Page:China- Its State and Prospects.djvu/183

Rh most of which were compiled by Confucius and his disciples. The five classics are the Yĭh king, "book of diagrams;" the She king, "collection of odes;" the Le ke, "record of ceremonies;" the Shoo king, containing the history of the three first dynasties; and the Chun tsew, which is an account of the life and times of Confucius. The book of diagrams is ascribed to Wăn-wang, B.C. 1130; the book of odes contains several pieces, referrible to the same age, and is a selection from a larger number, extant in the time of Confucius, and by him collected and published; the book of ceremonies was, probably, compiled from previously-existing documents, in the same manner. The history of the three dynasties commences with an account of Yaou and Shun, in the traditionary period, coeval with Noah; and describes the principal events of antiquity, down to the times of Wăn, and Woo-wang, B.C. 1120, and is probably the production of Chowkung, the brother of those monarchs. The last of the ancient classics was written by Confucius himself, and having been commenced in spring and concluded in autumn, was called chun chew, "spring and autumn." Of the "four books," the two first, chung yung, "the happy medium;" and ta-hëŏ, "the great doctrine;" were written by Tsze-sze, the grandson and disciple of Confucius: the third, called the Lun-yu, "book of discourses," is the production of the different disciples of the sage, who recollected and recorded his words and deeds; while the last of the four books was written by Măng-tsze, or Mencius, the disciple of Tsze-sze, and bears the name of its author.

These five classics, and four books, are highly prized by the Chinese, and constitute the class books in