Four Books and Five Classics - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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The Four Books and Five Classics (simplified Chinese: ; traditional Chinese: ; pinyin: Ssh Wjng) are the authoritative books of Confucianism in China written before 300 BC.[1]

Contents
1 Did Confucius Edit the Classics? 2 Four Books 3 Five Classics 4 Notes 5 See also 6 External links

Did Confucius Edit the Classics?

The scholar Yao Hsin-chung allows that there are good reasons to believe that Confucian classics took shape in the hands of Confucius, but that nothing can be taken for granted in the matter of the early versions of the classics. From the time of the Former Han Dynasty, Yao continues, most Confucian scholars believed that there were no Confucian classics before Confucius, and that Confucius re-collected and edited them, thereby fixing the versions of the ancient writings which became the Classics. In the twentieth century, many Chinese scholars still held to this tradition. The New Confucian scholar, Xiong Shili (1885 -1968), for instance, held that the Six Classics were the final versions "fixed up" by

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Confucius in his old age. Other scholars had and have different views. The Old Text School, for instance, relied on versions found in the Han Dynasty which supposedly survived the Qin dynasty burning of the books but many of them held that these works had not been edited by Confucius but survived directly from the Zhou dynasty. For quite different reasons, mainly having to do with modern textual scholarship a greater number of twentieth century scholars both in China and in other countries hold that Confucius had nothing to do with editing the classics, much less writing them. Yao Hsin-chung reports that still other scholars hold the pragmatic view that the history of the Classics is a long one and that Confucius and his followers, although they did not intend to create a system of classics, contributed to their formation. [2] In any case, it is undisputed that for most of the last 2,000 years, Confucius was believed to have either written or edited these classics. The most important events in the textual career of these classics were the adoption of Confucianism as state orthodoxy in the Han Dynasty, which led to their preservation, and the renaissance of Confucianism in the Song Dynasty, which led to their being made the basis of Confucian orthodoxy in the imperial examination system in the following dynasties. The Neo-Confucian sage Zhu Xi (1130-1200) fixed the texts of the Four Books and wrote commentaries whose new interpretations became accepted as being those of Confucius himself. [3]

Four Books
The Four Books (Chinese: ; pinyin: S Sh) are Chinese classic texts illustrating the core value and belief systems in Confucianism. They were selected by Zhu Xi in the Song Dynasty to serve as general introduction to Confucian thought, and they were, in the Ming and Qing dynasties, made the core of the official curriculum for the civil service examinations. [4]

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Four Books and Five Classics - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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They are:

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Title Title (English) (Chinese)

Brief Description Originally one chapter in the Classic of Rites. It consists of a short main text attributed to Confucius and nine commentary chapters by Zeng Zi, one of Confucius's disciples. Its importance is illustrated by Zeng Zi's foreword that this is the gateway of learning. It is significant because it expresses many themes of Chinese philosophy and political thinking, and has therefore been extremely influential both in classical and modern Chinese thought. Government, self cultivation and investigation of things are linked. Another chapter in Classic of Rites, attributed to Confucius' grandson Zisi. The purpose of this small, 33-chapter book is to demonstrate the usefulness of a golden way to gain perfect virtue. It focuses on the Way () that is prescribed by a heavenly mandate not only to the ruler but to everyone. To follow these heavenly instructions by learning and teaching will automatically result in a Confucian virtue. Because Heaven has laid down what is the way to perfect virtue, it is not that difficult to follow the steps of the holy rulers of old if one only knows what is the right way. A compilation of speeches by Confucius and his disciples, as well as the discussions they held. Since Confucius's time, the Analects has heavily influenced the philosophy and moral values of China and later other East Asian countries as well. The Imperial examinations, started in the Jin Dynasty and eventually abolished with the founding of the Republic of China, emphasized Confucian studies and expected candidates to quote and apply

Great Learning

Doctrine of the Mean

Analects

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the words of Confucius in their essays. A collection of conversations of the scholar Mencius with kings of his time. In contrast to the sayings of Confucius, which are short and self-contained, the Mencius consists of long dialogues with extensive prose.

Mencius

Five Classics
The Five Classics (simplified Chinese: ; traditional Chinese: ; pinyin: W Jng) are five ancient Chinese books used in Confucianism as the basis of studies. These books, or parts of them, were either commented on, compiled, or edited by Confucius himself. They are:

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Title (English)

Title (Chinese)

Brief Description A collection of 305 poems divided into 160 folk songs, 105 festal songs sung at court ceremonies, and 40 hymns and eulogies sung at sacrifices to gods and ancestral spirits of the royal house. A collection of documents and speeches alleged to have been written by rulers and officials of the early Zhou period and before. It is possibly the oldest Chinese narrative, and may date from the 6th century BC. It includes examples of early Chinese prose. Describes ancient rites, social forms and court ceremonies. The version studied today is a re-worked version compiled by scholars in the third century BC rather than the original text, which is said to have been edited by Confucius himself. Also known as I Ching or Book of Changes. The book contains a divination system comparable to Western geomancy or the West African If system. In Western cultures and modern East Asia, it is still widely used for this purpose. A historical record of the State of Lu, Confucius's native state, 722481 BC.

Classic of Poetry

Book of Documents

Book of Rites

Classic of Changes Spring and Autumn Annals

The Classic of Music () is sometimes considered as the sixth classic but was lost in the Burning of the Books.

Notes
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Four Books and Five Classics - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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1. ^ Bleeker, C. J. and G. Widengren (1971). Historia Religionum, Volume 2 Religions of the Present. BRILL. p. 478. ISBN 90-04-02598-7. 2. ^ Hsin-chung Yao, An Introduction to Confucianism (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2000), pp. 52-54. 3. ^ Daniel K. Gardner. The Four Books: The Basic Teachings of the Later Confucian Tradition. Indianapolis: Hackett, 2007. ISBN 9780872208261. 4. ^ Gardner, translated and edited, The Four Books.

See also
Chinese classics Chinese literature Thirteen Classics

External links
Ulrich Theobol, "Chinese Literature - alphabetical index" (http://www.chinaknowledge.de/Literature/literature_alphabet.html) at CHINAKNOWLEDGE - a universal guide for China studies Donald Jordan (University of California, San Diego): The Canonical Books of Confucianism (http://weber.ucsd.edu/~dkjordan /chin/hbcanonru-u.html) Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org /w/index.php?title=Four_Books_and_Five_Classics&oldid=556388476" Categories: Chinese classic texts Confucian texts Chinese literature Chinese philosophy Chinese thought Song Dynasty Confucianism This page was last modified on 23 May 2013 at 06:53. Text is available under the Creative Commons AttributionShareAlike License; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
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