The Sayings of Confucius

by Confucius

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Genres: Philosophy, Nonfiction, Classics

126 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1946

About the author

Chinese philosopher Confucius, originally Kong Fuzi and born circa 551 BC, promoted a system of social and political ethics, emphasizing order, moderation, and reciprocity between superiors and subordinates; after his death in 479 BC, disciples compiled the Analects , which contains a collection of his sayings and dialogues.

Teachings of this social thinker deeply influenced Korean, Japanese, and Vietnamese life.

孔子 - Kong Zi
孔夫子 - Kong Fuzi (Kung Fu-Tzu)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confucius

Reviews

[Sotiris Makrygiannis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Difficult to follow sometimes but the sayings on education is more about personality types. Are we sure that Chinese did had contact with the Greeks? Lots of similarity with the Enchiridion and other stoics.

[JDL · Rating 4 out of 5]

-A bit hard to follow at times, with all the names, history and whatnot
Nevertheless, a very eye opening read packed with lots of morals and insights!! Was never bored and forced whenever i started reading. Dunno why it has such a low rating here but anyways, it was very insightful. Would recommend to people who likes deep, vague and meaningful phrases i guess. The sayings in this book was very well-crafted and rich (spoken like a tru book reviewer jk) The kind of book that must be read slowly with careful understanding and thought.

Favourite quote: "And he went on hoeing without stop" - Confucius 551 b.c

no but for real, "A gentleman shapes the good in man, he does not shape the bad in him. The small man does the contrary."


First read philosophy book -- so review might seem a bit biased but anyways.. good read!

[Dayla · Rating 5 out of 5]

Every head of state should read this book, which can be summed up in two sentences:

1. Always be a gentleman (gentlewoman) using one’s best manners for friend and foe

2. Beware of flattery from those around you, while you are in power.

My favorite Confucius saying:

In days of thy youth, ere thy strength is steady, beware of lust.

When manhood is reached, in the fullness of strength, beware of strife.

In old age, when thy strength is broken, beware of greed.

[Casey · Rating 1 out of 5]

Listened to the audio version on YouTube, and couldn't get past the first 10 minutes. These are pretty sayings if you need random snippets of motivation, other than that, boring.

[Barb Hunt · Rating 1 out of 5]

Couldn't finish this book. Very heavy going. I only attempted to read it because it's a set text for a course I'm doing.

[Josiah Richardson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Several sayings here that I was unaware are attributed to Confucius. Some good thoughts.