Wai-yee Li is the 1879 Professor of Chinese Literature at Harvard University. Her recent books include The Peach Blossom Fan (2024), Gender and Friendship in Chinese Literature (2024), A Topsy-Turvy World: Short Plays and Farces from the Ming and Qing Dynasties (Columbia, 2023), and The Promise and Peril of Things: Literature and Material Culture in Late Imperial China (Columbia, 2022).

Confucius is among the most admired—and most debated—figures in Chinese history. For some he epitomizes wisdom; for others, unfulfilled aspirations. Wai-yee Li introduces this polyphony through annotated translations of a variety of stories, from Confucius’s biography to a recent internet song. Students and scholars alike will enjoy this book immensely.

• AcknowledgmentsAbbreviations and Brief Explanations of Frequently Mentioned TextsIntroduction1. Chronicling Confucius2. Arguing with Confucius3. Outsmarting Confucius (or His Followers)4. Settling Scores with ConfuciusNotesWorks CitedIndex

Wai-yee Li is the 1879 Professor of Chinese Literature at Harvard University. Her recent books include The Peach Blossom Fan (2024), Gender and Friendship in Chinese Literature (2024), A Topsy-Turvy World: Short Plays and Farces from the Ming and Qing Dynasties (Columbia, 2023), and The Promise and Peril of Things: Literature and Material Culture in Late Imperial China (Columbia, 2022).

Confucius is among the most admired—and most debated—figures in Chinese history. For some he epitomizes wisdom; for others, unfulfilled aspirations. Wai-yee Li introduces this polyphony through annotated translations of a variety of stories, from Confucius’s biography to a recent internet song. Students and scholars alike will enjoy this book immensely.

• AcknowledgmentsAbbreviations and Brief Explanations of Frequently Mentioned TextsIntroduction1. Chronicling Confucius2. Arguing with Confucius3. Outsmarting Confucius (or His Followers)4. Settling Scores with ConfuciusNotesWorks CitedIndex