The Chinese Classical Work Commonly Called the Four Books, Tr. and Illustr. With Notes by D. Collie

The Chinese Classical Work Commonly Called The Four Books, Tr. And Illustr. With Notes By D. Collie by David Collie is an English translation and annotated edition of the Confucian canon commonly known as the Four Books. The volume presents the editor’s prefatory remarks and biographical sketches as part of a nineteenth?century attempt to render classical Chinese philosophy accessible to English readers. It includes the principal texts of the Great Learning (Ta HEO), The Mean (Chung Yung), The Analects (Shang Lun), and The Mencius (Mengzi), with translator’s notes and cross?references to other early translations and Latin or English versions. The copy contains extended prefatory material and commentary that critiques religious and moral errors from a Christian perspective, and it situates Confucian thought within debates about revelation, virtue, and civil governance. The edition aims to illustrate and illuminate these works for students of Chinese language and philosophy, emphasizing the moral and political implications of Confucian teaching while acknowledging the limitations of translation.