Publisher's Synopsis
CONFUCIUS (OR K'UNG FU-TSE) 551-479 BC, was a Chinese philosopher and teacher. His doctrines were compiled after his death as THE ANALECTS OF CONFUCIUS and remain a profound and revelant source of inspiration and instruction to this day. This superb, illustrated selection of Confucian sayings presents the greater part of the ANALECTS and consists of deceptively simple yet wise replies by Confucius (The Master) to questions put by his various disciples on universal moral and personal subjects. The most famous, perhaps is 'Do not unto others what you would not they should do to you'. These sayings comprise a saga understanding and general teaching on life and contain neither the sanction of punishment nor the promise of reward in the after life. It is a system of belief based not on the supernatural but on a thorough understanding and knowledge of human nature, and an insistence on the mutual dependency between people and the need for all individuals to 'act socially' - from dealings between states to common politeness.
