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Analects: With Selections from Traditional Commentaries

Confucius (translated by Edward Slingerland)

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  • Chung Ju-yungSon-reported study and liking
    Chung Mong-joon’s 2014 speech recalls his father studying and liking this classic; the 2025 speech also names it among his childhood texts. This is the son’s account, not Chung Ju-yung’s own recommendation. His edition is unknown.
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Summary

The Analects gathers sayings and exchanges associated with Confucius and his followers. It explores learning, character, proper conduct and relations between people, often through short scenes rather than a continuous argument.

Edward Slingerland’s translation places selections from traditional commentaries alongside the text. Those different readings help show why a compact remark can carry several interpretations and why its historical setting matters.

  • SourceAnalects: With Selections from Traditional Commentaries — checked content · Publisher description, title/translator and selected paperback ISBN 9780872206359; traditional commentaries and historical context.

Why read it Our view

Read the exchanges as questions about conduct, learning and responsibility. Compare a passage with its commentaries before turning it into a maxim. Ask what a difficult example says about your own habits without assuming that ancient social roles map directly onto the present.