The Analects of Confucius is a book that records the words and deeds of Confucius, the founder of Confucianism. In the pre-Qin period, the Analects of Confucius was one of the works of philosophers and did not get much attention. In the period of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, The Analects of Confucius began to be promoted from a son to a biography, established as a scholar, and placed as a biography doctor. It was established as one of the Seven Classics in the Eastern Han Dynasty, but its status was not high, ranking at the end of the Seven Classics. The Seven Classics are mentioned in The Biography of Zhang Chun in the Later Han Dynasty. Li Xian pointed out that the Seven Classics are called Poetry, Calligraphy, Ritual, Music and Yi. Wu Dezhong (6 18-626), Li Yuan regarded Duke Zhou as a saint, and Confucius deserved it. Confucius lost his status as a saint, and the Analects of Confucius was naturally less valued. In the middle Tang Dynasty, Han Yu and Li Ao revived Confucianism to oppose Buddhism and Taoism, and vigorously advocated "Taoism", which significantly improved the status of Confucius. Although the Six Classics was written by Confucius, Confucius did not write it himself. Therefore, the Six Classics is not a monograph of Confucius. In Song Confucianism's view, The Analects of Confucius is a masterpiece that can truly reflect the words and deeds of saints.
Mencius is the ideological record of Mencius' preaching and administration. The idea of "benevolent government" and the distinction between righteousness and benefit in Mencius have enriched Confucianism. Mencius in the pre-Qin period has always been in the ranks of "Zi" books. In the Han Dynasty, Mencius was promoted from "Zi" to "Chuan". Emperor Wen of the Han Dynasty placed a doctor of biography in Mencius, and said in the inscription of Mencius: "Emperor Xiaowen wants to study abroad, and the Analects of Confucius, the Book of Filial Piety, Mencius and Erya all have doctors." However, its status has not aroused widespread concern. It was not until the middle and late Tang Dynasty that Mencius rose with the rise of the trend of respecting Mencius. Han Yu made a special contribution to the promotion of Mencius. The "orthodoxy" theory he established raised Mencius' name to Confucius for the first time and gave him the status of "Asian sage".
The author of the doctrine of the mean is still uncertain. Some scholars think it's Zi Si, and Confucius said that Zi Si wrote The Doctrine of the Mean. The Doctrine of the Mean is an important classic of Confucianism, which discusses the nature and cultivation of heaven and raises the speculative nature of Confucian ethics to a new height. Some scholars believe that The University was written by a disciple of Confucius. University is a work of political philosophy, the core of which is the inner sage and the outer king, which contains the practice from the inside out. The Great Learning and The Doctrine of the Mean in the Han Dynasty have always been attached to the Book of Rites, but have not been studied separately. In the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, the status of The Book of Rites was improved, and the corresponding The Doctrine of the Mean began to stand out from the Book of Rites and was published independently. Han Yu and Li Ao in the mid-Tang Dynasty were the representatives of respecting The Doctrine of the Mean and The Great Learning. Han Yu expounded the purport of "university" in The Original Road, and countered the fallacy of Buddhism and Taoism from the political significance of physical and mental cultivation. Li Ao's Renaturation Book pays attention to the Confucian theory of mind and nature, takes the golden mean as the main resource, and also explains Daxue and Mencius.
In Song Dynasty, Neo-Confucianism rose in Zhu Cheng, and four books were highly praised. Zhang Zai, one of the five sons of Neo-Confucianism, fully affirmed the relationship between Confucius and saints in the Four Books: "If you want to see saints, there is nothing more important than ethics." Lun and Meng are two books for scholars, but as long as they can swim. ..... A moderate viewpoint has been just for 20 years, and each viewpoint has a unique meaning. I want to see the "Six Classics" cycle every year. ..... Scholars who believe in books must believe in The Analects of Confucius and Mencius. There is no intersection between poetry and books. Although Li is mixed with Confucianism, it is harmless. There is no doubt that the doctrine of the mean and universities all come from the holy gate. "
Afterwards, Cheng Er and Zhu contributed the most to the formation of the Four Books. Therefore, Cheng Zi, a modern scholar, believed in the Great Learning and the Doctrine of the Mean and expressed them. The Analects of Confucius and Mencius also have their own opinions. When he arrived in Xin 'an, Zhu Xi began to combine the four books into four books, the Analects of Confucius and Mencius into annotations, and the Doctrine of the Mean into chapters or questions. Since Zhu is right, the old saying is useless. Therefore, the four books and five classics are parallel, and the order of teaching is not the first. "After Zhu, the four books established the classic status of Confucianism.