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Books that Matter: The Analects of Confucius

Series: Great Courses
4.5
(17)
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Episodes
24
Rating
TVPG
Year
2016
Language
English
Publisher
The Great Courses

About

With Books That Matter: The Analects of Confucius, explore one of the world's most important philosophical texts. Filled with rich historical context, detailed close readings of key passages, and stories of Confucius and his students (and critics), these 24 lectures are required learning for anyone who wants a solid grasp of Eastern philosophy.

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Episodes

1 to 3 of 24

1. The Hidden Teaching Dynamic of the Analects

30m

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Before diving into the mysteries of the Analects, it's essential to get a broader view of Confucius and his style of teaching. Here, examine how the text's performative nature holds its diverse teachings together, and explore Confucius's mission to return China to a more harmonious era in its history.

2. The Analects: A Bird's-Eye View

30m

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The Analects, according to Professor LaFleur, shouldn't just be read. It should be lived. Learn how to enter the book's world by considering Confucius's imaginative ideas about living in society. Also, practice your ability to navigate through the book's tangle of questions and answers, assertions and observations, and challenges and retorts.

3. The Man We Call Confucius

30m

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Who was Confucius? How did he manage to become one of the most important figures in world history? Get the full backstory on what historians know about the man called Confucius, including the opinions of thinkers like Mencius and Xunzi, and several illuminating passages from Chapter 10 of the Analects.

4. How the Analects Is Organized

30m

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The structure of the Analects offers a helpful way in which to approach and understand the text's deeper meanings. Break down Confucius's book into its "chapters" (juan), the scattered nature of its tiny nuggets of knowledge ("analects"), and the generations of historical commentary winding among these approximately 500 individual sayings.

5. The Provenance of the Analects

30m

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Archaeological discoveries were key to transforming scholarly understanding of early Chinese texts. In this lecture with the feel of a detective story, unearth the oldest version of the Analects (bamboo fragments found in a tomb in north-central China) and discover why there's no one single version of this world classic.

6. The Analects in Miniature

30m

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For those readers who've never encountered the Analects before, there's no better way to approach it than through its first five statements - which contain an entire world of philosophical knowledge. Join Professor LaFleur as he unpacks core themes in these iconic passages, including individual conduct and effective statesmanship.

Extended Details

  • Closed CaptionsEnglish

Artists

Robert LaFleurwriter
Robert LaFleuractor