The First Ten Books by Confucius

The First Ten Books Reviews

• 
  Laala Kashef Alghata

  It’s fascinating to read books that are so infused with knowledge. It’s also fascinating to me to finally read things that I feel like I should have already read.
  
  I’ve posted a lot of quotes from this book. I really enjoyed reading it. But when I read The Art of War last month, I felt like reading it gave me a clearer view of some things. The language was also very concise, and because it was so laden with meaning, hard-hitting. I didn’t feel that as much with Confucius.
  
  I think I also needed to know more about Confucius before I read this, more about his companions. Because the way it’s written includes other characters who I don’t know at all. I did like it. I just should’ve been a little more knowledgeable about the matter. It didn’t detract from my understanding, but it did affect my appreciation.
• 
  Ana

  Composed from the first ten books of
  The Analects, these sayings hope to cultivate an all-encompassing sense of virtue by teaching that desires do not need to be suppressed, but that people should be educated to reconcile their desires via rituals and forms of propriety.
• 
  Rupertt Wind

  This is intense and concentrated, Frankly I did not undesr=rstand half of it.
  
  This is not your cofee table book, but one that requires greater effort and higher concentration in its study
• 
  Hülya Can

  This needs some serious reading as you will have difficulty making sense out of the names and the places. I advise using side resources to get a grasp of the philosophy.
  The Analects by Conficius are comprised of 20 books focusing on Conficius’ ideology of a True Prince, ‘junzi’ and the best way to govern a state, ‘dao’. The book does not seem to follow a chronological or semantic order. There are extracts taken from his speeches or dialogues with his disciples. I am not dying to read the other ten books but I am glad to have got a taste of a text as ancient as this one.
  Alsı, I did not find the translation to be very helpful since I referred to another resource to cross-check.
• 
  Francisco

  Collecting the first 10 books of Confucius' Analects, probably one of the most influential and widely read texts in the history of humanity, this 60 page booklet is an pretty interesting read and introduction to the thought of Confucius and there are characteristics of his thought that would go on to form and influence East Asian culture down to our days which are easily recognizable here.
  
  Ideas of filial piety, correct behavior, proper etiquette and moral behavior as well as the foundational importance of ritual are all here. Often spoken in the same breath as religion, the majority of the writings consist of rules for living giving examples of character who act admirably and others badly, Confucius himself is often a character in the books, exemplifying behavior in sections most likely written by his students. Little of what we can recognize as "religious" is here at all, except for the fact that he enjoins people to perform rituals to the ancestors and so forth as a part of a more general view of society respectful of the elderly, living or dead.
  
  While a lot of the texts here demand some previous knowledge of Chinese history (and truly ancient history at that), there are plenty of pithy sayings that still resound with readers thousands of years later. My favorite: "The gentleman knows what is right, the small man knows what is profitable", Confucius: anti-capitalist icon.
• 
  Stephane

  While I am sure there is much more to his writing, this book by Confucius lacks context, especially when meant as an introduction to his thinking/writing.
  Not knowing Confucius or very much about the time period he wrote in, this book was deeply disappointing since I had a hard time making heads or tails of it and for this I blame the editors, not the writer.
• 
  Alan

  I am slowly becoming a big fan of Eastern philosophy. While vague at some points, Confucius' writing is beautiful and full of wisdom. I wish I understood all the references, but not knowing them did not really hamper the reading experience. Worth the read!
• 
  Jared Tobin

  DC Lau's translation here is far superior to the one found in the Penguin Classics edition of the Analects.
• 
  Sunny

  some interesting snippets of information. this small book is a colletion of a few of confucious's sayings. the main thing i noticed here is his insistence of a focus on humanity and what we have before our eyes on earth as apposed to something ethereal and mor esoteric in heaven. almost akin to saying that a day devoted to mankind and the enhancement of society is more important than a month in devotion to God. i liked that idea in many ways actually.
• 
  Jon

  Parts are interesting (mostly the anecdotes, and bit which give insight into Confucius the man. It's a grab bag of anecdote, one liners, and cryptic statements. All offered without much organisation or obvious progression. As a result it could really have done with an introduction to put it all in context.
  
  Interesting as an artefact, but I don't think I would recommend.
• 
  Gareth Pretty

  Hard work. I probably needed to know more than I do to understand most of this. That's not say it's not a good read. I picked a few useful gems from it.
• 
  Ian Vollbracht

  A collection of short phrases that a merit long meditation.