Confucius (551-479 BCE) was born into a noble family in the Chinese state of Lu. His father died when he was very young and the family fell into poverty. Confucius resigned from a political career and then travelled for many years, searching for a province willing to adopt his ideas. Unsuccessful, he returned to Lu where he spent the rest of his life teaching. He is considered one of the most influential figures in the world.

David Hinton has translated many volumes of classical Chinese poetry and is the first translator in nearly two centuries to translate all five of the seminal classics in Chinese philosophy. This work has earned him many national awards in the United States, including a lifetime achievement award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. His book of essays, Hunger Mountain: A Field Guide to Mind and Landscape was on the Guardian's Best-Books-of-the-Year list.