Editing Analects (section)

=== Commentaries ===
[[File:Commentaries of the Analects of Confucius.jpg|thumb|right|A copy of He Yan's commentary on the ''Analects'', with a sub-commentary by [[Xing Bing]], printed during the [[Ming dynasty]]]]
Since the Han dynasty, Chinese readers have interpreted the ''Analects'' by reading scholars' commentaries on the book. There have been many commentaries on the ''Analects'' since the Han dynasty, but the two which have been most influential have been the ''Collected Explanations of the Analects'' (''Lunyu Jijie'') by [[He Yan]] ({{circa|195–249}}) and several colleagues, and the ''Collected Commentaries of the Analects'' (''Lunyu Jizhu'') by [[Zhu Xi]] (1130–1200). In his work, He Yan collected, selected, summarized, and rationalized what he believed to be the most insightful of all preceding commentaries on the ''Analects'' which had been produced by earlier Han and [[Cao Wei|Wei dynasty]] (220–265&nbsp;AD) scholars.{{sfnp|Gardner|2003|pp=8, 13–14}}

He Yan's personal interpretation of the ''Lunyu'' was guided by his belief that [[Daoism]] and Confucianism complemented each other, so that by studying both in a correct manner a scholar could arrive at a single, unified truth. Arguing for the ultimate compatibility of Daoist and Confucian teachings, he argued that "Laozi [in fact] was in agreement with the Sage" (sic). The ''Explanations'' that was written in 248&nbsp;AD, was quickly recognized as authoritative, and remained the standard guide to interpreting the ''Analects'' for nearly 1,000 years, until the early [[Yuan dynasty]] (1271–1368). It is the oldest complete commentary on the ''Analects'' that still exists.{{sfnp|Gardner|2003|pp=8, 13–14}}

He Yan's commentary was eventually displaced as the definitive, standard commentary by Zhu Xi's commentary. Zhu Xi's work also brought together the commentaries of earlier scholars (mostly from the Song dynasty), along with his own interpretations. Zhu's work took part in the context of a period of renewed interest in Confucian studies, in which Chinese scholars were interested in producing a single "correct" intellectual orthodoxy that would "save" Chinese traditions and protect them from foreign influences, and in which scholars were increasingly interested in metaphysical speculation.{{sfnp|Gardner|2003|pp=18–20, 46}}

In his commentary Zhu made a great effort to interpret the ''Analects'' by using theories elaborated in the other Four Books, something that He Yan had not done. Zhu attempted to give an added coherence and unity to the message of the ''Analects'', demonstrating that the individual books of the Confucian canon gave meaning to the whole, just as the whole of the canon gave meaning to its parts. In his preface, Zhu Xi stated, "[T]he ''Analects'' and the ''[[Mencius (book)|Mencius]]'' are the most important works for students pursuing the [[Tao|Way]] [...] The words of the ''Analects'' are all inclusive; what they teach is nothing but the essentials of preserving the mind and cultivating [one's] nature."{{sfnp|Gardner|2003|pp=7–8, 21, 46}}

From the first publication of the ''Commentaries'', Zhu continued to refine his interpretation for the last thirty years of his life. In the fourteenth century, the Ming state endorsed Zhu's commentary. Until 1905 it was read and memorized along with the ''Analects'' by all Chinese aspiring to literacy and employment as government officials.{{sfnp|Gardner|2003|pp=7–8, 21, 46}}