Analects

Confucius is one of the most influential figures in Chinese philosophy. His teachings are laid out most fully in the Analects , a compilation of sayings, aphorisms, and ideas organized by his followers after his death. Modern scholarship suggests that the Analects were composed over a period of two hundred years, between around 476–221 BC, with the earliest physical evidence dating to around 300 BC. Over time, it became recognized as one of the “Four Books,” alongside the “Five Classics,” which together form the core of the Confucian canon; this canon was the foundation for the Imperial Exami