The Confucian Analects was a product of the Confucians during the Chunqiu and Zhanguo periods. The text was composed as a series of aphorisms recorded, it is generally agreed, by Confucius’ disciples and their followers, and these aphorisms were later combined into a collection. Since the Analects was not written in a systematic style, and the scope of the contents seems so diverse, without careful examination one may be mystified by this style of record.