Philosophy › Before Socrates & the first sages › Confucius (Kongzi)
The Analects (Lunyu)
compiled c. 475–221 BC· Book or text· Asian traditions
Mostly agreedGood evidence; some details uncertain.
The Lunyu (論語; Korean 논어 Noneo), a collection of Confucius' sayings and conversations compiled by later generations of students.
See it on the Philosophy map →The idea
About 500 short passages in 20 books, many opening 'The Master said...'. Themes: becoming a junzi (君子, 'exemplary person'), filial piety, learning, and government by virtue. A famous passage: guide people with laws and punishments and they stay out of trouble but feel no shame; guide them with virtue and ritual and they reform themselves. It was assembled over generations; Confucius wrote none of it.
Why it matters
It was memorized for civil-service exams in China until 1905 and Korea's gwageo until 1894, making it one of history's most influential books.
Where it comes from
A bamboo copy from a tomb at Dingzhou, sealed in 55 BC, is among the oldest known; Han-dynasty scholars merged three versions into the standard text.
Still debated
Which books are earliest and closest to Confucius, and which were added centuries later, is debated; Arthur Waley saw Books 3–9 as the oldest core.
Connections (2)
▸Confucius (Kongzi) is quoted in The Analects (Lunyu)Well documented
The connection
Confucius wrote no book. After his death, students and their students collected his sayings and conversations into the Analects. It is our main window on him, though shaped by its compilers, much as Plato's dialogues shape our view of Socrates.
When and how
Compiled in Lu and neighboring states from about 475 BC, possibly reaching near-final form only in the early Han dynasty, around 150 BC.
How we know
Early manuscripts such as the Dingzhou bamboo text (buried 55 BC), and Han catalogues listing three versions, confirm its existence and growth.
Debates and open questions
How many sayings are authentic, and which were put in his mouth by later followers, cannot be settled.
▸The Analects (Lunyu) was given a definitive commentary by Zhu Xi and the Four BooksWell documented
The connection
Zhu Xi made the Analects one of his Four Books and wrote a line-by-line commentary reading Confucius through his own theory of principle (li). Because that commentary became the official exam standard, for centuries most students in China, Korea and Japan met Confucius's sayings through Zhu Xi's interpretation.
When and how
Southern Song China; Zhu Xi revised it for decades and, in 1190, while governing Zhangzhou in Fujian, printed the Four Books together with his commentaries.
How we know
His Collected Commentaries on the Analects (Lunyu jizhu) survives and was the prescribed exam text from 1313; later editions print it alongside the classic itself.
Debates and open questions
How well his metaphysical readings fit what Confucius meant is debated; Qing scholars such as Dai Zhen accused him of importing Buddhist ideas.