The Four Books and Five Classics (Traditional Chinese: 四書五經, Simplified Chinese: 四书五经, pinyin: Sìshū Wŭjīng) are the authoritative books of Confucianism in China. Traditional Chinese characters are one of two standard character sets. ... Simplified Chinese characters (Simplified Chinese: 简体字; Traditional Chinese: 簡體字; pinyin: jiÇŽntǐzì; also Simplified Chinese: 简化字; Traditional Chinese: 簡化字; pinyin: jiÇŽnhuàzì) are one of two standard character sets of printed contemporary Chinese written language. ... Pinyin is a system of romanization (phonemic notation and transcription to Roman script) for Standard Mandarin, where pin means spell and yin means sound. The most common variant of pinyin in use is called Hanyu Pinyin (Simplified Chinese: , Traditional Chinese: ; pinyin: HànyÇ” PÄ«nyÄ«n), also known as scheme... Confucianist temple Thian Hock Keng in Singapore Confucianism (Traditional Chinese: , Simplified Chinese: , pinyin: Rúxué [   ], literally The School of the Scholars; or 孔教 Kŏng jiào, The Teachings of Confucius) is a Chinese ethical and philosophical system originally developed from the teachings of the early Chinese sage Confucius. ...

Four Books

Main article: Four Books

The Four Books are Chinese classic texts that Zhu Xi selected, in the Song dynasty, as an introduction to Confucianism: the Great Learning, the Doctrine of the Mean, the Analects of Confucius, and the Mencius. The Four Books, or the Four Classics, are the Chinese classic texts selected by Zhu Xi in the Song dynasty to serve as an introduction to Chinese philosophy and Confucianism. ... Chinese classic texts or Chinese canonical texts are the classical literature in Chinese culture that are considered to be the best or the most valuable. ... Zhu Xi or Chu Hsi (1130–1200) was a Song Dynasty (960-1279) Confucian scholar who became one of the most significant Neo-Confucians in China. ... The Song Dynasty (Chinese: ) was a ruling dynasty in China from 960-1279. ... The Great Learning (Chinese: 大學, pinyin: Dà Xué) is the first of the Four books which were selected by Zhu Xi in the Song Dynasty as a foundational introduction to Confucianism. ... The Doctrine of the Mean (Chinese: 中庸; Pinyin: ) is one of the Four Books, part of the Confucian canonical scriptures. ... Engraving of Confucius. ... Mencius (most accepted dates: 372 BC – 289 BC; other possible dates: 385 BC – 303 BC or 302 BC) was born in the State of Zou (鄒國), now forming the territory of the county-level city of Zoucheng (邹城市), Shandong province, only 30 km (18 miles) south of Qufu, the town of Confucius. ...

Five Classics

Main article: Five Classics

The Five Classics is a corpus of five ancient Chinese books used by Confucianism as the basis of studies. According to tradition, they were compiled or edited by Confucius himself. They are Classic of Changes, Classic of Poetry, Classic of Rites, Classic of History, and Spring and Autumn Annals The Five Classics (五經, WÇ”jÄ«ng) is a corpus of five ancient Chinese books used by Confucianism as the basis of studies. ... Alternative meaning: I Ching (monk) The I Ching (Traditional Chinese: 易經, pinyin yì jīng; Cantonese IPA: jɪk6gɪŋ1; Cantonese Jyutping: jik6ging1; alternative romanizations include I Jing, Yi Ching, Yi King) is the oldest of the Chinese classic texts. ... Shī Jīng (詩經), translated variously as the Classic of Poetry, the Book of Songs or the Book of Odes, is the first major collection of Chinese poems. ... Classic of Rites The Classic of Rites (禮記 Lǐ Jì, or Liki) was one of the Five Classics of Confucianism; it described social forms, ancient rites, and court ceremonies. ... The Classic of History (書經/书经 Shū Jīng) is a collection of documents and speeches alleged to have been written by rulers and officials of the early Zhou period and before. ... The Spring and Autumn Annals (春秋 ChÅ«n QiÅ«, also known as 麟經 Lín JÄ«ng) is the official chronicle of the state of Lu covering the period from 722 BCE to 481 BCE. It is the earliest surviving Chinese historical text to be arranged on annalistic principles. ...

See also

• Chinese classic texts
• Chinese literature

Chinese classic texts or Chinese canonical texts are the classical literature in Chinese culture that are considered to be the best or the most valuable. ... // [edit] Classical texts Main article: Chinese classic texts China has a wealth of classical literature, both poetry and prose, dating from the Eastern Zhou Dynasty (770-256 BCE) and including the Classics attributed to Confucius. ...