Four Books
Neo-Confucian core curriculum
The Four Books is an abbreviated name for the Four Books of Confucianism—the Analects, Mencius, Great Learning, and Doctrine of the Mean.
These texts formed the core curriculum for Chinese civil service examinations for centuries and remain foundational to Confucian thought: Scholars were expected to master the Four Books before advancing to the Five Classics. (Lowercase four books is simply a quantity.)
- AnalectsClassical Chinese wisdom text
- MenciusClassical Confucian thinker
- junziConfucian ideal person
- Neo-ConfucianismSong-era philosophical synthesis
- self-cultivationIntentional personal growth
benevolence · sages · virtue · righteousness · filial piety · propriety · harmony · moral philosophy · ethics · civil service exams · scholar-officials · scholarly tradition · literary style · examinations · rhetorical devices · cultural identity · ink · ancient
- Asian ScripturesVedas, Upanishads, Bhagavad Gita, Guru Granth Sahib, Tao Te Ching
- scripturesBible, Vedas, Quran, Torah, Torah scroll
- ConfucianismConfucius, Analects, Mencius, benevolence, filial piety
- SinologyChinese history, Chinese philosophy, Chinese art, Confucianism, Daoism
- Confucian TextsAnalects, Mencius
- Eastern ScripturesTao Te Ching, I Ching, Analects, Mencius, Tibetan Book of the Dead
Four BooksBible
Christian sacred writings
Quran · Torah · Vedas · Upanishads · Bhagavad Gita