Sayings of Confucius

Confucius lived from 551 to 479 BC, in the period that Chinese tradition calls the Spring and Autumn era. He was a teacher and thinker, and the collection recorded here consists of the dialogues between him and his disciples, which comprise the crux of Confucianism. Promoting virtues such as filial devotion, compassion, loyalty and propriety, they have influenced the cultures of East Asia for over two thousand years.

The text is not a treatise in the usual sense. It is made up of short sayings, anecdotes and conversations, gathered by later generations of students, and the order of the passages does not follow a single argument. Instead the reader moves between topics: the character of the gentleman, the duties of a ruler, the value of learning, the role of ritual and music in a good life. Many of the lines have become proverbs, and the tone is by turns practical, humorous and austere.

The recording is divided into an introductory note and twenty sections, one for each book, and lasts a little over three hours. The Chinese original is known as the Lunyu, or the Analects. According to tradition, Confucius was born in the state of Lu, in what is now Shandong.

Seven LibriVox volunteers share the reading, which gives the many small voices of the text some variety. Because the passages are brief, the book can be enjoyed in small portions, perhaps one book at a time, and returned to again and again. It is a fine introduction to a body of thought that continues to shape how large parts of the world think about education, family and society.