Confucius's Analects : An Advanced Reader of Chinese Language and Culture

by Chen, Zu-yan

• ISBN13: 9781589016354
• ISBN10: 1589016351
• Edition: Bilingual
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2010-04-15
• Publisher: Georgetown Univ Pr

Summary

Confucius's Analects is an innovative textbook for teaching and learning Chinese language and culture at the advanced level. It combines classical and modern Chinese language skills, Chinese culture, and expository and narrative writing practice. Confucius's Analects (ca. 479 BC221 BC) is a central work of East Asian intellectual history that permeates Chinese and East Asian thought and values today. Students seeking to develop advanced language proficiency need to be familiar with the Analects in order to understand the wealth of literary allusions that appear in modern as well as classical Chinese writings. A selection of 82 passages, which are all educational and practical for present-day students, are grouped thematically into four parts-knowledge, morality, wisdom, and government-and covers Confucian teachings from personal cultivation to social contribution. Features: bull; A quadrupled text system includes quotations from the Analects, modern Chinese translations of these passages, short essays of exegesis that elaborate on the major points, and historical Chinese stories that illustrate the theme bull; Vocabulary expansion sections show how monosyllabic classical words have each expanded into ten selected modern bisyllabic words bull; Almost 300 idioms and corresponding exercises teach their rhetorical value and provide cultural exposure bull; Sections on function words help students to understand classical Chinese bull; Extensive writing practice in each chapter includes debate, composition, storytelling, and topical research-all requiring internet research bull; Audio files of recitation of the Analects passages by a native speaker are available online for free Designed for students who have studied Chinese for three years in college or an equivalent, this textbook is ideal for students of advanced Chinese, classical Chinese, and Chinese culture. Knowledge of classical Chinese is not a prerequisite.

Author Biography

Zu-Yan Chen is a professor of Chinese language and literature and director of the Confucius Institute at Binghamton University, SUNY. He is the coauthor of Li Bai and Du Fu: An Advanced Reader of Chinese Language and Literature and Chinese through Song.

Table of Contents

Preface	p. vii
Acknowledgments	p. xi
User's Guide	p. xiii
Confucius and the Analects	p. xvii
Knowledge	p. 1
Learning the Way	p. 3
Porridge Cakes	p. 7
Love for Learning	p. 13
Lamp of Fireflies	p. 16
The Four Prohibitions	p. 23
A Doctor-Traveler	p. 26
Inferring by Analogy	p. 33
Tones of the Zither	p. 36
The Ultimate Joy	p. 43
The Plum Blossom Painter	p. 46
Morality	p. 53
Filial Piety	p. 55
Grandma and the Office	p. 58
Righteousness and Profit	p. 65
The Promissory Notes	p. 68
Three Introspections Daily	p. 75
Critics of the Emperor	p. 78
Strength in Adversity	p. 85
A Determined Historian	p. 88
The Long Journey	p. 95
Death of a Premier	p. 98
Wisdom	p. 105
Self-Reliance	p. 107
The Taste of Gall	p. 110
Three Beneficial Friends	p. 117
The Slashed Mat	p. 120
Words and Deeds	p. 127
Talking a Good Game	p. 130
Advancing and Retreating	p. 139
World and Island	p. 142
Careers for Scholars	p. 149
A Statesman of Four Reigns	p. 152
Government	p. 157
Governing with Virtue	p. 159
A Palace without a Terrace	p. 162
Sovereigns and Subjects	p. 169
Three Visits to a Strategist	p. 172
Exemplary Leaders	p. 179
The Flying General	p. 182
The Upright above the Crooked	p. 189
A Tattooed General	p. 192
Economy and Education	p. 199
The Emperor's Dictionary	p. 202
Appendix: English Translations of the Analects Passages	p. 209
Vocabulary Index	p. 223
Proper Names Index	p. 257
Function Words Index	p. 265
Idiom Index	p. 283
Vocabulary Expansion Index	p. 289
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