Zhu Xi grouped and annotated the Four Books, and from 1313 to 1905 they, with his commentaries, were the basis of the Chinese civil service examinations. They present the teaching of Confucius and Mencius and the programme of self-cultivation and governance.
Four Books
The Analects, Mencius, the Great Learning and the Doctrine of the Mean: the core Confucian classics chosen by Zhu Xi.