Quotations of Confucius (New English Version) (The Analects of Confucius (Annotated English Version)

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There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later. Li's] rendition is most valuable to those who can read some Chinese but need English translation to fully understand the passages in Chinese.

An example is the following 4. A gentleman focuses on civic responsibilities; a common man, on gaining advantage. This volume by Dr. As the 20th century comes to an end, both scientific achievements and material abundance have reached record-high levels. But, avariance and emptiness in humans and cruelties and coarseness in the society have also produced violences rarely seen in history. The best-selling books in rcent years in the United States, in Taiwan, and in Hongkong are mainly on self-encouragement and self-improvement, reflecting the thirst for spiritual and emotional guidance by people in search of direction.

For this Christmas, would you be willing to buy, for your US-raised children and grandchildren, for your fellow first-generation-immigrant friends and relatives, or even for yourself, a classical book that embodies the wisdom of life as a gift as we enter the beautiful new millennium? John's University in Shanghai, well known for the command of English, Mr. Versed in seven or eight foreign languages, Mr.

Li, prior to translating the Analects of Confucius, has published 16 English-language books single-handedly.

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Although he left China at age 20 and spent more than a half century abroad, Mr. Li nevertheless feels a personal responsibility for the dissimination of Chinese culture to the world. Even though a septuagenarian, Mr. Li still goes to the Library of Congress regularly to collect materials, and to Taiwan and mainland to do interviews and research. He also already published books on Xiangqi and on Mah-jong. Although there are over 20 English translations of Confucius's Analects, what prompted Mr.

Li to engage in another translation of this year-old classic? Li's schoarlship after decades of western-style training - including a chronology on Confucius, an index of his disciples, an index of people other than his disciples, and a subject index. I was particularly moved by Mr. Li's dedicating this work to the Younger Generation of Chinese Ethnicity, expressing the hope that they would be proud of their cultural heritage that is second to none. This new translation of the Analects of Confucius should not only be read by our American-raised younger generations, but should also be recommended to friends of other ethnicity, even to the first-generation immigrants who were deprived of opportunities of gaining access to Confucius's thoughts in their growing-up period, or who had misunderstood his teachings.

176 editions of this work

They should all take advantage of this elegant and thoughtful bilingual volume to gain a new understanding of Confucian thought. Why is a title, Lun Yu, from 2, years ago of any interest to us chess players? The author addresses this question in a forward evoking current events, the tribulations of President Clinton, and, in a personal context, there is an amusing quote from the hyper-modern Confucius: Although I joke about hyper-modernism, the intent of the author seems to be to present the work as current advice on a palpable them of Confucius, Conduct.

Perhaps the best compliment that I could offer to him, by way of his current interpreter, is that I picked up his book and paid it rapt attention, the kind usually reserved for new chess titles. I should finish with something of value to any writer on a newsgroup, or elsewhere: When words have no authority, missions cannot be accomplished, Conduct and music cannot flourish.

When Conduct and music are not flourishing, penalties and punishments cannot be on target. When penalties and punishments are not on target, the populace are without anchors to guide themselves. Thus, a gentleman's name must have authority; his words must be put into practice. A gentleman, in relation to his words, must always be vigilant.

To be bluntly honest, I don't agree with what Confucius taught. His way of life was methodical and strict in terms of who and what you should respect and why, largely based on core Chinese values, including in minor cases the notion of the ghosts of the forefathers. Confucius most definitely also had a lot of good things to say. The most important thing this book made me do, was think for myself. It made me question how I relate to Confucius' principles, where I stand in terms of my perception of governance, what makes a good government, what a good government should and shouldn't provide, and how I would personally care to interpret my life.

Subject and name indexes enable you to find material easily. Paperback , pages. To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up. Lists with This Book. Jan 09, Bernard rated it it was amazing. This version has material I haven't seen. Great stuff to live by - The Way of the Mean. Jan 16, James rated it really liked it Shelves: All works distilled over centuries from the teachings of Confucius who lived from to B.

Elias Canetti summed it up neatly: It strikes one as a modern book.

Confucian Analects, The Great Learning The Doctrine of the Mean

In spite of that there is a lot that Confucius' thought has in common with the wisdom of the west. One of the most famous doctrines is that of "reciprocity". What you do not wish for yourself, do not do to others. It also is a very humane, even humanistic, view of society. Apparently this was just what was needed during the lifetime of Confucius as there was great change in his society. He lived during a period of acute cultural crisis.

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Confucius, like thinkers in the West from Socrates to Gandhi, demonstrated a confidence that in turn drew followers to him and his thought. We can thank them for what little of Confucius' thought that we have. In these books and fragments we have the distillation of his thought and it impresses me as worth meditating on. It is a treasure of humanity. Jul 01, Eric Smith rated it it was amazing. I first read these works in either the fall of or the spring of , and few works of philosophy or theory have ever so profoundly affected me.

The idealism of Confucian thought and the way of thought and living it imbues, it's emphasis on liberal education and service, self-cultivation and rectification, values that are genteel without knightly pretensions But it is the simple understanding of Confucius as to what the ordering principal I first read these works in either the fall of or the spring of , and few works of philosophy or theory have ever so profoundly affected me.

But it is the simple understanding of Confucius as to what the ordering principal of government should of right be that truly compels my admiration. Nature, Heaven, Earth all in their vastness cannot be understood but their will can, and that will is that human beings fulfill their nature, their natural potential, and that good government does that through doing what is right for the people while limiting the burdens on the people There are perhaps twenty must-read works of political philosophy in the world: Jan 07, Jeff rated it it was ok Recommends it for: Book 2 in 's survey of holy shit 1 was Tao Te Ching.

Simply put, virtually everything about this book was not what i wanted. The Dover edition of James Legge 's translation provides same-page Chinese, English, and footnotes, which briefly allowed me to think i could learn some Chinese. After that brief excitement faded, only Confucian tedium remained. I knew they were shorter so i wished and hoped i almost prayed! My faulty anticipation of encountering spiritual insights lead directly to my dissatisfaction.

How can millions allegedly belong to a Confucian religion? They ought to be proud of themselves for finding meaning in writings with so much vagueness. I conclude that Confucianism as a discipline or way of life depends more on what is conveyed within the guru-devotee relationship than on what can be gleaned as a private reader of a primary text or two. Though Legge's copious prolegomena epitomize everything of value within this book—the history of Chinese political thought—these prefatory essays yielded no additional insights relevant to my search for meaningfulness in Confucianism as a religion.

It's not you, Confucius; it's me this reader contains the fault, not the author or his book. This Kung Fu-tzu guy was a very practical fellow. He believed in the here and now, not some mystical afterlife or metaphysical interaction with supernatural power s. And i'm not the right guy for his book.

Example of what's in Analects: Discernible wisdom might be packed deep into that statement, but how many folks have knowledge capable of unpacking it? Even Legge's frustration comes through more than once, most notably to me in a footnote on p. Is it ignorance or apathy? I flipped through the pages and skimmed my notes; it might be slightly more philosophical and moral in nature than Analects or TGL. I rarely agreed with anything written. I rarely cared to notate my quibbles marginally. Of the few quibbles that resulted in scribbles, i don't care to share even one. But i'm trying to be positive.

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Here's some marginally noteworthy wisdom from Master Kung. Tsang said, "The doctrine of our master is to be true to the principles of our nature and the benevolent exercise of them to others,—this and nothing more.

The one thing or unity intended by Confucius was the heart, man's nature, of which all the relations and duties of life are only the development and outgoings Confucius only claimed to enforce duties indicated by man's mental constitution. He was simply a moral philosopher.

To be rich without being proud is easy. This is the ultimate sentence of the Analects. Next up in the survey of holy shit, Hinduism's Upanishads. Dick Puzzle 3 Tsang Wan kept a large tortoise in a house, on the capitals of the pillar of which he had hills made, with representations of duckweed on the small pillars above the beams supporting the rafters. Aug 17, Ajdesasha rated it really liked it.

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