SOURCE: An introduction to and "Terms," in The Analects of Confucius, George Allen & Unwin Ltd, 1938, pp. 13-26, 27-50.

In the following excerpt, Waley comments on Confucius's life, his disciples, and the origins of the Analects. The critic also defines several key terms used in the Analects.

I

Thought grows out of environment. Ideally speaking the translator of such a book as the Analects ought to furnish a complete analysis of early Chinese society, of the processes which were at work within it and of the outside forces to which it reacted. Unfortunately our knowledge of the period is far too incomplete for any such synthesis to be possible. The literary documents are scanty and of uncertain date; scientific archaeology in China has suffered constant setbacks and is still in its infancy. All that I have attempted in the following pages is to arrange such information as is accessible...