Chinese Reading Center

 論語 Analects of Confucius

The Analects is the original "Confucius says:" except that fortune cookies rarely offer actual Confucius quotes. The Analects do and was therefore required reading for Chinese school children. There is probably no better endorsement of its influence than this store told in the 三字經 Three Character Classic. The Song Emperor Taizong asked his Grand Secretary Zhao Pu why he was reading the Analects, a book commonly taught to kids. Zhao replied: "With half of this book I helped your father gain the empire. With the other half I help you to preserve it."

The Analects is a small but transcendental work put put together by the disciples of Confucius. It does not read as a grand treatise of Confucius' teaching but more like assorted recollections by disciples trying to record their master's teachings before they forget. The complete work is divided into 20 "books", but each book is in fact a very small chapter. There is no obvious organization to the books.

Notes on the Translation

The complete text of the Analects is presented here with side-by-side translation. The English text of the translation is derived from "The Chinese Classics, Volume I: Confucian Analects" by James Legge, 1891. James Legge (1815-1897) was a notable Scottish missionary and sinologist who translated several Chinese classics.

To aid current bilingual readers, we have replaced the transliterated Chinese names from their original form to Pinyin.