Thank you for visiting. This article is one part of a series explaining the “original texts” of the world’s mythologies and religions, and is an index page gathering the original texts of “Confucianism.”
Confucianism is a system of thought that began with the teaching that Confucius preached in China about 2,500 years ago, and afterward supported the morals, politics, and education of East Asian societies — China, Korea, Japan, and Vietnam — for over 2,000 years. Confucianism’s influence is deeply rooted in the very root of the Japanese sense of morality and etiquette as well.
Confucianism is positioned in the “scripture type,” having clear original texts (scriptures). At their center are the classics called the “Four Books and Five Classics.” In this series, I explain those original texts in detail and at length, divided into 6 articles.
The comprehensive index of the world’s mythology and religion original texts, including others besides Confucianism, can be seen on the following page.
Confucianism’s Original Texts — the Four Books and Five Classics
Confucianism’s original texts are broadly divided into two groups, the “Four Books” and the “Five Classics.” Together they are called the “Four Books and Five Classics,” held to be the basic classics that a student of Confucianism must master.
The “Four Books” are four books centered on the “Analects,” which conveys Confucius’s words, and are the introduction and the core of Confucianism. These were later selected and gathered as especially important by the great scholar of the Song dynasty, Zhu Xi.
The “Five Classics,” on the other hand, are five older classics handed down from an age before Confucius. Confucius himself is said to have studied, edited, and arranged these.
| Group | Original texts | Content |
|---|---|---|
| The Four Books | Analects, Great Learning, Doctrine of the Mean, Mencius | The teaching of Confucius and his disciples and Mencius. The core of Confucianism |
| The Five Classics | Changes, Documents, Odes, Rites, Spring and Autumn | Classics from before Confucius. The old foundation of Confucianism |
An Illustrated Introduction to the World’s 5 Great MythologiesView on Amazon →
World Mythology for Beginners (illustrated)View on Amazon →
Is Confucianism a Religion or a Philosophy?
When speaking of Confucianism, the question often arises, “Is this a religion, or a moral philosophy?”
In fact, Confucianism has both faces. On one hand, it is a practical thought and philosophy that preaches a human way of life and social morals, such as benevolence and ritual. Confucius did not try to say much about the world after death or the gods.
But on the other hand, Confucianism clearly also has a religious side — faith in Heaven, the worship of ancestors, and ritual at the Confucius temple that enshrines Confucius. So in this series, I take up Confucianism as one of the “original texts of the world’s religions and thought,” and explain its original texts and teaching.
Introducing Each Article
Now let me introduce what each of the 6 articles in this series explains.
Article 1: Confucius and the “Analects”
In the first installment, I explain Confucianism’s founder “Confucius” and the most important original text that conveys his words, the “Analects.”
I cover Confucius’s life, the making of the “Analects” gathered by his disciples, and Confucianism’s core, “benevolence (ren)” and “ritual (li),” and the ideal human image, the “gentleman (junzi).”
Article 2: The Four Books — Great Learning, Doctrine of the Mean, Mencius
In the second installment, I explain the “Great Learning,” “Doctrine of the Mean,” and “Mencius,” of the Four Books except the Analects.
I cover “cultivate the self, regulate the family, govern the state, bring peace to all under heaven,” which preaches the order of study and politics, the unbiased virtue “the mean,” and Mencius’s “theory of innate goodness” and kingly-way politics.
Article 3: The Five Classics
In the third installment, I explain the “Five Classics,” old classics handed down from before Confucius.
I cover, one by one, the book of divination the “Book of Changes,” the ancient political records the “Book of Documents,” the oldest poetry collection the “Book of Odes,” the record of ritual the “Book of Rites,” and the history book the “Spring and Autumn.”
Article 4: Confucianism’s Central Ideas
In the fourth installment, I explain systematically the central ideas of Confucianism running through the original texts.
I cover the five virtues “Five Constants (benevolence, righteousness, ritual, wisdom, fidelity),” the five human relationships “Five Relations,” “filial piety (xiao)” toward one’s parents, and the idea of the Mandate of Heaven.
Article 5: Confucianism’s History and Development
In the fifth installment (the final one), I explain how Confucianism spread and developed.
I cover from the Hundred Schools of Thought to becoming the state religion in the Han dynasty, the civil-service examination “keju,” Zhu Xi’s “Neo-Confucianism (Zhu Xi school),” Wang Yangming’s “Yangming school,” and the spread to East Asia, including Japan.
To Learn More
Here are some related books. Reading them alongside this series lets you savor this world even more deeply.
The Origins of Religion: Why We Needed a ‘God’View on Amazon →
A Complete History of Philosophy and ReligionView on Amazon →
Conclusion
In this article, I introduced the whole picture of Confucianism’s original texts and the content the 6 articles in the series cover. How was it?
Confucianism’s original texts consist of the “Four Books,” with the “Analects” conveying Confucius’s words as their core, and the older “Five Classics.” Teachings such as benevolence, ritual, and filial piety, being at once a religion and a practical moral philosophy, long shaped the way of life of the people of East Asia.
This Confucianism flows in the root of our Japanese sense of morality and etiquette too. I hope that, by tracing the original texts, you have come to know its source.
I also explain the original texts of other mythologies and religions. For the full list, please see the Summary of the World’s Mythology and Religion Original Texts.
For the strength of the gods and heroes, please also refer to this ranking article.
I hope you’ll read the next article too.
📚 Series: The Original Texts of Confucianism (1/6)
