This is the first volume of the Lunyu 論語 (“Discourses”), hence what is written is for the most part on the intention of devoting oneself to the fundamentals. These serve as the gateway to the Way, the foundation for accumulating virtue, and the first concern of the student. Altogether there are sixteen verses. – Zhu Xi 朱熹

Volume One Introduction《學而》

1. Learn and Then 學而

2. As for Human Behavior 其為人也

3. Skillful Words 巧言

4. Three Introspections 三省

5. Translation in progress…

Q: What are the Four Books?

The “Four Books” was conceived by Song Dynasty scholar Zhu Xi, who selected these texts, crafted a systematic curriculum, wrote or selected from existing commentaries, and then first published them as a collection in 1190. This curriculum, known as the Four Books with Collected Commentaries 四書章句集注, in time replaced the “Five Classics” as the central focus of education, and established itself as the orthodox Confucian canon for six hundred years. Zhu gave this advice for how to read the texts…

I would ask that people first read the Great Learning in order to establish the [Confucian Way’s] framework. Next the Analects to ground its fundamentals. Then the Mengzi to observe its development. And finally the Doctrine of the Mean to strive for the ancients’ subtly mysterious insights.

The Great Learning, in a single piece of writing, provides graded steps and an order to be followed; always to be regarded as a whole, it is easy to understand and should be looked at first. The Analects, even though real and substantial, appear broken and scattered in its dialogue; at first look it is too difficult. The Mengzi has passages that arouse feelings and inspire development in men’s minds. The Doctrine of the Mean is also difficult to study; look at the other three books, only afterward is it appropriate to read it.

– Zhu Xi 朱熹

These works will be presented here without extensive translator commentary, which respects the fact that the influence of the traditional commentary has already proven legendary. It seems unlikely that such will be improved upon by our modern additions and subtractions. As an emperor of the Qing Dynasty put it…

Even if the sages were to return, they could not surpass his achievements. Zhu Xi brought the teachings of the ancients to a pinnacle and revived the scholarship that had been lost for thousands of years. He established definitive principles for countless generations. In his commentary on the Great Learning, he presents a logical progression from the pursuit of knowledge to the attainment of a peaceful world, and from the cultivation of virtue to the realization of the highest good. In discussing the Doctrine of the Mean, his explanations reveal the principles of balance and moderation, and his insights into the nature of things reach depths that previous sages could not attain. In his commentaries on the Discussions and the Mengzi, he examines each passage thoroughly, revealing the inner virtues and outer kingship that lie at the heart of the Confucian Way. This understanding is critical for all people.

– Kangxi Emperor 康熙帝

Have a look around, and learn about the project. For serious study I recommend using a tablet, as the mobile version does not display the poetry format and menu as well.

Resources:

For a review of Chinese philosophy, in the words of the sages themselves, there is no better than Wing-tsit Chan’s A Source Book in Chinese Philosophy (PDF). This 850-page collection of translations covers the full lineage of Chinese thought and is available online at this Internet Archive link.

For learning classical Chinese, which is not the same as modern Chinese, I recommend Standford’s Classical Chinese Self-study Course. It’s not as hard as you might think to get a bit of understanding of these ancient texts in the native language.

There's a handy Four Books Confucian Vocabulary page for learning basic concepts and their Chinese characters. But if you get more into this, I would recommend Paul Kroll’s A Student Dictionary of Classic and Medieval Chinese, which is available as an add-on to the Pleco app for iPhone.

Here is an essay on how the Lunyu got branded with the English title “Analects” by translator James Legge over 150 years ago, and why it is more properly titled “Discourses.” See The Analects: a Rectification of Names.

By the way, there’s a new and slowly growing Confucian Classics Study Group on Facebook. This is a monitored group for high quality discussion of the Classics in English. Given shifting geopolitics, it seems rather important that the Anglo-world understand real East Asian philosophy.

Blog:

January 2023: Working my way through volume one of the Discourses with Collected Commentaries 論語集注, decoding direct word-for-word style translations over my morning coffee. The more difficult verses require weeks of contemplation, research, and discussions with others in the Sino-philosophy community.

November 2023: Verses 1.1 to 1.16 are largely complete, but now going thru in detail and reconciling them with Zhu Xi’s lectures in the Yulei, which have also never been translated (point is, this is quite time consuming). Keep in mind the translations will still need to go through additional review before publication.

December 2023: Decided that volume one should be released as its own book. This will be a small Confucian practitioner's handbook, literally a fit-in-the-hand book for carrying around, to, as the text says, “learn and continually practice it.” The title is tentatively set as Fundamentals of the Way 道本, which comes from Zhu Xi’s own introduction to this volume.

March 2024: Verses 1-4 are now finalized, with links published on the newly designed home page. Note that the Chinese title brackets《Title》at the top of each verse page are clickable to advance or go back thru verses. Read here…