This book explores the relationships between ancient Roman and Confucian thought, paying particular attention to their relevance for the contemporary world. More than 10 scholars from all around the world offer thereby a reference work for the comparative research between Roman (and early Greek) and Eastern thought, setting new trends in the panorama of Classical and Comparative Studies.

A new translation and commentary of the Analects for contemporary audiences. The Analects of Confucius is arguably the single most influential work of China’s cultural heritage. In this new English translation, Peimin Ni accomplishes the rare feat of simultaneously providing a faithful translation of the text, offering his own reading based on gongfu (practice) perspective, and presenting major alternative readings to help the reader understand how diverse interpretations and controversies arise. In addition to the inclusion of the original Chinese text, Ni adds a comprehensive introduction, a discussion of key terms, annotations, and extensive cross-references. In doing so, Ni makes the text accessible and engaging for today’s audience. “Understanding the Analects of Confucius is an outstanding work of sinological scholarship.” — Henry Rosemont Jr., author of A Reader’s Companion to the Confucian Analects “Peimin Ni’s translation of the Analects has many virtues that make it stand out as an exemplary version of this most important Chinese text. Ni has chosen to present the text as a living document, embedded in two thousand years of commentarial conversation over its meaning, with today’s readers very much part of that ongoing conversation.” — Stephen C. Angle, author of Contemporary Confucian Political Philosophy

CONFUCIUS: Discussions/Conversations, or the Analects (Lun-yu), Volume I: translation, commentary, interpretation, historical and biographical material, chronologies, bibliography, concordance of key Chinese characters. No single philosopher has had a more profound impact on Eastern civilization than Confucius, whose eco-psycho-socio-political program is neither a people's democracy nor an authoritarian theocracy, but rather one of surprise and delight, available to anyone who will cultivate himself or herself, create caring relationships among both family and friends, and carry out the Master's program by taking appropriate courses of action [dao162] and behaving responsibly [ren9b] so as to realize dynamic harmony [he30b] in his or her given circumstances. In its critical importance to us as living, engaged human beings, Discussions/Conversations can only be compared in its depth and power to the influence Plato's Republic has had on the civilization of the West. This translation is not only not filled with the usual Latin-derived jargon and allusions to the 'isms' of Western philosophy, but is instead an entirely non-metaphysical and coherent read in modern English prose. An educated reader is fully supported throughout the vast historical background and technical terms of early Confucian and later Song-Ming thought by means of extensive references to the ancient Chinese commentators, original interpretations from the translator, a summary of ancient Chinese history, a brief biography of Confucius, a short bibliography, and a concordance of transliterations of those key Chinese characters which occur in the original text. The translation is thus ideal for classroom and book club use, as the commentary following each analect supplies all the discussion material which any teacher or student could ever need.Volume I contains Books 1-11; Volume II contains Books 12-20.

The very name of Confucius is a constant reminder that the “foremost sage” in China was first known in the West through Latin works. The most influential of these was the Confucius Sinarum Philosophus (Confucius, the Philosopher of China), published in Paris in 1687. For more than two hundred years, Western intellectuals like Leibniz and Voltaire read and meditated on the sayings of Confucius from this Latin version. Thierry Meynard examines the intellectual background of the Jesuits in China and their thought processes in coming to understand the Confucian tradition. He presents a trilingual edition of the Lunyu, including the Chinese text, the Latin translation of the Lunyu and its commentaries, and their rendition in modern English, with notes.

Edited by Michael Hunter and Martin Kern and featuring contributions by preeminent scholars of early China, Confucius and the Analects Revisited: New Perspectives on Composition, Dating, and Authorship critically examines the long-standing debates surrounding the history of the Analects, for two millennia considered the most authoritative source of the teachings of Confucius (551–479 BCE). Unlike most previous scholarship, it does not take the traditional view of the Analects’ origins as given. Instead, it explores the validity and the implications of recent revisionist critiques from historical, philosophical, and literary perspectives, and further draws on recently discovered ancient manuscripts and new technological advances in the Digital Humanities. As such, it opens up new ways for productive engagement with the text. Contributors: Mark Csikszentmihalyi, Paul van Els, Robert Eno, Joachim Gentz, Paul R. Goldin, Michael Hunter, Martin Kern, Esther Klein, John Makeham, Matthias L. Richter.

Describes the social and cultural transformation of seventeenth-century China through the life and work of Li Yu

This book presents extensive primary sources to reveal how Confucians in Early China parlay their knowledge of ritual into political power, from the ancient aristocratic culture of the Spring and Autumn era to the state religion of the Han empire.