Analects of Confucius revolves around the thoughts and teachings of Chinese philosopher Confucius and it is the foundation for Confucianism that is followed by millions of people in East Asia today. This important text was written around 500 BC by the pupils of Confucius and a good part of it was written within a period of 30 to 50 years after his death. Confucius was born in the province of Lu at a time when the Chinese culture and way of life was at its nascent stages. He wanted to impact the Chinese way of life politically and intellectually through his philosophy and teachings. He tried to pass on to his students the guiding principles of ancient sage kings who worked to maintain harmony in the community and by emphasizing on spiritual well-being over material wealth (Confucius, Ames and Rosemont, 1998).

The Analects do not contain any prose, poem or argument. It is rather a set of statements said by Confucius to his disciples and it is upto the readers to tune into the voice of Confucius to understand his strong and complex style of teaching.

Contents and Teachings

This book is a compilation of speeches given by Confucius and the conversation he had with his disciples. It talks about different aspects of living like understanding one's responsibility, living a peaceful and meaningful life, forming and running a Government and living a life of self-cultivation so that the disciple can be a moral role-leader for others to follow in his path.

The book is divided into 20 chapters and they are: Xue Er, Wei Zheng, Ba Yi, Li Ren, Gong Ye Chang, Yong Ye, Shu Er, Tai Bo, Zi Han, Xiang Dang, Xian Jin, Yan Yuan, Zi Lu, Xian Wen, Wei Ling Gong, Ji Shi, Yang Huo, Wei Zi, Zi Zhang and Yao Yue (Confucius.org, no date).

Self-learning

This is why many of the teachings were open-ended because he wanted his students to do their own research and apply their thoughts to complete it. He gave them only one corner and wanted them to come back with the other three before he moved on to the next lesson (Analects 7:8).
Love and Brotherhood

He also wanted his students to live and behave in a moral and virtuous manner so that they can become a humane person or a prince of virtue. This idea of humanity is the crux of the entire book and it is mentioned at least a hundred times throughout the chapters. Another central idea is love and universal brotherhood and it was considered to be one of the best forms of moral behavior. The steps that one should take to achieve this end is mentioned in chapter 12: Yan Yuan (Analects 12). Also, Confucius believed that it should taught from childhood so that as one grows up, love and brotherhood comes naturally.

About Confucius

The book describes the personality and appearance of Confucius in a subtle way. As against the popular convention that Confucius was a fat and boring preacher, this book shows him in a different light. "Analects reveals a living Confucius that constantly surprises. In one passage, for instance, the Master provides an intriguing self-portrait: the governor of a certain town had asked one of the disciples what sort of man Confucius was and the disciple did not know how to reply, which provoked Confucius' reaction: 'Why did you not tell him that Confucius is a man driven by so much passion that, in his enthusiasm, he often forgets to eat and remains unaware of the onset of old age?'" (Confucius, Simon Leys, 1997, p.xvii). This goes…