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2 Reviews
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A pretty good edition of a seminal text
This is a great intro into the philosophy of Confucianism. Although it's hard to describe in a sentence, the main thrust of the Analects seems to be the interplay of several of Confucius's concepts, such as ren (humanity/benevolence), li (propriety/ritual), xiao (filial piety) and others. Confucius was essentially a conservative who placed great importance on social order...
Published on January 7, 2004 by Frikle
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3 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Easily read, an excellent translation
I have to preface my review with the fact that I don't really like Confucius' underlying themes and messages. As a religon or a philosophy, Confucius tends to leave me unfulfilled. However, this translation by Arthur Waley and the introduction by Robert Wilkinson are excellent. Easily the best of the translations that I have seen, this book is a must have for any...
Published on May 30, 2001 by Jesse A Whyte
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A pretty good edition of a seminal text,
By
This review is from: Analects (Wordsworth Classics) (Paperback)
This is a great intro into the philosophy of Confucianism. Although it's hard to describe in a sentence, the main thrust of the Analects seems to be the interplay of several of Confucius's concepts, such as ren (humanity/benevolence), li (propriety/ritual), xiao (filial piety) and others. Confucius was essentially a conservative who placed great importance on social order within the family on a micro scale all the way up to the state on a macro scale. This was a rigid hierarchy. BUT, he was also very concerned with social justice and that everyone treat everyone with benevolence. He does not advocate blind obedience to law or ritual but rather combining ritual/law and benevolence to create a "gentleman" (all these words are extremely poor translations of the original Chinese terms so most of the meaning is lost) as opposed to a "small man" who is only concerned with themselves and profit.
The Analects are a bit difficult to understand as many of them are short, seemingly disconnected sayings many of which require the knowledge of backstories of Chinese history (if you want longer more cohesive narratives illustrating the principles try Mencius). Luckily this edition has sufficient footnotes to get the basic grasp. Don't expect a complete philosophy when reading the Analects - they are but sayings compiled by his students and do not reflect the whole of his philosophy. The text also seems to be corrupt in a number of places - but do expect a book containing much wisdom. I'm sure there are better translations but this one seems good in itself.
3 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Easily read, an excellent translation,
By Jesse A Whyte (Loveland, CO United States) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Analects (Wordsworth Classics) (Paperback)
I have to preface my review with the fact that I don't really like Confucius' underlying themes and messages. As a religon or a philosophy, Confucius tends to leave me unfulfilled.However, this translation by Arthur Waley and the introduction by Robert Wilkinson are excellent. Easily the best of the translations that I have seen, this book is a must have for any serious study of Confucius. |
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Analects (Wordsworth Classics) by Confucius (Paperback - Aug. 1997)
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