Confucian Analects, The Great Learning & The Doctrine of the Mean [Paperback]

Confucius (Author), James Legge (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1, 1971

Entire text of the Analects of Confucius in large, readable characters, and beneath this Legge's full translation, which has been accepted and the definitive, standard English version. Full chinese text, standard English translation on same page. Finest edition anywhere of one of world's finest thinkers.

Editorial Reviews

Language Notes

Text: English, Chinese

Product Details

• Paperback: 503 pages
• Publisher: Dover Publications (June 1, 1971)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0486227464
• ISBN-13: 978-0486227467
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.4 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #359,584 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #44 in Books > Religion & Spirituality > Other Eastern Religions > Confucianism

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

31 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars After You've Read the Other Translations, Try This One, November 6, 2001

By 

Thomas F. Ogara (Jacksonville, FL USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Confucian Analects, The Great Learning & The Doctrine of the Mean (Paperback)

There are lots of good reasons to condemn Legge's translations of the Chinese classics to the graveyard of moribund scholarship. He's barely readable - yes, it's true. Legge was no giant of the written word when he did these translations to begin with, and the passage of time has made the phrasing seem so archaic that you wonder if he was trying to sound unintelligible even when he wrote it.

Legge also uses a transliteration system that is so eccentric as to be indecipherable if you are trying to trace out the actual sounds of the Chinese words. The reason for this seems to be that the pronunciation of Chinese has changed sufficiently to make his transliteration obsolete.

But Legge has one advantage that no other translator had, or ever can have again. He did his translations when the Confucian scholarly tradition was still alive in China, and as a result he could consult with scholars within this tradition to determine the meaning of the phrases as they were understood in the traditional context. It's a little like having an erudite clergyman explain the meaning of a phrase in the Bible rather than an archeologist - while both explanations are valid in their own way, the clergyman's explanation will indicate a living belief rather than a dissection.

And that is Legge's great value. Most Chinese language scholars will give him a nod, even today. For the beginner, he's not a good place to start, admittedly. But he has his virtues.

25 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Essential if you are serious about Confucius, December 15, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Confucian Analects, The Great Learning & The Doctrine of the Mean (Paperback)

The other reviews on this page are quite insightful; I have a few more comments:

1. Modern readers tend not to be enamored of Legge's prose, but it has its own coherence and merit. What is most remarkable, however, is the accuracy of his translations, in view of their date. You may not agree with his views and interpretations; you may not like his phraseology; but he simply does not make mistakes. His translations are supported by copious (if dense) footnotes that explain the rationale behind his translating decisions. (To be sure, these notes are intended for highly informed readers.) You can never say that Legge is wrong; you can say that you prefer to read the text a different way.

2. A point that no one seems to have made: one advantage of this edition is that it is one of the few available in the West with the complete Chinese text.

In sum: this is a reasonably priced paperback that includes the original Chinese text and the first great Western translation of the Analects. If you are serious about Confucius, you cannot ignore this book.

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars the best single translation and commentary on subject, January 7, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Confucian Analects, The Great Learning & The Doctrine of the Mean (Paperback)

I have read the entire book for a doctoral research project. There simply is no other Author that even comes close to offering such execellent commentary on the confucian classics. He references many of the ancient and more recent Chinese commentators in his footnotes. Very comprehensive. He gives you both the Chinese original and then the English translation with the commentary translated into English. If you want to better understand the Chinese and where they come from, Legges translations of the Chinese classics is a must.Ray