ABSTRACT
First-time readers of the Analects of Confucius sometimes experience a vaguely disquieting intimation that the wisdom of the East may not travel as well as they had hoped. That the work is a classic of Chinese and of East Asian culture is indisputable; that it deserves its reputation as a classic of world culture may seem less sure. The Analects offers nothing resembling the exhilarating intellectual journeys of the Platonic dialogues, the robust religious dramas of the Bible, or the sublime metaphysical visions of the Upanishads. Nor does Confucius (551–479 b.c.e.), though an almost exact contemporary of Siddhartha Gotama, the historical Buddha, present a life story with a mythic shape so compelling and a central message so immediately intelligible that biographical fact fades into virtual irrelevance. For most readers Confucius emerges as an earnest and exemplary teacher, dedicated and skillful enough that there is little difficulty in seeing how in time he might gain the stature of a sage. Still, few are likely to nominate him for the title of father of a nation, savior of humankind, or world-honored one. From what we can learn of his life, he remained, like most teachers, a person of his time and place.
