Four Books and Five Classics: Pre-Qin Classics. The Four Books and Five Classics, collectively called the Four Books and Five Classics, are China Confucian classics. The four books, also known as the four books, refer to The Great Learning, The Doctrine of the Mean, The Analects of Confucius and Mencius. The Five Classics are the collective names of five Confucian classics, such as The Book of Songs, Shangshu, Book of Rites, Zhouyi and Chunqiu, and are part of the Six Classics, Seven Classics, Nine Classics, Twelve Classics and Thirteen Classics. The Book of Rites usually includes three rites, namely, Yili, Zhou Li and the Book of Rites. Chunqiu is usually published separately from Zuo Zhuan, Gong Yang Zhuan and Gu Liang Zhuan, which explain Chunqiu, because its text is too brief. The naming of the Four Books began in the Song Dynasty, and the naming of the Five Classics began in Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty.
Social influence: The Four Books and Five Classics recorded in detail the political, military, diplomatic, cultural and other historical materials in the most active period in the history of China's national ideological and cultural development, as well as the important philosophical thoughts of Confucius and Mencius that have influenced China culture for thousands of years. Science has promoted the selection of officials in past dynasties, and the propositions in the test paper are nothing more than "four books and five classics", which shows its importance to the way of being an official. Today, the contents and philosophical thoughts contained in the Four Books and Five Classics still have positive significance and strong reference value for us modern people. The Four Books and Five Classics have had an immeasurable impact on social norms, interpersonal communication and social culture. Their influence spread all over the world, benefiting generations of descendants. The Four Books and Five Classics have continued the masterpieces of Chinese culture through the ages, and they are both the heritage of human civilization.