The Four Books 四書

The Four Books is an abbreviation for 'The Books of the Four Philosophers’ because The Analects of Confucius, The Mencius, The Doctrine of the Golden Mean and The Great Learning are respectively attributed to four great Confucian philosophers, namely Confucius, Mencius, Zisi? (子思 the grandson of Confucius), Tsang Shan (曾參 a disciple of Confucius). In the Ming and Qing Dynasties the Four Books were made the core of the official curriculum for the civil service examinations (科舉考試), which endowed them with the superior status in China.

The Great Learning 大學
The Doctrine of the Golden Mean 中庸
The Analects of Confucius 論語
The Mencius 孟子

The Five Classics 五經

The Five Classics (五經) is a corpus of five ancient Chinese books used by Confucianism as the basis of studies. The Five Classics refer to The Book of Songs (詩經), The Classic of History (書經), The Classic of Rites, The Book of Changes (周易), and The Spring and Autumn Annals (春秋), all of which are said to be compiled or revised by Confucius.

The Book of Songs 詩經
The Classic of History 尚書
The Classic of Rites 禮記
The Book of Changes 周易
The spring and Autumn Annals 左傳