The Confucian Analects
Confucius (K\'ung Fu-tzu, Kongzi, Kong Zi or ) was born of a rather
impoverished family of noble descent in the state of Lu (in modern Shantung).He quickly achieved a reputation for scholarship and learning.During his life, he
witneed the disintegration of unified imperial rule.He was a great admirer of the Duke of Zhou, and sought to convince various nobles to rule according to certain social customs he aociated with early Zhou culture.These customs emphasized moral responsibility and the concept of the chün tzu.The chün tzu was any refined gentleman who embodied the virtue of benevolence while he maintained traditional rites, customs, and filial piety toward his ancestors, family, and the gods.
Stereotypically, this gentleman was marked by his white beard, fine clothes, and long fingernails.Confucianism might be seen as a philosophy in which politics and
government are an extension of morality and tradition.As long as the ruler remained benevolent, the government will naturally work toward the good of the people (Lau n.p.).A Confucian philosopher strove to be responsible, controlled, and temperate.
Confucius spent ten years traveling through the whole of China\'s various states.He had ambitions of attaining a political position at one of the Chinese courts, but he never succeeded in this endeavor and spent most of his life as a teacher.Realizing that the warlike leaders paid no attention to his philosophy, Confucius returned to Lu, and he spent the rest of his life training a group of gifted and devoted students.The
importance of Confucius lies in having been one of China\'s first great teachers as well as a political philosopher.His policy was to accept anyone as a disciple provided that the student was genuinely eager to learn, and this idea was revolutionary in a society in which education was the exclusive privilege of the aristocracy.He is also one of the first Chinese philosophers to leave behind a collection of teachings that can be
reliably ascribed to his authorship.This is the Lun yü, or the Analects as the work is commonly known in English.
In the Western Han, Confucianism became generally aociated with a reverence for \"ancient\" books and \"ancient gods.\" It later grew to be the official state philosophy
of the Chinese empire; it retained this preeminent position up until the
twentieth-century.Confucianism ultimately became the basis of a state religion.While it was based on the ancient gods and rites, it was aociated closely with philosophical ideals as well.Inevitably, the Master\'s teachings became modified over the course of time.(Lun Yü, Lun YuThe official Confucian state religion, organized and maintained in Han times,ruthlely exterminated local cults and destroyed the temples of wayside gods.All religious authority was centralized and focused in the capital city, while unorthodox belief was treated as mere superstition (Schafer 61).The Analects (Lun Yü, Lun Yu or Lunyu) is a collection of Confucius\' sayings gathered in a single text, which is the only reliable record of his philosophy.The other \"Confucian Claics\" were compiled centuries after his death.The Analects is one of the pillars of Chinese culture and have been widely read acro the centuries.The
only other comparable book in Western Culture is the Bible (Lau, n.p.)
Chapter 4
The Master said, \"It is virtuous manners which constitute the excellence of a
neighborhood.If a man in selecting a residence do not fix on one where such prevail, how can he be wise?\"
The Master said, \"Those who are without virtue cannot abide long either in a
condition of poverty and hardship, or in a condition of enjoyment.The virtuous rest in virtue; the wise desire virtue.\"
The Master said, \"It is only the truly virtuous man, who can love, or who can hate, others.\"
The Master said, \"If the will be set on virtue, there will be no practice of
wickedne.\"
The Master said, \"Riches and honors are what men desire.If they cannot be obtained in the proper way, they should not be held.Poverty and meanne are what men dislike.If they cannot be avoided in the proper way, they should not be avoided.\"If a superior man abandon virtue, how can he fulfill the requirements of that name? \"The superior man does not, even for the space of a single meal, act contrary to virtue.In moments of haste, he cleaves to it.In seasons of danger, he cleaves to it.\"
The Master said, \"I have not seen a person who loved virtue, or one who hated what was not virtuous.He who loved virtue, would esteem nothing above it.He who hated what is not virtuous, would practice virtue in such a way that he would not allow anything that is not virtuous to approach his person.
\"Is any one able for one day to apply his strength to virtue? I have not seen the case in which his strength would be insufficient.
\"Should there poibly be any such case, I have not seen it.\" The Master said, \"The faults of men are characteristic of the cla to which they belong.By observing a man\'s faults, it may be known that he is virtuous.\"
The Master said, \"If a man in the morning hear the right way, he may die in the evening hear regret.\"
The Master said, \"A scholar, whose mind is set on truth, and who is ashamed of bad clothes and bad food, is not fit to be discoursed with.\"
The Master said, \"The superior man, in the world, does not set his mind either for anything, or against anything; what is right he will follow.\"
The Master said, \"The superior man thinks of virtue; the small man thinks of comfort.The superior man thinks of the sanctions of law; the small man thinks of favors which he may receive.\"
The Master said: \"He who acts with a constant view to his own advantage will be much murmured against.\"
The Master said, \"If a prince is able to govern his kingdom with the complaisance proper to the rules of propriety, what difficulty will he have? If he cannot govern it with that complaisance, what has he to do with the rules of propriety?\"
The Master said, \"A man should say, I am not concerned that I have no place, I am concerned how I may fit myself for one.I am not concerned that I am not known, I seek to be worthy to be known.\"
The Master said, \"Shan, my doctrine is that of an all-pervading unity.\" The disciple Tsang replied, \"Yes.\"
The Master went out, and the other disciples asked, saying, \"What do his words mean?\" Tsang said, \"The doctrine of our master is to be true to the principles-of our nature and the benevolent exercise of them to others,-this and nothing more.\"
The Master said, \"The mind of the superior man is conversant with righteousne; the mind of the mean man is conversant with gain.\"
The Master said, \"When we see men of worth, we should think of equaling them; when we see men of a contrary character, we should turn inwards and examine ourselves.\"
The Master said, \"In serving his parents, a son may remonstrate with them, but gently; when he sees that they do not incline to follow his advice, he shows an increased degree of reverence, but does not abandon his purpose; and should they punish him, he does not allow himself to murmur.\"
The Master said, \"While his parents are alive, the son may not go abroad to a distance.If he does go abroad, he must have a fixed place to which he goes.\"
The Master said, \"If the son for three years does not alter from the way of his father, he may be called filial.\"
The Master said, \"The years of parents may by no means not be kept in the memory, as an occasion at once for joy and for fear.\"
The Master said, \"The reason why the ancients did not readily give utterance to their words, was that they feared lest their actions should not come up to them.\"
The Master said, \"The cautious seldom err.\" The Master said, \"The superior man wishes to be slow in his speech and earnest in his conduct.\"
The Master said, \"Virtue is not left to stand alone.He who practices it will have neighbors.\"
Tsze-yu said, \"In serving a prince, frequent remonstrances lead to disgrace.Between friends, frequent reproofs make the friendship distant.\"
