Five classics

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The term Five Classics ( Chinese  五 經  /  五 经 , Pinyin Wǔjīng ) summarizes five works of classical Chinese literature , the study of which was particularly recommended by Confucius . They form the classic canon of Confucianism .

The Book of Rites in particular has had a profound impact on society in China , Japan , Korea and Vietnam .

But the effect of the classics was not limited to Asia. For example, the founder of analytical psychology Carl Gustav Jung was a follower of the Book of Changes .

The list of the Five Classics was expanded to the Thirteen Classics during the Han Dynasty . From around the 12th century onwards, the Five Classics were replaced as the classic Confucian canon by the Four Books .

The individual works

  • 易經Yijing , the Book of Changes ( Sixty- Four Hexagrams , Textbook of the Prophet)
  • 詩經Shijing , the Book of Songs (A Collection of Ancient Folk Songs)
  • 書 經Shujing , the Book of Documents (collection of laws and edicts with commentary)
  • 禮記Liji , the book of rites (rites for dealing with the ancestors, the king, the family)
  • 春秋Chunqiu , the spring and autumn annals (a chronicle of events in Confucius' homeland of Lu from the 8th to the 5th centuries BC)

Confucius is traditionally considered to be the author of the spring and autumn annals, all other works represent compilations that have grown over long periods of time. Both the Yijing and the Book of Songs go back in their oldest parts to the late western Zhou period (approx. 771 BC), the Shujing from the early Eastern Zhou period (771–256 BC), while the Liji probably not until the Han period (206 BC – 220 AD) ancient and contemporary materials were compiled.

See also

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