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Secondary sourceBookSong dynasty, 960-1279

The Four Books in Chapter and Verse with Collected Commentaries

Zhu Xi · Song dynasty, 960-1279

A Song-dynasty edition of Zhu Xi's commentary on the Four Books, which for six centuries defined how Confucius was studied and tested in China.

This commentary shaped how Confucius's teachings were read and tested in China for six centuries.

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Front cover of a Chinese bound book in tan paper with a faint floral and chrysanthemum pattern. A dark brown vertical label on the left bears three columns of black Chinese characters. Four stitched binding holes run down the right edge.
Zhu Xi, The Four Books in Chapter and Verse with Collected Commentaries, Song dynasty (960-1279).

About this source

What it is

This is a bound Chinese book containing Zhu Xi's commentary on the Four Books, a set of Confucian texts including the Analects. Zhu Xi (1130-1200) combined extracts from the Book of Rites with the Mencius and the Analects to create this work during the Song dynasty.

Why it matters

Zhu Xi's commentary became required study for anyone taking China's civil service examinations from 1313 until 1905. This means that for nearly six hundred years, almost every educated person in China learned about Confucius through Zhu Xi's interpretation rather than directly. It shows how later scholars shaped the memory and meaning of a historical figure for generations after his death.

Look closer

  • What does the binding and paper tell you about how books were made before printing presses?
  • Why might a government want one official interpretation of a philosopher's teachings?
  • How might Zhu Xi's own views have changed what later readers thought Confucius meant?

This book is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Confucius on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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