Confucius Beyond the Analects

Author:
Michael Hunter

Publisher:
Brill

Publication Date:
February, 2017

Abstract:

In Confucius Beyond the Analects, Michael Hunter challenges the standard view of the Analects as the earliest and most authoritative source of the teachings of Confucius. Arguing from a comprehensive survey of the thousands of extant sayings and stories from the early period, Hunter situates the compilation and rise of the Analects in the Western Han period (206 BCE–9 CE), roughly three centuries after the death of Confucius. As a study of the growth and development of the Confucius figure over the course of the early period, the book is also meant to serve as a roadmap for those interested in exploring the wealth and diversity of Confucius material beyond the Analects.

Table of Contents:

Preliminary Material

Introduction

Part 1 Beyond the Analects

1 The Big Picture

2 A Dozen Perspectives on “Confucius” beyond the Analects

Part 2 The Analects in Context

3 The Analects Ascendant, ca. 100 BCE–220 CE

4 Searching for a Pre-Han Analects

5 Reading the Analects in Context
Digression – The Compilation and Rise of the Analects: A Speculative Scenario

6 Conclusion: Confucius, the Analects, and Early Chinese Thought