The Morals of Confucius, A Chinese Philosopher.

CONFUCIUS,.

$3,200.00

Item Number: 107212

London: T. Horne, 1706.

Rare second edition in English of The Morals of Confucius. Small octavo, bound in full contemporary sheep contemporary sheep. In very good condition, toning to the extremities.

"[B]asically a translation of Le Morale de Confucius, philosophe de la Chine" (Savouret, 1688), The Morals of Confucius was "translated and abridged from the Latin translation of Prospero Intorcetta, Philippe Couplet, and others, or from an intervening French translation attributed to Louis Cousin or Jean de La Brune" (ESTC, T140229). Chinese philosopher Confucius’s principles had a commonality with earlier Chinese tradition with an emphasis on personal and governmental morality, ancestral veneration, respect for one’s elders, and strong family loyalty. His teachings left a legacy of disciples and gained widespread prominence under the Han and Tang Dynasties, became the official imperial philosophy of China after his death in 479 B.C.E., and remained the dominant philosophy in China until the early 20th century. Likely compiled and composed by his disciples after Confucius's death, the Analects, or Maxims, grew to be one of the central texts of Confucianism by the end of the Han Dynasty.