The Great Learning is a prose essay expounding on the Confucian ideas of self-cultivation, family regulation, governing the state, and bringing peace to the world. Originally the 42nd chapter of The Book of Rites compiled by Dai De, it is traditionally attributed to Zengzi from the Spring and Autumn or Warring States Period but is actually a Confucian work from the Qin and Han dynasties. It is an important ancient Chinese work discussing educational theory.
After being highly esteemed by Cheng Hao and Cheng Yi in the Northern Song Dynasty, and with Zhu Xi's Explanation and Commentary on The Great Learning in the Southern Song Dynasty, it ultimately became one of the "Four Books" alongside The Doctrine of the Mean, The Analects of Confucius, and Mencius. Following the Song and Yuan dynasties, The Great Learning became an official textbook in schools and a required reading for the imperial examinations, exerting a profound influence on ancient Chinese education.
The Great Learning proposes the "Three Fundamental Principles" (illuminating one's bright virtue, loving the people, and striving for the highest good) and the "Eight Steps" (investigating things, extending knowledge, sincere intention, rectifying the mind, self-cultivation, regulating the family, governing the state, and bringing peace to the world). It emphasizes that self-cultivation is a prerequisite for governing others, and the purpose of self-cultivation is to govern the state and bring peace to the world, illustrating the consistency between governing the state, bringing peace to the world, and personal moral cultivation.
The language of The Great Learning is concise yet profound in meaning, with a far-reaching impact. It mainly summarizes the pre-Qin Confucian theory of moral cultivation, as well as the basic principles and methods of moral cultivation. It also systematically discusses Confucian political philosophy and provides profound insights into being a person, conducting oneself, and governing the state.
The Great Learning originates from The Book of Rites, originally the 42nd of the 49 chapters. The Book of Rites, originally named The Xiaodai Book of Rites or The Xiaodai Records, was compiled by Dai Sheng during the reign of Emperor Xuan of Han based on a collection of anonymous Confucian works from history. According to the historian Ban Gu, who annotated "131 chapters of the Records" as "written by scholars after the Seventy Disciples," he believed that the chapters of The Book of Rites were mainly composed from the early Warring States Period to the early Western Han Dynasty.
Cui Shu of the Qing Dynasty opined, "The style of literature conforms to its time... The language of The Great Learning is detailed and exhaustive, with many parallel phrases, suggesting it was written during the Warring States Period." (Examination and Verification of the Sayings and Deeds of Confucius and His Disciples - Complete Records) Overall, The Great Learning was likely compiled in the early Warring States Period, after Confucius and Zengzi but before Mencius and Xunzi, around the 5th century BC. It is a purely Confucian work from the school of Zengzi's disciples. That is, The Great Learning was compiled in the early Warring States Period, and its author is likely from the school of Zengzi's disciples, which is now widely accepted in academia as the work of Zeng Shen from the early Warring States Period.
