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Five Classics
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The Five Classics (Traditional Chinese: 五經; pinyin: Wǔjīng) 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.
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The Classic of Changes or I Ching (易經 Yì Jīng), a manual of divination based on the eight trigrams attributed to the mythical emperor Fu Xi. (By Confucius' time these eight trigrams had been multiplied to sixty-four hexagrams.) The I Ching is still used by adherents of folk religion.
The Classic of Poetry or The Book of Odes (詩經, Shī Jīng), made up of 305 poems divided into 160 folk songs; 74 minor festal songs, traditionally sung at court festivities; 31 major festal songs, sung at more solemn court ceremonies; and 40 hymns and eulogies, sung at sacrifices to gods and ancestral spirits of the royal house. This book is traditionally credited as a compilation from Confucius.
The Classic of Rites (禮記 Lǐ Jì), social forms and ceremonies (also spelled Liki), a restoration of the original Lijing, lost in the third century B.C., describes ancient rites and court ceremonies.
The Classic of History (書經 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. It contains examples of early Chinese prose.
The Spring and Autumn Annals (春秋 Chūn Qiū, also known as 麟經 Lín Jīng), a historical record of the state of Lu, Confucius' native state, from 722 B.C. to 479 B.C. written (or edited) by Confucius, with implied condemnation of usurpations, murder, incest, etc.
The Classic of Music (樂經, Yue Jing) is sometime referred to as the sixth classic, but was lost by the time of the Han Dynasty.
| The Four Books and Five Classics (四書五經) | |
| The Four Books: |
The Great Learning (大學) | The Doctrine of the Mean (中庸) | The Analects (論語) | The Mencius (孟子) |
|---|---|
| The Five Classics: |
Classic of Changes (易經) | Classic of Poetry (詩經) | Classic of Rites (禮記) | Classic of History (書經) | Spring and Autumn Annals (春秋) |
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