Lunyu

One of four Confucian texts that, when published together in 1190 by Zhu Xi, made up the Four Books. Scholars consider Lunyu the most reliable source of the doctrine of Confucius. It covers almost all the basic ethical concepts of Confucianism — for example, ren (benevolence), junzi (the superior man), Tian (Heaven), zhong yong (doctrine of the mean), li (proper conduct), and zheng ming (rectification of names). It also contains many direct quotations from Confucius and personal glimpses of the sage as recorded by his disciples. See also Neo-Confucianism; Zhong yong.

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