book data
404 ratings, 3.70 average rating, 34 reviews
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published
March 22nd 1994
by Modern Library
binding
Hardcover, 320 pages
isbn
0679601236
(isbn13: 9780679601234)
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other reviews (showing 1-20 of 605)
Read in November, 2007
Here stands another book that is impossible to understand without someone who already knows. The first chapter sets up the relation between you, your friends and family, and the rest of society. The advent of the state was also the advent of widespread cruelty.
Take for example a glib salesman. He can sell anybody anything. I ask him, "Would you do this to your family?" He responds, "Of course not!" Obviously, a man does not cheat his friends if they are friends.
So th...more
Take for example a glib salesman. He can sell anybody anything. I ask him, "Would you do this to your family?" He responds, "Of course not!" Obviously, a man does not cheat his friends if they are friends.
So th...more
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Read in May, 2008
It was interesting to read this book after all the articles I've been reading about Chinese culture due to the Olympics being in Beijing this summer. I got confused with all the references to people I've never heard of, but there were some quotations that I liked:
"The failure to cultivate virtue, the failure to put into practice what I have learnt, hearing what is right and being unable to move towards it, being unable to change what is not good -- these are my worries."
"...more
"The failure to cultivate virtue, the failure to put into practice what I have learnt, hearing what is right and being unable to move towards it, being unable to change what is not good -- these are my worries."
"...more
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Read in March, 2008
This book was average with a large standard deviation.
Stay with me folks. I realize this is a classic of world literature, but unless you have a better than good grasp of ancient Chinese history and poetry, much of this book will just go right over your head with an odd buzzing noise that sounds a lot like a bunch of old men gossping about people you don't know.
The good news is that there are entire sections penetrable to the regular American reader with lots of good insights on living ...more
Stay with me folks. I realize this is a classic of world literature, but unless you have a better than good grasp of ancient Chinese history and poetry, much of this book will just go right over your head with an odd buzzing noise that sounds a lot like a bunch of old men gossping about people you don't know.
The good news is that there are entire sections penetrable to the regular American reader with lots of good insights on living ...more
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Read in September, 2008
Like most Westerners I had in my mind that Confucius was a homily spinner whose little sayings ended up in fortune cookies because of their brevity.
Boy, was I wrong!
Simply put, Confucius was very concerned with morality, virtue, loyalty, filial piety and living up to ideals. He was conservative in that he didn't question, much, the underpinnings of what is moral, right and just, but he did promote hard the concept of meritocracy. He emphasized the gentleman, a kind of ideal man, and th...more
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Confuscious doesn't provide any earth shattering illuminations but his doctrine of benevolence for benevolence's sake is nice. It's a nice easy read.
"Shall I tell you what it is to know. To say you know when you know, and to say you do not when you do not. that is knowledge."
"Wealth and rank attained through immoral means have as much to do with me as passing clouds."
"I have yet to meet the man who is as fond of virtue as he is of beauty in women."
&q...more
"Shall I tell you what it is to know. To say you know when you know, and to say you do not when you do not. that is knowledge."
"Wealth and rank attained through immoral means have as much to do with me as passing clouds."
"I have yet to meet the man who is as fond of virtue as he is of beauty in women."
&q...more
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The DC Lau translation is the only decent one I've found (it should be the one whose cover is pictured here.) Book of quotes to live by. The book that made Redd Foxx famous (in a perverse way.) A cynical old man is tired of scouring the earth for people who want real truth and moral integrity rather than flattery, fortune and fair women. When walking with two people, model yourself after the one more upright than you and use the less upright one to remind you of and help correct your own fau...more
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Not exactly Heloise's practical guide to homemaking, but makes clear how to bring stability and identity to a society. Everyone knows his/her place and what to do. Am all-encompassing etiquette for Chinese life. Very un-American, but seemingly still very contemporary China, though today with a somewhat different political language along with an admixture of political duplicity.
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Read in January, 2003
Religious Studies.
Both The Analects & Mencius give a fascinating look on Confucianism. Some people debate on whether it is a religion or not, as opposed to just being a philosophy. I say that it is a religion, though I understand the arguments against very well.
Both The Analects & Mencius give a fascinating look on Confucianism. Some people debate on whether it is a religion or not, as opposed to just being a philosophy. I say that it is a religion, though I understand the arguments against very well.
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Read in April, 2007
Culturally relevant and interesting as one of the primary foundations of Chinese thought and culture. That being said, it is pretty tedious to get through with many references to people and events that are outside of my grasp of Chinese history.
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read it in chinese. generic wisdom; lacking in the cosmological connection that Lao Zi has, but shows you how to do things step-by-step. tho it doesn't tell you why, the how's make it still more popular and more influential in chinese society (i think).
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Confucius (aka Kung Tzu) will rock you. Born in 551 BC, his teachings are still relevant today. His work truly inspires, and Confucius say: if you want to change a nation - start with yourself. Wham! take that amigo ~ I mean self :)
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Confucius was one of the world's first conservatives. He recognizes the importance of private property and liberty in the natural order. The Confucians were the first to note the spontaneous order of the market.
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Read in October, 2005
recommended to Sarah by:
asian philosophy class
I don't agree with all the author has to say although I know where he is coming from and understand the intentions of what he is trying to express. I'm not a real fan of Asian literature/philosophy.
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Read in March, 2008
recommends it for:
someone who knows a bit about chinese culture.
oh man, my dad got into this book, which would be funny to you if you knew my dad. i read some of it (not all). maybe one day i will finish it.
nice book if you are into philosophy.
nice book if you are into philosophy.
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Read in January, 1994
A simple to follow and timeless philosophy to live by.
I truly believe that The Analects should be on the reading list of anyone interested in philosophy or comparative religions.
I truly believe that The Analects should be on the reading list of anyone interested in philosophy or comparative religions.
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i'm sure if i had understood this book more thoroughly i would've enjoyed it... reading it i found it "okay." However discussing it with my class i loved it. Go figure :)
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Read in August, 2007
This book had some portions that I did not get a lot out of. But there were also some real gems in there as well. All in all, I like the eastern philosophy.
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Read in January, 2008
Read this before Tao Te Ching, then compare. See what you think? What are these two guys trying to say and why...I mean beyond stuff we might label "religious"?
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Read in October, 2003
Confucius (or possibly just the students that recorded him) is incredibly repetitive and axiomatic. He offers nothing to back up his philosophy.
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Read in January, 1988
The Analects are a collection of Confucius' sayings, published by his students after his death. To understand China, you must read this book.
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