"University"
"University"
Da Xue was originally an article in the Book of Rites, which had never been published separately before the Southern Song Dynasty. It is said that it was written by Zeng Shen, a disciple of Confucius (505-434 BC). From the Tang Dynasty, Han Yu and Li Ao praised the university (and the golden mean) to maintain orthodoxy, to the Northern Song Dynasty, Cheng Er praised and publicized it in various ways, and even called it "the university", the suicide note of Confucius, and the introduction of morality. In the Southern Song Dynasty, Zhu inherited the thought of Cheng Er, and extracted Da Xue from The Book of Rites, and compared it with The Analects of Confucius and Mencius. Zhu and Cheng Yi, another famous scholar in Song Dynasty, believed that Da Xue was a suicide note left by Confucius and his disciples, and an introductory reading of Confucianism. Therefore, Zhu listed it as the first of the "four books".
doctrine of the mean
doctrine of the mean
The Doctrine of the Mean was originally one of The Book of Rites, which was never published separately before the Southern Song Dynasty. It is generally believed that it was written by Confucius' grandson Zi Si (483-402 BC), and Confucius called Zi Si the golden mean in history books. From the Tang Dynasty when Han Yu and Li Ao advocated the doctrine of the mean (and the university) to maintain orthodoxy, to the Northern Song Dynasty when Cheng Er advocated and publicized the doctrine of the mean in various ways, and even thought that the doctrine of the mean was "a way to teach the mind through Confucius", and then to the Southern Song Dynasty when Zhu inherited Cheng Er's thought, he took out The Book of Rites and compared it with The Analects of Confucius, Mencius and the University. Judging from the basic viewpoints of The Doctrine of the Mean and Mencius, they are basically the same. The existing The Doctrine of the Mean was revised by Confucian scholars in Qin Dynasty, and was written roughly shortly after Qin unified the whole country. So every article is different from "University". It does not take the two words at the beginning of the article as the title, but the central content of the article as the title.
The Analects of Confucius
The Analects of Confucius
The Analects of Confucius is a book that records the words and deeds of Confucius and his students and is edited by his students. The content involves philosophy, politics, economy, education, literature and art, etc. It is very rich and is the most important classic of Confucianism. In terms of expression, The Analects of Confucius is a model for recording prose, with concise language and vivid images. In terms of arrangement, The Analects has no strict compiling style, each article is a chapter, and each chapter is a chapter. Articles and chapters are not closely related, but are roughly classified and repeated chapters appear. By the Han Dynasty, there were three editions of The Analects of Confucius (20), The Analects of Confucius (22) and The Analects of Classical Chinese (2 1). At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, Zheng Xuan compiled and annotated a new book based on The Analects of Lu with reference to The Analects of Qi and The Analects of Ancient Chinese. After Zheng Xuan's annotations were circulated, The Analects of Confucius and The Analects of China Ancient Literature gradually disappeared. The later editions of The Analects of Confucius mainly include: The Analects of Confucius by Wei in the Three Kingdoms Period, On Shu Shu by Liang Huang Kan in the Southern and Northern Dynasties, The Analects of Confucius by Zhu, The Analects of Confucius by Liu Baonan in the Qing Dynasty, etc. The Analects of Confucius is a book that records the words and deeds of Confucius and his students.
Mencius
Mencius
Mencius is a book that records the words and deeds of Mencius and his students. Mencius (about 372 ~ 289 BC), whose real name was Ke, was born in Zouguo (now Zoucheng, Shandong Province) in the middle of the Warring States Period, not far from Qufu, Confucius' hometown. He is a famous thinker, politician, educator and the successor of Confucius' theory. By the time of filial piety in the Southern Song Dynasty, four books compiled by Zhu were included in Mencius, which officially raised Mencius to a very high position. After the Yuan and Ming Dynasties, it became the content of the imperial examination and was a must-read for scholars. Mencius is a book that records the words and deeds of Mencius and his students. Like Confucius, Mencius once led students to travel to Wei, Qi, Song, Lu, Teng, Xue and other countries, and once served as a guest minister. Because his political views were not as important as those of Confucius, he returned to his hometown to call his disciples to give lectures, and wrote a book with Zhang Wan and other students, saying, "Preface a poem book, understand Zhong Ni's meaning, and write seven pieces of Mencius." (Historical Records Biography of Mencius and Xun Qing) Zhao Qi compared Mencius with The Analects of Confucius in Mencius' copybook, and thought that Mencius was "imitating a saint". Therefore, although the History of Literature and Art of Han Dynasty only regards Mencius as a sub-book, in the eyes of Han people, it has actually been regarded as a "biography" book to assist the classics. Emperor Wen of the Han Dynasty named The Analects of Confucius, The Book of Filial Piety, Mencius and Er Ya as "Biographers". At the end of the Five Dynasties, Meng Changjun, the master of the post-Shu Dynasty, ordered people to carve stones on eleven classics such as Mencius, which may be the beginning of Mencius' being included in the Classics. By the time of filial piety in the Southern Song Dynasty, four books compiled by Zhu were included in Mencius, which officially raised Mencius to a very high position.