The Analects - Paperback

by Confucius (Author), D. C. Lau (Translator), D. C. Lau (Introduction by)

Author Biography

Confucius (551-479 BC), though of noble descent, was born in humble circumstances. He believed that politics is only an extension of morals, and spent ten years travelling through the various states of China spreading his ideas. When he realised that there was no way of converting the feudal rulers to his way of thinking he returned to Lu and spent the rest of his life there teaching his pupils.

D.C. Lau read Chinese at the University of Hong Kong, and, in 1946, he went to Glasgow, where he read philosophy. In 1950 he entered the School of Oriental and African Studies in London to teach Chinese philosophy. After lecturing in Chinese philosophy at the University of London he returned to Hong Kong, where he is a Professor at the Chinese University.