The Analects of Confucius is a collection of quotations from Confucius and his disciples. It was compiled by Confucius’s disciples and his disciples and was completed in the early Warring States Period. The book consists of 20 chapters and 492 chapters, mainly in the form of quotations and supplemented by narratives. It mainly records the words and deeds of Confucius and his disciples.

It embodies Confucius's political opinions, ethical thoughts, moral concepts and educational principles in a relatively concentrated manner. This book is one of the classic works of the Confucian school, and is known as the Four Books together with "The Great Learning", "The Doctrine of the Mean" and "Mencius".

Together with the "Book of Songs", "Shangshu", "Book of Rites", "Book of Changes" and "Spring and Autumn", they are collectively called the Four Books and Five Classics. "The Analects" had three versions in ancient times: "Gu Lun", "Lu Lun" and "Qi Lun". The current version of "The Analects of Confucius" is compiled from "Lu Lun" and "Gu Lun".

Extended information:

Since Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty deposed hundreds of schools of thought and only respected Confucianism, the Analects has been regarded as the jurisdiction of the Five Classics and the throat of the Six Arts. It is the study of Confucius and Confucianism. Thoughts, especially original Confucianism, are first-hand sources.

In the Southern Song Dynasty, Zhu Xi combined "The Great Learning", "The Doctrine of the Mean", "The Analects" and "Mencius" into four books, which increased their status in the Confucian classics. During the Yanyou period of the Yuan Dynasty, the imperial examination began to use the Four Books to select scholars.

From then on until the Westernization Movement was implemented in the late Qing Dynasty and the imperial examination was abolished, "The Analects of Confucius" has always been the golden rule recommended and followed by scholars.

Baidu Encyclopedia—The Analects of Confucius