About the Podcast
Exploring the Analects takes you passage by passage through the collected teachings of Confucius. Host Elliott Bernstein provides fresh translations, historical context, and insights for Mandarin learners while demonstrating the continued relevance of 2,500-year-old philosophical ideas to modern life.
The Analects, compiled by followers of the Confucian way in China between the 5th and 3rd centuries BCE, contains hundreds of passages touching on topics that can still teach us how to live our lives today.
Each episode includes an informal interpretation, the original Chinese text with pronunciation, formal translation, philosophical discussion, linguistic notes for Chinese learners, and contextual analysis.
Episodes
Click any episode below to read the guide and listen
Don't be a Tool
Confucius explains how to put your capabilities to good use in life. Learn why it's important to be broadly educated rather than narrowly specialized, and how this ancient wisdom applies to our modern world.
Teachers Aren't Gatekeepers
Discover Confucius's revolutionary approach to education and his belief that teaching should be accessible to all, regardless of background or social status.
Parking Reserved for Employee of the Year
Explore the deeper meaning behind Confucius's seating preferences and how they relate to social hierarchy, ritual, and proper conduct in ancient China.
Use Your Words
Examine the purpose of language and the distinction between words that genuinely communicate versus those that manipulate or deceive.
Won't you be my neighbor?
Delve into the concept of 德 (dé) or "moral charisma" and understand how virtue naturally attracts community and cannot exist in isolation.
The Corner Office
Learn about leadership qualities and meritocracy through Confucius's praise of his disciple Yong, who rose from humble origins to positions of authority.