The dao of each thing is incorporated into and implicated within the Cosmic Dao, and it flourishes or stagnates depending upon the degree to which it harmonizes with or strays from the Dao. 'As the universe has its own natural way of emerging and acting, so too does each thing or class of things have its own manner of development. Dao is the way things are meant to be, the telos. Unlike their Greco counterparts who enjoyed leisure, the founding fathers of Chinese philosophy wrote with a sense of urgency and pragmatism.Ĭonfucius taught in this period, and his cosmology centered around Tian, or Heaven, that laid out a specific Dao, or way. As a result, there was pressure on rulers to incorporate meritocracy and attract brilliant officials who could make his state flourish and seem more attractive to the common citizen. One of the key factors that decided the might of a state was the number of its citizens. In the period of the warring states, where many of the foundations of Chinese philosophy was laid, states competed against each other across the board and citizens were often free to move between states. With that said, I’ve decided to share these unedited notes on the off chance they are helpful to other readers. These notes were created during my reading process to aid my own understanding and not written for the purpose of instruction. Original resource at: National Diet Library.ĭescription based on data extracted from World Digital Library, which may be extracted from partner institutions.My preferred way of engaging with books is reconstruction. Original resource extent: 1 book 27.6 x 21.2 centimeters. Title devised, in English, by Library staff. A sumptuous cover made of Nishijin brocade was put on the book in the Edo period. The work in the collection of the National Diet Library has a back flyleaf with Nobukata's autograph provenance notes dated November of the 16th year of the Tenmon era (1547) and is clearly printed therefore this seems to be a rare first edition. The Tenmon Analects were published in the second year of the Tenmon era (1533) by members of the Asaino family, a physician and a publisher in Sakai, who based it on the treasured book by Kiyohara Nobukata (1475-1550), the authority on Confucian studies in his time. This work is called the 'Tenmon version,' the second version of the published Rongo in Japan after the Rongo shikkai (known as the Shōhei version) first published in Japan in the 19th year of the Shōhei era (1364).

It is said to have been introduced to Japan around the fifth century. Rongo (Analects) is famed as the collection of the words and deeds of Confucius and has greatly influenced the culture of China and neighboring nations as the most cherished scripture of Confucianism.

The anelects