Confucius stands alone among the world’s greatest thinkers. Perhaps no other teacher has exerted so powerful a hold over so many people for so long. For two and a half millennia his sayings, preserved and developed by generations of his followers, have shaped the cultural and political life of the world’s most populous nation, and they continue to offer fresh insights for today’s globalised society. This text sets Confucius’s life and teaching in the context of the long history of China, and examines the origins, meanings and influence of one of history’s most enduring philosophical traditions.
About the Author
Neil Wenborn is a freelance writer and publishing consultant whose work has appeared widely both in Britain and in the United States. Co-editor of the highly respected History Today Companion to British History (Collins & Brown) and A Dictionary of Jewish-Christian Relations (Cambridge University Press), he has also written biographies of Haydn and Stravinsky, and is the author of Dvořák and Mendelssohn in Naxos’s Life and Music series. His recent publications include a study of Jane Austen’s Emma (humanities-ebooks.co.uk) and The French Revolution – In a Nutshell (Naxos AudioBooks). A collection of his award-winning poetry, Firedoors, is published by Rockingham Press.