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The Analects of Confucius: A Philosophical Translation (Classics of Ancient China) | 
 enlarge | Authors: Roger T. Ames, Jr. Henry Rosemont
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Category: Book
List Price: $15.00
Buy New: $8.37
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Avg. Customer Rating:  10 reviews
Sales Rank: 84901
Media: Paperback
Edition: 1
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 352
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.7
Dimensions (in): 8.2 x 5.5 x 0.8
ISBN: 0345434072
Dewey Decimal Number: 181.112
EAN: 9780345434074
ASIN: 0345434072
Publication Date: September 7, 1999
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: Brand new item. Over 3.5 million customers served. Order now. Selling online since 1995. Order with confidence. Code: B20081202223058T
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Amazon.com Review
There are more translations of Confucius' Analects than you can shake a stick at, but until now none have plumbed the depths of Confucius' thinking with such a keen sensitivity to philosophical and linguistic underpinnings. Following up on his groundbreaking work with David Hall in Thinking Through Confucius, Roger Ames has teamed up with Henry Rosemont to put theory into practice, portraying Confucius in light of his communitarian leanings. In a translation that comes off as surprisingly relaxed and colloquial, gone are the adherence to strict rules of propriety and righteous moralizing. Confucius has long been the victim of a certain unwitting Christianization, having been interpreted through the lens of Western philosophical assumptions. Ames and Rosemont scale away these assumptions, revealing a flexible and subtle thinker whose ideas of how to live well in a harmonious community have much to offer a fragmented society tied to reductive atomism and the exclusive exaltation of the individual. --Brian Bruya
Product Description
"To quietly persevere in storing up what is learned, to continue studying without respite, to instruct others without growing weary--is this not me?"
--Confucius
Confucius is recognized as China's first and greatest teacher, and his ideas have been the fertile soil in which the Chinese cultural tradition has flourished. Now, here is a translation of the recorded thoughts and deeds that best remember Confucius--informed for the first time by the manuscript version found at Dingzhou in 1973, a partial text dating to 55 BCE and only made available to the scholarly world in 1997. The earliest Analects yet discovered, this work provides us with a new perspective on the central canonical text that has defined Chinese culture--and clearly illuminates the spirit and values of Confucius.
Confucius (551-479 BCE) was born in the ancient state of Lu into an era of unrelenting, escalating violence as seven of the strongest states in the proto-Chinese world warred for supremacy. The landscape was not only fierce politically but also intellectually. Although Confucius enjoyed great popularity as a teacher, and many of his students found their way into political office, he personally had little influence in Lu. And so he began to travel from state to state as an itinerant philosopher to persuade political leaders that his teachings were a formula for social and political success. Eventually, his philosophies came to dictate the standard of behavior for all of society--including the emperor himself.
Based on the latest research and complete with both Chinese and English texts, this revealing translation serves both as an excellent introduction to Confucian thought and as an authoritative addition to sophisticated debate.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 5 more reviews...
 TOO scholarly August 3, 2007
0 out of 2 found this review helpful
This version may be historically accurate, but like historically accurate versions of the Bible, it is boring because of this fact. I prefer more soul-ful renditions, such as the Penguin translation. Worth having along with another more colorful translation.
 excellent resource November 6, 2006
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
What an excellent resource for Asian studies in general. The translation is great to compare with Lau et al. And the other material sheds light on previous interpretations of the text and context.
Very interesting, historical, and different from anything else October 18, 2006
4 out of 6 found this review helpful
This is a nicely presented book, containing over 325 pages. The
graphics are well done (cover, and layout of the text within, including
the chinese original phrases, for those reading Mandarin). There's a lot
of footnotes in the back, stimulating further research, and backing up
the interpretations contained within, as well as an appendix with more
material, that is intended to add context to Confucius' outlook on
societal relationships and behavioral beliefs.
Next, I had to admit that each page has different scenarios of interaction
among people, or philosophical reflections, such that, for some, this
book is a cure for insomnia, no doubt. The fact that Europeans and North
Americans have not been taught to read the Chinese alphabet or the language, further beckons understanding.
Also, the 65 page introduction to the Analects is surely relevant
as the author justifies himself, of some choices in terminology as
compared to other translations and the works of previous tranlators.
A read here on Amazon didn't understand how an archeological find could
bring higher understanding of these classics from Ancient China. Well,
the answer resides in the manuscripts. Much like the Holy Bible was
discovered in several languages (Greek, and also near-Hebraic languages,
for example) the meaning of the texts and the final translation will
depend a lot on on the ability of the underlying language to express
human thought, and the scholar's ability to read it, understand it,
interpret it, and translate it for English speakers, no doubt.
For $10 and change, this is a not a bad work to own.
Sheds new light on Confucius August 17, 2004
8 out of 10 found this review helpful
Confucius has been much maligned since he is perceived as wanting a static rigid society. This translation attempts to show that that is not really true. The translators and editors explain in the foreword that the Chinese language is dynamic, and therefore Confucius sayings does not reflect a static society, but rather a society in a constant flux. It does come out that Confucius will not tolerate revolution, but he does accept evolution. He is not preaching a static society, but rather that all development should build on the previous.
While he stresses the importance of ritual, he also hammers in that ritual must be combined with warmth, caring, and even humour. A more gentle, less rigid, Confucius appears in this translation.
Lastly, I think Confucianism relates to Daoism as Shaolin relates to t'ai ch'i (or Bruce Lee to Yang Cheng Fu): on is concerned with the external, and one with the internal. It is just a matter of which way you chose. Ones you have achieved mastery, there is no difference.
 error in the previous review August 16, 2004
6 out of 6 found this review helpful
Daomonkey's reviews exhibit detailed knowledge in Chinese philosophy, and I agree with many of his criticisms. But he has made a small error in his review of this book, which is important to note.
This book is NOT by Hall and Ames, and thus does not show the proclivity towards 'pragmatization' that runs throughout their stimulating work. Rather, it is by Ames and ROSEMONT, a philosopher who has published extensively on topics in Chinese philosophy. You will find little by way of "speculative acrobatics and obsolete wheedlings" here.
The unconventional nature of the translation may seem awkward at first but repays careful reading; Ames and Rosemont provide good arguments in the introduction for adopting them.
(Also, the translation by Slingerland he mentions, published by Hackett, is indeed a fine translation with much running commentary.)
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