The canon grew over time: five classics in the Han, nine by the Tang, twelve on the Kaicheng stone classics of 837, and thirteen once the
孟子 joined in the Song. Besides the Mencius they are the
周易,
尚书,
诗经, the three ritual classics, the three commentaries on the
春秋, the
论语, the
孝经 and the
尔雅.
