ABSTRACT
The Analects of Confucius provides an ample vocabulary for virtues or excellencies of ethical character. The frequent recurrence of certain terms such as ren (benevolence, humanity), li (rites), and yi (rightness, righteousness) suggests Confucius’s ongoing concern with the cultivation of fundamental virtues. Confucius’s remark that one thread runs through his teachings may be cited as partial support for ascribing a holistic quality to his thought (Analects, 14.15). However, we do not find a systematic scheme for conduct in the Analects. There is a lack of an explicit and coherent ordering of moral ideas. Also, throughout the history of Chinese thought and contemporary Chinese and western writings on Confucianism, we find a great variance of interpretation of fundamental concepts such as ren (Chan 1955, 1975).
