- Category
- Philosophical Scripture
- Claimed author
- Zisi (Kong Ji), grandson of Confucius (traditional attribution)
- Likely origin
- Uncertain; traditionally Zisi, with probable later additions by the early Confucian school
- Date
- c. 5th–3rd century BCE; Legge translation 1861
- Language
- Classical Chinese
- Manuscripts
- Well-preserved; continuous textual tradition as a chapter of the Li Ji, elevated to independent canonical status by Zhu Xi in the 12th century
- Accepted by
- One of the Four Books (Si Shu) of the Confucian canon; originally a chapter of the Book of Rites
The Doctrine of the Mean is one of the Confucian Four Books, teaching the way of equilibrium and harmony: the superior person holds to the Mean, and perfect sincerity is presented as the power that joins the human order to Heaven. Legge's edition divides the classic into 33 chapters.