Confucian Literature

The Power of the Pen:

The Five Classics and Four Books

The Five Classics

• Book of History (Shu Ching) is a history of the kings from (c. 1112-256 b.c.e.)

• Book of Poetry (Shih Ching) a collection of about 300 poems of the Zhou period

• Book of Changes (I Ching) talks about the pattern of the universe. “It is used to understand future events and to work with them properly.” It also describes how a noble person will act in life’s events.

Five Books (cont)

• Book of Rites (Li Chi) lists ceremonies and their meaning. Although there was a Book of Music it no longer exists and it is said that it is contained in the Book of Rites.

• The Spring and Autumn Annals (Ch’un Ch’iu) contains the historical records of the State of Lu, Confucius’ hometown and “ends with a later commentary.”

The Four Books

• The Analects (Lum Yu) are the sayings of Confucius and his followers. According to tradition his followers wrote down what Confucius said. However, it is more likely that it was his disciples of his followers who wrote the book. The Analects contain short stories and small sayings.

Second Book

• The Great Learning (Ta Hsueh) is a short discussion on the character and influence of the noble person. It is doubtful that Confucius wrote this. It was the very first book memorized and studied by Chinese students.

Third Book

• The Doctrine of the Mean (Chung Yung) it was added to the Book of Rites at one time. It talks highly about “the mean” or equilibrium. “A human being who follows ‘the way of Heaven’ avoids extremes and remains in harmony. This balance unites the individual with the balance of the universe.

The Fourth Book

• The Mencius (Meng Tzu) is a lengthy collections of the sayings of Mencius one of the disciples of Confucius who lived sometime after him. Many of the sayings being with the phrase “Mencius said.”