What are the Five Classics of Confucianism?

The Five Classics is the collective name of five ancient classic works based on Confucianism. It is said that they were edited or revised by Confucius, one of the founders of Confucianism. There are six Confucian classics, namely The Book of Songs, Shangshu, Yili, Jing Yue, Zhouyi and Chunqiu.

Qin Shihuang "burned books to bury Confucianism". It is said that Yue Ji was lost after the Qin fire. On this basis, The Analects of Confucius, The Book of Filial Piety and The Seven Classics of * * * were added in the Eastern Han Dynasty. Zhou Li, Book of Rites, Biography of the Spring and Autumn Ram, Biography of the Spring and Autumn Valley, Erya and Twelve Classics were added in the Tang Dynasty. Mencius was supplemented in the Song Dynasty, and later the Notes to Thirteen Classics was handed down from generation to generation. Thirteen Classics is the basic work of Confucian culture. As far as traditional concepts are concerned, Yi, Shi, Shu, Li and Chunqiu are called classics, while Zuo Zhuan, Yang Gongzhuan and Gu Liangzhuan belong to Chunqiu Jingzhuan and Book of Rites. The last five classics refer to Zhouyi, Shangshu, Book of Songs, Book of Rites and Zuo Zhuan.

The Five Classics refer to The Book of Songs, Shangshu, Zhou Li, Yijing and Chunqiu. The Book of Songs is the earliest collection of poems in China, and * * * contains 305 poems of the Zhou Dynasty. Originally called "Poetry" or "Poetry 300", Confucian scholars in the Han Dynasty began to call "The Book of Songs". The existing Book of Songs was handed down by Mao Heng in the Han Dynasty, so it is also called Mao Shi.