The Confucian Analects

Han Yu original: 韓文公, Han Wen-kung, a famous scholar of the eighth century during the Tang dynasty, expressed himself in the following terms: "The books of Mencius were not published by the man himself. After his death, his disciples, Wan Chang and Gongsun Chou original: Kung-sun Ch'ow, collaborating with one another, recorded the words of Mencius." original: 孟軻之書, 非軻自著, 軻既沒, 其徒萬章公孫丑, 相與記軻所言焉耳; "The books of Meng Ke [Mencius] were not written by Ke himself. After Ke died, his disciples Wan Chang and Gongsun Chou recorded what Ke had said together." See the note by Zhu Xi in his prefatory notice to Mencius.

5. If we wish to judge this matter, we find that we have a difficult task ahead of us. One thing is plain—the book is not the work of many different authors like the Confucian Analects. "If we look at the style of the composition," says Zhu Xi original: Choo He, "it is as if the whole were cast in a single mold original: melted together, rather than being pieces joined together." original: 觀其筆勢, 如鎔鑄而成, 非綴緝所就者; "Looking at the style of the writing, it is as if it were cast in a mold, not something patched together." Quoted in Surplus Notes on the Four Books [四書撫餘說], Mencius, article 1. This language is a bit too strong, but there is a degree of truth and force in it. No principle of chronology guided the arrangement of the different parts, and a foreigner may be pardoned if, now and then, the "pearls" seem to him to be "strung together at random." Yet, the collection is characterized by a consistent style and an effort in the separate Books to maintain a unified subject. This consideration, however, is not enough to decide the question. As the work stands, we can imagine it proceeding either from Mencius himself or from the labors of a few of his disciples working together.

The author of the Topography of the Four Books See volume 1, introductory discussion, page 132. offers this argument to show that the works of Mencius were written by Mencius himself: "The Confucian Analects," he says, "were compiled by the disciples, and therefore they record minutely the appearance and manners of the Sage [Confucius]. But the seven Books were written by Mencius himself, and therefore we have nothing in them except the words and public actions of the philosopher." original: 論語成于門人之手, 故記聖人容貌甚悉, 七篇成于己手, 故但記言語或出處; "The Analects were completed by the hands of the disciples; therefore, they record the Sage's appearance in great detail. The seven chapters [of Mencius] were completed by his own hand; therefore, they only record his words and his public life." See the Exegesis of the Classics under the Imperial Qing [皇清經解], section 24, at the end. This peculiarity is certainly consistent with the hypothesis of Mencius's own authorship, and to that extent, it may incline us to adopt it.

On the other hand, because the princes of Mencius's time are always mentioned by the honorary titles honorary epithets: names given to rulers posthumously to commemorate their character or achievements conferred on them after their deaths, it is argued that at least those names must have been introduced by his disciples. There are many passages,