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Introduction chapter. Denotatively, the title of the whole -Lun
yu – “analects”, “conversations”, labels the

This article has at its center the explicit content of the book dominated by dialogues and
notion of “deference” (rang). However, rang is aphoristic statements.” (Confucius 1995, 10)
not found very frequently in the Analects of Therefore, it is more useful that the entry
Confucius: the notions of “ritual” (li) or into the Confucian universe takes place through
“humanity” (ren) appear much more often. its key notions, not according to the way in

However, it is not necessary to assess their which the chapters of the Lunyu are ordered.
importance according to quantitative criteria. Next, I will review the Confucian notions
To illustrate the relationship between the starting with ren, “humanity”, and leaving for

notions, we can imagine them as forming a later the concept on which I will focus in the
constellation: without having a regular work, rang, “deference”.
geometric shape, they represent a whole from
which no element can be removed without
unbalancing the configuration. The notions can Ren: Chinese Virtue of Humanity

also be illustrated in a syntactic relationship. Made up of the semantic radical (but
They do not overlap or replace each other, they also with a phonetic role in this case) ren 人,
form a whole within each element which has a “man” and the numeral “two” er 二, ren is the

particular function. emblem of what we usually call “humanity”.
Considering the unsystematic Undoubtedly, precise and definitive translation
character of the Analects, a staggered of the term is an impossible task. However, the
discussion according to the order of the graphic-semantic composition does not allow,
chapters would be meaningless. The passage at least in order to be able to operate with this

quoted below is illuminating from this point of term, to be satisfied for the moment with the
view: translation or equating of the concept as such.
“The work that is unanimously The Shuo wen jie zi dictionary (SWJZ,

attributed to Confucius, Lun yu (Analects), is 161) identifies ren by qin親, which means “to
presented in the form of a collection of love, to endear.” In ancient Chinese, qin also
anecdotes, maxims, short parables, definitions means “parents”, “relatives”, “close” and “in
and sayings, on mainly intellectual and moral person”. The same dictionary explains ren as a
themes, intended for the formation of kind of love oriented to more than one direction,

“humanities', introduced most often by the a double love, if we can say so, and hence the
formula of the dialogue between the Master existence of the character used to denote the
and the disciples and arbitrarily ordered into 20 numeral “two” in the composition of the

chapters, each rather heterogeneous, difficult ideogram ren. Ren also means “good, loving
to always center around a thematic nucleus, towards people”. Later than Confucius, the
and marked by the tradition of the Book of Zhuangzi 莊子 says that ren means
commentators with an indicative working title, loving and helping people (in the Chapter
consisting of the first two syllables of the “Heaven and Earth”).

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