The Analects: A Guide

Description

The Analects is the most influential record of the teachings of Kongzi (known to most Westerners as Confucius) and is an important sacred text that stands alongside other sacred texts from around the world. This guide, in addition to providing an overview of the Analects, argues that we have good reasons to study the Analects as a sacred text, and that doing so sheds light not only on the text and the Confucian tradition, but on what the sacred is more broadly.

• The first book to examine the Analects in an accessible yet detailed fashion, including its textual history, teachings, influence, and canonical status
• Gives special attention to what makes the Analects a sacred text
• Presents a significant new interpretation of the Analects

About the Author(s)

Erin M. Cline, Paul J. and Chandler M. Tagliabue Distinguished Professor in Interfaith Studies and Dialogue, Georgetown University

Erin M. Cline is the Paul J. and Chandler M. Tagliabue Distinguished Professor in Interfaith Studies and Dialogue at Georgetown University and Senior Research Fellow in the Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs at Georgetown University. The author of five books, she is especially interested in how the virtues, values, and rituals that classical Chinese philosophers emphasized can help us to live better lives today.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments
Series Introduction: Guide to Sacred Texts
A Note on Conventions
Chapter 1 Is the Analects a Sacred Text?
Chapter 2 Date, Authorship, and Historical Context
Chapter 3 The Sacred in the Everyday
Chapter 4 Spirits and Tian in the Analects
Chapter 5 Disciples, Commentators, and Canonical Status
Chapter 6 Particular Issues and Interpretations: Voices from the Margins and Enduring
Influence
Glossary
Bibliography
Index