Analects - Rongo

Japanese: 論語 - ろんご

A record of the words and deeds of Confucius (552/551-479 BC). 10 volumes, 20 chapters. According to the common Confucian theory, after Confucius' death, his disciples compiled the words of their master that had been written down. However, in reality, it was written by a disciple of a disciple, not a direct disciple. As proof of this, although in the Analects, as a rule, disciples are referred to by their first names, only Zeng Shen and You Ruo are referred to as Zengzi and You Zi , with the honorific "zi." This tells us that the Analects was compiled by the disciples of Zeng Shen and You Ruo (according to the theory of Liu Zongyuan and others of the Tang dynasty). Furthermore, since the writing style of the first and second halves of the Analects is slightly different, and the second half contains a novel-like story, it is likely that the second half was written by a disciple of the Sanden or Suden schools (theories by Cui Shu of the Qing Dynasty and Ito Jinsai of Japan).

[Honda Satoshi]

text

After the First Emperor of Qin burned all books, the Han dynasty searched far and wide for books. There were three different versions of the Analects: the 20 chapters of the Lu Treatise handed down in Lu, the 22 chapters of the Qi Treatise handed down in Qi, and the 21 ancient treatises that were pasted onto the walls of the homes of Confucius' descendants. Zhang Yu, who lived towards the end of the Han dynasty, combined the Lu Treatise and the Qi Treatise to create the 20 chapters of the Zhang Hou Treatise, which became widespread. Zheng Xuan of the Later Han dynasty combined the three types of treatises from Lu, Qi, and the ancient ones to make the total number of chapters 20. The Analects that is passed down today is based on the version written by Zheng Xuan.

[Honda Satoshi]

Each chapter is given a title such as "Learning" or "Waiting for Government". This title is taken from the first two characters of the first sentence of the chapter, " Learning and learning when it is necessary" and "Waiting for government by virtue", and has no particular meaning. Each chapter is made up of an average of 25 short chapters, and does not necessarily have a unified theme. However, there are many similar topics. For example, the "Learning" chapter contains many lessons for beginners, while the "Waiting for Government" chapter contains many discussions of politics. The Analects of Confucius records the words that Confucius spoke to people when the time came. There is no systematic theory in it. As Max Weber commented, "It is similar to the way an old Indian chief speaks" (Confucianism and Taoism). However, there is a vivid human wisdom that is not found in systematic philosophical treatises. For example, "The Master said, "I have learned and I follow this from time to time. Is it not also a joy to be taught? I have friends who come from far away. Is it not also a joy? I do not resent people who do not know me. Is this not also making me a gentleman?" (The Study Chapter). "The stables were burned. The Master retreated in the morning and said, "Have you injured anyone? Regardless of the horse" (The Countryside Dang Chapter). The writing in the Analects is unadorned. However, within its conciseness there is a natural rhythm and intonation that never bores the reader. Ito Jinsai was right when he described it as "the greatest book in the universe."

[Honda Satoshi]

Note

There are many commentaries on the Analects, but the most well-known are the Interpretation of the Analects, compiled by He Yan of the Three Kingdoms Wei dynasty from the collection of several theories, and the Commentary on the Analects, interpreted by Zhu Xi (Zhu Xi) of the Southern Song dynasty using new philosophical theory. The former is called the ancient commentary and the latter the new commentary. An expanded interpretation of the ancient commentary is by Xing Pei of the Song dynasty, and is included in the Commentary on the Thirteen Classics. The Commentary on the Analects by Huang Kan of the Liang dynasty fell into disuse early in his home country, but survived in Japan. The commentaries on the Analects by Zheng Xuan of the Later Han Dynasty were lost at the end of the Tang Dynasty, but about seven commentaries have been identified through an ancient manuscript discovered in Dunhuang in the early 20th century and a Tang Dynasty manuscript discovered in Turpan in 1969. The Analects of Confucius (Zhengy) by Liu Baonan of the Qing Dynasty is the most detailed in its exegesis. Original interpretations can be seen in the Japanese scholars Ito Jinsai's Ancient Meanings of the Analects and Ogyu Sorai's Analects of Confucius (Cho).

[Honda Satoshi]

Impact

The Analects of Confucius was already on a par with the Five Classics during the Han Dynasty (Han Shu, Art and Literature Journal). From the Song Dynasty onwards, it was added to the Analects of Confucius, along with Mencius, The Great Learning, and The Doctrine of the Mean, and was called the Four Books. The Analects of Confucius was imported to Japan by people from Baekje during the reign of Emperor Nintoku. It was also translated into various Western languages and was widely read.

[Honda Satoshi]

"The Analects, translated and annotated by Osamu Kanaya (Iwanami Bunko)" ▽ "The Analects, translated and annotated by Kojiro Yoshikawa (1966, Asahi Shimbun)" ▽ "The Analects, translated and annotated by Eiichi Kimura (1975, Kodansha)" ▽ "The Analects, translated and annotated by Takeo Hiraoka (1980, Shueisha)"

[Supplementary materials] | Analects/Collection of famous sayings

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

Japanese:

孔子(こうし)（前552／551―前479）の言行録。10巻20篇。儒家の通説では、孔子の死後、弟子たちがそれまでに書き留めていた師匠の語を論纂(さん)してつくった。ただし実際は、直(じき)弟子ではなく、弟子の弟子の手になる。その証拠に、『論語』のなかに出てくる弟子の称呼は呼び捨てが原則であるのに、曽参(そうしん)と有若(ゆうじゃく)だけは、曽子・有子と、敬称の「子」をつけてよばれる。これは、『論語』が曽参・有若の弟子によって編まれたことを物語る（唐の柳宗元(りゅうそうげん)らの説）。さらに、『論語』の前半と後半とでは文体がやや異なること、後半には小説的ストーリーもあることから、後半は三伝または数伝の弟子の手になるものであろう〔清(しん)の崔述(さいじゅつ)、日本の伊藤仁斎(じんさい)の説〕。

［本田　濟］

テキスト

秦(しん)の始皇帝(しこうてい)の焚書(ふんしょ)のあと、漢朝は広く書物を捜し求めた。『論語』には3種のテキストがあった。魯(ろ)に伝わる魯論20篇、斉(せい)に伝わる斉論22篇、孔子の子孫の家の壁に塗り込められていた古論21篇などである。漢末の張禹(ちょうう)は、魯論と斉論を折衷して張侯論20篇を定め、これが普及した。後漢(ごかん)の鄭玄(じょうげん)は、魯・斉・古の3種を折衷して篇数を20とした。今日伝わる『論語』は鄭玄本の系統である。

［本田　濟］

内容

各篇には学而(がくじ)とか為政とかの篇(へん)名がつけられている。これはその篇の最初の文章「学而時習之」「為政以徳」の冒頭の2字をとったもので、とくに意味はない。各篇は平均25章の短文からなり、かならずしも統一したテーマで貫かれているわけでない。ただ、おのずと類似の話題が多く集まってはいる。たとえば、学而篇には初学の者への教訓が多く、為政篇には政治の議論が多い、というように。『論語』の文章は、孔子が機(おり)に触れて人に語ったことばをそのまま記録する。そこには体系化された理論はない。マックス・ウェーバーが「インディアンの老首長(しゅちょう)の語り口に似る」と評したとおり（『儒教と道教』）。ただし、体系的な哲学論文にはみられない、生き生きした人間的叡智(えいち)がここにはある。例、「子曰(しのたまわ)く、学んで時にこれを習う。亦(また)説(よろこ)ばしからずや。朋(とも)有り遠方より来(きた)る。亦楽しからずや。人知らずして慍(うら)まず。亦君子ならずや」（学而篇）。「厩(うまや)焚(や)けたり。子、朝(ちょう)より退(しりぞ)きて、曰く、人を傷(やぶ)れりや、と。馬を問わず」（郷党篇）。『論語』の文章はなんの飾り気もない。しかし簡潔ななかに自然のリズムと抑揚とがあり、読む人を飽かせない。伊藤仁斎が「宇宙第一の書」と評したのは当たっている。

［本田　濟］

注釈

『論語』の注釈は数多いが、代表的なのは、三国魏(ぎ)の何晏(かあん)が何人かの説を集めて編んだ『論語集解(しっかい)』、南宋(なんそう)の朱熹(しゅき)（朱子）が新しい哲学理論で解釈した『論語集註(しっちゅう)』。前者を古注、後者を新注という。古注を敷衍(ふえん)解釈したのが宋の邢昺(けいへい)の疏(そ)で『十三経注疏』に収められる。梁(りょう)の皇侃(おうがん)による『論語義疏』は本国で早く滅び、日本に残存した。後漢(ごかん)の鄭玄(じょうげん)の『論語』注は唐末に滅んだが、20世紀初めに敦煌(とんこう)で発見された古写本と、1969年トルファンで発見された唐写本によって7編ほどが判明した。清(しん)の劉宝楠(りゅうほうなん)の『論語正義』は訓詁(くんこ)考証にもっとも詳細である。日本の伊藤仁斎の『論語古義』、荻生徂徠(おぎゅうそらい)の『論語徴(ちょう)』には独創的解釈がみられる。

［本田　濟］