The Analects of Confucius

Confucius c. 400 BCE

Brief sayings and short exchanges between Confucius and his students on learning, family, and good government. He describes his own life in stages, saying that at fifteen he set his heart on learning.

101 pages 1h 58m reading time

Why it lasts

  • The founding text of Confucianism and one of the most influential books in history.
  • Makes humaneness the core virtue, summed up as not doing to others what you would not want done to yourself.
  • Urges rulers to govern by moral example rather than force, and teaches that social order starts with respect within the family.
  • As one of the Four Books, it was the basis of China's imperial civil service exams for about six centuries.
  • Its ideals of learning, family duty and good government shaped societies across East Asia, especially Korea, Japan and Vietnam.

Translated by James Legge 1861