|
||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||
Frequently Bought Together
Product Details
|
Product Description
Product Description
The Analects express a philosophy, or a moral code, by which Confucius, one of the most humane thinkers of all time, believed everyone should live. Upholding the ideals of wisdom, self-knowledge, courage and love of one's fellow man, he argued that the pursuit of virtue should be every individual's supreme goal. And, while following the Way, or the truth, might not result in immediate or material gain, Confucius showed that it could nevertheless bring its own powerful and lasting spiritual rewards.
About the Author
Confucius [551-479 BC], though of noble descent, was born in humble circumstances. He believed that politics is only an extension of morals, and spent ten years travelling through the various states of China spreading his ideas. When he realised that there was no way of converting the feudal rulers to his way of thinking he returned to Lu and spent the rest of his life there teaching his pupils. D.C Lau has held a number of professorships in the field of Chinese language and literature.
Inside This Book
(Learn More)
First Sentence
1. The Master said, 'Is it not a pleasure, having learned something, to try it out at due intervals? Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
1. The Master said, 'Is it not a pleasure, having learned something, to try it out at due intervals? Read the first page
Explore More
Concordance
Browse Sample PagesConcordance
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
Suggested Tags from Similar Products(What's this?)Be the first one to add a relevant tag (keyword that's strongly related to this product)
|
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Customer Reviews
|
Share your thoughts with other customers:
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Most helpful customer reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
2.0 out of 5 stars
Strange, strange choices,
By
This review is from: Penguin Classics Analects (Paperback)
This is not the translation by Arthur Waley (which is very good) but the one by D.C. Lau. Since Lau's translation was first published, a number of advances have been made in the field of Warring States Period scholarship which render a fair amount of the supporting material obsolete (see "The Original Analects" by Brooks and Brooks for the latest). As for the translation itself, it's rife with awkward and mystifying word choices -- for instance, in a passage in chapter 11 in which the disciple Zilu (Tzu-lu, in Wade-Giles romanization, which Lau uses) gets the better of Confucius in an argument, Waley translates the Master's retort, "It is remarks of that kind that make me hate glib people," and the Brookses and Huang Chichung make similar choices; but Lau renders it, "It is for this reason that I dislike men who are plausible." Similar mishandlings of connotation appear throughout the book. For an old-fashioned translation, Waley's is a hundred times better.
5.0 out of 5 stars
one of the wisest,
By
This review is from: Penguin Classics Analects (Paperback)
I am writing this based on a different translation of "Analects." Nevertheless, Confucius is undoubtedly one of the wisest men ever to live. There is noone that won't benefit by reading his book. The wit and wisdom of his writings are a rarity today. With people spending all of their time trying to acquire knowledge, they are overlooking the importance and value of wisdom. This book should be more widely read.
4.0 out of 5 stars
Surprisingly Relevent,
By Brett (South Dakota) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Penguin Classics Analects (Paperback)
I was surprised to find that I was often very interested in the topics within this book and Confucius' handling of said themes. Having read Plato only a short time ago, Confucius seemed like a breath of fresh air. His concerns are how to live a virtuous life and achieve benevolence. Unlike much ancient philosphy, many of the sayings have their impact undimished by time. In each book (consisting usually of about 3 pages) there would generally be at least two or three sayings that struck me as truly meaningful and pertinent. Naturally, there were also some that seemed out of place or irrational, but that is to be expected in any text which is so old. If one is able to mine the gold from the rocks, Analects of Confucius can be quite a rewarding experience. However, I found the introduction and essays in the back of the book to be superfluous and felt that they did not shed much additional light on who Confucius was or what his teachings meant, choosing instead to focus mostly on minutue that was mostly uninteresting to me. This book is not a long read, and almost certainly worth a curious person's time.
Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
Want to see more reviews on this item?
|
Most recent customer reviews |
Listmania!
|
|
Look for similar items by category
- Books > History > Ancient > China
- Books > History > Asia > China > Ancient
- Books > New & Used Textbooks > Humanities > Philosophy
- Books > New & Used Textbooks > Humanities > Religious Studies
- Books > Nonfiction > Education > Language Instruction
- Books > Nonfiction > Philosophy > Ancient
- Books > Nonfiction > Philosophy > Eastern
- Books > Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 > Education
- Books > Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 > Humanities
- Books > Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 > Religion
- Books > Reference > Foreign Languages
- Books > Religion & Spirituality > Other Eastern Religions > Confucianism
- Books > Religion & Spirituality > Other Eastern Religions > Eastern Philosophy
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
