Analects

The Analects of Confucius (Chinese论语/论语, Pinyin Lun Lun yǔ or yǔ, Discussion of the words '), the Analects of Confucius teaching, is one of the thirteen classics of the canonical Confucian Chinese literature.

The age of the Lun Yu

The Analects as we know it today, mostly originate from Zheng Xuan, who lived from 127-200 AD in the Han Dynasty. For his compilation of the text him three original texts were essentially available. One comes from the state of Lu, Confucius was born in and has lived most of his life. The second comes from Qi, was more detailed than the first, and seemed to come from a later period. The third text is considered the most authentic and is also the oldest. The Old Lun Yu called text was about 150 BC, discovered in surviving residence of Confucius. They were written in a special script -like " tadpoles ", who could read almost no more and remained so long unnoticed.

Significance of the work

Confucius has exerted an unparalleled influence on Chinese culture and development. He was, however practitioner, noticed early on that his teachings were not recognized in his time, and therefore relied on the education of its students. For this reason, there is also a single of Confucius ' self- authored work. Confucius ' teaching has won only after his death in importance. The Lun Yu The Analects consists of, quotes and discussions of the Master with his students. Next they contain criticism of contemporaries, the description of the Confucian ideal man and guidance on personal character development. They are therefore a collection of Confucianism, which is based on four principles:

• Humanity (仁řén )
• Righteousness (义yì )
• Filial piety (孝Xiao )
• Rites (礼lǐ )

Authenticity of the conversations

In addition to the aspiring students of Confucius, who have tried with the utmost meticulousness to ensure the thoughts of their master for posterity, there were some attempts to corrupt the doctrine. In addition, since Confucius ' death and the first serious summary of discussions more than 600 years have passed in which lost a lot of material. There are still some unexplained and not decrypted points in the Lun Yu, but thanks to thorough research, a majority of the talks of the Master be recognized as authentic.