Abstract

In the Analects, Confucius portrays himself as a transmitter instead of a maker, which raises a question about the concept of ren: If ren is an idea transmitted by Confucius from his predecessors, then why is it so hard to convey its meaning?1 Is it because the meaning has been lost in the transmission, or because Confucius is not an ordinary transmitter? An ordinary transmitter may just relay messages from one dimension of space and/or time to another, whereas a transmitter like Confucius may not simply be transferring ideas, but also be making sure that the ideas transferred from a previous time period are also appropriate for the current situation or circumstance.There were thinkers throughout early...