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The Five Classics () is a corpus of five ancient Chinese books used by Confucianism as the basis of studies. According to tradition, they were compiled or edited by Confucius himself.
Classic of Changes
The Classic of Changes or I Ching (易經 Yì Jīng), a manual of divination based on the eight trigrams attributed to the mythical emperor Fu Xi. (By Confucius' time these eight trigrams had been multiplied to sixty-four hexagrams.) The I Ching is still used by adherents of folk religion.
Classic of Poetry
The Classic of Poetry or The Book of Odes (詩經, Shī Jīng), made up of 305 poems divided into 160 folk songs; 74 minor festal songs, traditionally sung at court festivities; 31 major festal songs, sung at more solemn court ceremonies; and 40 hymns and eulogies, sung at sacrifices to gods and ancestral spirits of the royal house. This book is traditionally credited as a compilation from Confucius.
Classic of Rites
The Classic of Rites (禮記 Lǐ Jì), social forms and ceremonies (also spelled Liki), a restoration of the original Lijing, lost in the third century B.C., describes ancient rites and court ceremonies.
Classic of History
The Classic of History (書經 Shū Jīng) is a collection of documents and speeches alleged to have been written by rulers and officials of the early Zhou period and before. It contains examples of early Chinese prose.
Spring and Autumn Annuals
The Spring and Autumn Annals (春秋 Chūn Qiū, also known as 麟經 Lín Jīng), a historical record of the state of Lu, Confucius' native state, from 722 B.C. to 479 B.C. written (or edited) by Confucius, with implied condemnation of usurpations, murder, incest, etc.
Classic of Music
The Classic of Music (樂經, Yue Jing) is sometime referred to as the sixth classic, but was lost by the time of the Han Dynasty.
See also
External links
- http://www.chinaknowledge.de/Literature/literature_alphabet.html
Chinese classic texts | Confucian texts | Chinese literature
"Five Classics"