The Analects of Confucius is such a book, which records the words and deeds of Confucius, as well as the words and deeds of a famous student of Confucius. Ban Gu's Hanshu Yiwenzhi said:
"In The Analects of Confucius, Confucius responded to his disciples, and when people talked to his disciples, they heard Confucius' words. At that time, the disciples had their own records. The master was a pawn and the master compiled it, so it was called The Analects. "
"Selected Works, Comment on Life" quoted from "Fu Zi" also said:
"There was no Zhong Ni before, and the disciples of Zhonggong followed the words of the master, called The Analects of Confucius."
From these two paragraphs, we get two concepts: (1) Lun in the Analects of Confucius is LUN change, and Yu in the Analects is language. The Analects of Confucius means "listening to the master's words" and "compiling theories". (2) The name "The Analects of Confucius" existed at that time, but it was not given later.
Later, there were some different views on the significance of naming the Analects. For example, Liu Xi said in Ming Shi Jing Shi Shu: "The Analects of Confucius recorded the words of Confucius and his disciples. Theory, ethics, morality. Language, Syria and Syria should also be said. " Then, the Analects of Confucius means "speak your own words in an orderly way". At this point, everyone can't help but ask: Except Confucius and his disciples, what others say is not a "coherent narrative"? If not, what's the point of naming The Analects? This shows that Liu Xi's explanation is far-fetched. (The exegetical names in Shi Ming are mainly phonological training, many of which are far-fetched. Others interpret "Lun" as "Yi" and say that The Analects of Confucius is a book of "Yi Yan Yi". He's "Questioning the Eleven Classics" is such a statement, which is even more subjective.
There are also different opinions about the origin of the naming of The Analects. Wang Chong said in On Zheng Heng: "At the beginning, Confucius Sun Kong Anguo taught Lu people to help the Qing Dynasty, and the official went to Jingzhou to make a secretariat, so he said The Analects. It seems that the name The Analects of Confucius was given to it by Kong Anguo and Fuqing during the reign of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty. This statement is not only different from that of Liu Xin and Ban Gu, but also not necessarily consistent with the facts. There is such a passage in the Book of Rites Ji Fang:
"Ziyun: the beauty of a gentleman's respect for his relatives. The Analects of Confucius says,' It is filial piety not to change one's father's ways for three years.' "
Although we can't determine the working date of Ji Fang at present, we can assert that it was not after Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty. Therefore, this statement in Lun Heng is not necessarily reliable.
It can be concluded that the title of The Analects of Confucius was named by the editor at that time, and its meaning was the compilation of language.
(2) The author and compilation date of The Analects.
The Analects of Confucius is a collection of several fragments. The arrangement of these chapters is not necessarily meaningful; Even between the two chapters, there is not necessarily any connection. And the chapters of these fragments are by no means written by one person. The Analects of Confucius is a very short book, but there are many repeated chapters. Among them, some words are exactly the same, for example, the chapter "Clever words make color fresh and righteous" first appeared in "Learning from the Times, the first article" and reappeared in "Seventeen Articles of Yang Huo"; The chapter "erudite in literature" first appeared in the sixth chapter of Yongye, and then in the twelfth chapter of Yan Yuan. Basically, there are repetitions, but the details are different. For example, the chapter "Gentleman is not important", the chapter "Learning first" has eleven more words, and the ninth chapter of Zi Han only contains fourteen words under "loyalty"; There are many crosses in the chapter of "Fathers' Conscientiousness", while "Four Chapters of Establishing People" only contains twelve characters below "three years". There is another meaning, but there are various records. For example, the fourth chapter of Liren says, "You don't have to know yourself, but you can do it." The fourteenth issue of the Constitution also says: "We shall not suffer from the ignorance of others, and we shall not suffer from the ignorance of others." "Chapter 15 of Wei Linggong" also said: "The gentleman is sick and incompetent, and the patient does not know." If you add the phrase "people who don't know and don't care are not gentlemen" to "learning to be an official", it will be repeated four times. This phenomenon can only be reasonably inferred: Confucius' remarks were recorded by disciples at that time and then compiled into a book. Therefore, The Analects of Confucius can never be considered as the work of one person.
So, who is the author of The Analects? Of course, there are students of Confucius. Two chapters can be glimpsed today. There is a chapter in Zi Han Nine Articles:
"The prison said,' Ziyun: I don't try, so I have art. ”"
Prison is a person's name. According to legend, his surname is Qin, Zi, Zi (this statement was first seen in Wang Su's pseudo "Confucius' Family Language", so Wang's "Jing Yi" and Liu Baonan's "The Analects of Confucius" are all suspicious of this, and they think that Qin Prison and He are different people). Whether this legend is reliable or not, we don't call it a surname here, but a name, which is inconsistent with the overall style of The Analects. Therefore, it can be inferred that this chapter is Qin Jin's own record, and the editor of The Analects "takes what he recorded and uses it" (Japanese scholar An Shihong said in The Analects). The other chapter is the first chapter of Article 14 of Xian Wen:
"Asked the virtuous shame. Confucius said:' There are roads and valleys in the countryside; There is no way to shame the valley and the country. " "
"Xian" is the word thinking of Yuan Xian, that is, the original thought of "thought is killing" in the sixth chapter of "Eternal Night". The surname here is given by name, not by word, which is obviously inconsistent with the overall style of The Analects of Confucius, so it can also be inferred that this is Yuan Zhen's own pen and ink.
The chapters in The Analects of Confucius were written not only by different students of Confucius, but also by different disciples of Confucius. There are many records that students have participated in. Like Taber's first chapter, chapter 8:
Ceng Zi was ill and called his disciple, "Yu Kaizu!" ! Yu Kaishou! "Poetry" cloud, trembling like an abyss, like thin ice. From time to time, I know that I am free from my husband! "Boy!" "
I can't help but say that it is the record of Zeng Shen's disciples. Another example is "Chapter 19":