes out quite clearly in the Analects
   that, more than any other disciple, he was given to learning,
   particularly book learning. Of eleven sayings of Tzu-hsia's six
   are concerned with learning. p. 213

In conclusion, this appendix comments on the influence of Tseng Tzu
and Tzu-hsia on the development of Confucianism and wonders at the
differences that could have resulted had Yen Yuan lived longer.

Appendix Three, "The Lun Yu" (pp. 220-233), looks at the
transmission of the Analects: three versions leading to Chang Yu's
eclectic version in the First Century B.C.E. to Cheng Hsuan's (127
to 200 C.E.) and Ho Yen's (190-249 C.E.). This appendix considers
Ts'ui Shu's assessment that the last five books are of late date.
Book xix consists of material of the disciples, not Confucius. Other
features indicating later composition of these books are presented,
as well as characteristics and organization of the first fifteen
books.

This extensive frame of the text is a learned elucidation, worthy of
being savoured by the reader. The entire book is quite charming,
informative and enobling of spirit.

Michael McKenny, March 1-3, 2003


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