Analects
The collected sayings of Confucius, assembled by his disciples — the foundational text of the East Asian moral tradition.
Core Characteristics
- Twenty short books of conversations, compiled over the two centuries after Confucius died in 479 BC.
- Teaches ren — humaneness — through ritual propriety, filial piety and the cultivation of character.
- Its style is aphoristic and situational: the Master answers each questioner differently.
Related Concepts & Sources
Chinese, Moral Order, Sacred Law