One of the most influential books in human history, in a revelatory new translation.

China's first and greatest teacher, Confucius traveled from state to state as an itinerant philosopher. The Analects preserves his major teachings, as compiled by his disciples after his death - everything from how people should relate to each other (the Golden Rule, which he was the first to define), to how a country should be organized (like a family), to how to lie in bed (not like a corpse).
This new translation, by one of the pre-eminent scholars of Confucius, draws on the most recent excavated texts and latest scholarship. The historian Annping Chin sets out to illuminate the historical context of Confucius's teachings, explaining who the many local figures referenced in The Analects are, and navigating a rich tradition of historical commentaries to provide a map of Confucian thought that brings us as close as possible to experiencing Confucius as his followers might have 2,500 years ago.


Confucius (551-479 B.C.) was a philosopher, political figure and founder of one of the major schools of thought in Chinese history.

Annping Chin is a senior lecturer in the history department at Yale and is the author of The Authentic Confucius: A Life of Thought and Politics and a coauthor, with Jonathan Spence, of The Chinese Century: A Photographic History of the Last Hundred Years. She lives in New Haven, Connecticut.

This new translation features both the English and Chinese texts and draws on the most recent excavated manuscripts to illuminate the historical context of Confucius' teachings, explaining who the many local figures referenced are, and navigating a rich tradition of historical commentaries.

About the Author

Confucius (551-479 BCE) was a philosopher, political figure, educator and founder of one of the major schools of thought in Chinese history. His teachings, preserved in the Analects, form the foundation of much of subsequent Chinese beliefs about how an individual should live his life and how an ideal society and government are organized.

Annping Chin is a senior lecturer of history at Yale and the author of several books about Chinese history including an acclaimed biography of Confucius, The Authentic Confucius: A Life of Thought and Politics. She has also co-authored, with Jonathan Spence, The Chinese Century: A Photographic History of the Last Hundred Years.

Reviews
"For more than two millennia, the teachings of Confucius have served as a guide for a substantial portion of humanity. English-language readers seeking to understand this remarkable body of thought are fortunate to have Annping Chin's highly readable and judiciously annotated edition of The Analects." -Henry A. Kissinger

"An astonishingly lucid exposition of The Analects. A kind of serene insight pervades the commentaries." -Harold Bloom

"An incomparable new volume that combines a fresh and sympathetic translation with a wonderfully readable annotation. It is a joy to use and will unlock a whole new level of meaning for English-language readers." -Orville Schell, Director of the Center on U.S.-China Relations and co-author of Wealth and Power: China's Long March to the Twenty-First Century



Book Information
ISBN 9780143106852
Author Confucius
Format Paperback
Page Count 256
Imprint Penguin Classics
Publisher Penguin Books Ltd
Weight(grams) 297g
Dimensions(mm) 196mm * 129mm * 19mm