Russell's review
The Analects (Dover Thrift Editions) by Confucius
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 this gentleman could come from anywhere, not just the nobility.
This book changed the way I thought of Confusions and his teachings. Very easy to read and quite interesting.
