The Chinese title of the Confucian classic known in English as the Analects is Lunyu.
Lunyu is often translated as “Selected Sayings” or “Analects.” The work presents short conversations, remarks, and anecdotes involving Confucius and his disciples. It is not a continuous biography or a single philosophical treatise; instead, its compact passages explore learning, ritual, family relationships, government, moral character, and the conduct of the exemplary person.
The text was transmitted and edited over time by Confucian communities after Confucius’s death. Its traditional form contains 20 books, although scholars continue to examine how different passages were compiled and how early the collection reached its received structure.
Lunyu is sometimes confused with other Confucian classics such as the Liji, or Book of Rites, and the Shijing, or Book of Poetry. Those are separate works within the broader classical tradition.