The Analects

The Analects, or Sayings, is a collection of sayings and ideas attributed to the ancient Chinese philosopher Confucius and his contemporaries. Compiled by his followers, the Analects are believed to have been written around 475 - 221 BC, and they went from initially being a commentary on the Five Classics, to becoming one of the central texts on Confucianism itself. Sometime between the eleventh and thirteenth centuries, during the Song Dynasty, the book's importance grew to such a status that it was seen as 'above' the other ancient Chinese classics. The Analects were started as records of conversations that occurred between disciples of Confucius and their Master, and were then compiled after his death. The Analects gives Confucius' views on things like social philosophy, political philosophy, and education, as well as detailing his daily activities. For the last 2,000 years, it has been one of the most widely read books in China and remains one of the very few reliable sources about Confucius himself.

Part of Anne Haight's List of Banned Books.

Part of the Harvard Classics set.

This book has 27,457 words, and this translation by James Legge was originally published in 1893.