Analects of Confucius

The Analects by Confucius, translated by Raymond Dawson, 103 pages

The Analects is one of the "Four Books" that form the core texts of Confucianism, the dominant ethical and political philosophy of East Asia.  The Analects collects a set of aphorisms and anecdotes attributed to Confucius - the Latinized name of "Kong Fuzi" or "Master Kong" - or those in his immediate circle.  The quotations range from the profound ("The people may be made to follow something, but may not be made to understand it.") to the enigmatic ("How timely is the pheasant on the mountain bridge!") to the seemingly trivial ("When the Master was singing with others, he always had the good bits repeated before joining in.").  Throughout, the focus is on the maintenance of tradition, the role of the "gentleman" in government, and the cultivation of "humaneness", the key virtue of the gentleman.

The eclecticism of this work, its multiple layers of meaning, and its deeper harmonies all combine to draw in the reader even aside from its historical importance.  Obviously, people can and have dedicated their lives to studying it in conjunction with its philosophical siblings.  Dawson's notes, while brief, are invaluable for their explication of the cultural context of China in the Spring and Autumn period, without which any reader would be hopelessly lost.