


To download a plain text version of this book click here.Ĭlassical Library, This HTML edition copyright © 2001. Taken as a whole, they serve to impart a way of living that has influenced Chinese society for centuries, and their influence continues today in both the East and the West. Taken individually, they are merely simple stories and aphorisms. the wise and revered Chinese teacher, Confucius (or K'ung Futse) uttered these simple truths about nearly every aspect of life. He was blamed for his materialistic bias, for his rigid formalism, for his poverty of ideas, for his lack of spiritual elevation. His teaching was found to be shallow, disjointed, unsatisfying. The Heaven-determined order of succession.Īpproximately 500 years B.C. His sayings, which had been extolled as the very epitome of wisdom, were now voted jejune and commonplace. The Viscount of Wei withdrew from the court. The Duke Ling of Wei asked Confucius about tactics.

Together they express a philosophy, or a moral code, by which Confucius, one of the most humane thinkers of all time, believed everyone should live. Confucius, in his village, looked simple and sincere. he Analects are a collection of Confuciuss sayings brought together by his pupils shortly after his death in 497 BC. The subjects of which the Master seldom spoke.
