Textual criticism of Confucian canon “Da-xue” as a historical and philosophical problem

“Da-xue” (“The Great Teaching”) — attributed to Confucius, one of the Chinese Classics, first in “The Four Books” and part of “The Five Canons” and “The 13 Canons”. It lies at the heart of traditional philosophy, science and pedagogy. The paper presents a detailed study of the history of the treatise and its comments, particularly such major philosophers neo-confucianists as Zhu Xi (1130—1200), and Wang Yang-ming (1472—1529), the study of the history of the treatise and its translation in the West, as well as dramatic fate in Russia, where it from 18th century had frequently been the instrument of the ideological and political struggle. The article argues thesis of numerological character of treatise.