James Legge’s 1861 rendering (reprinted in the Harvard–Yenching “Chinese Classics,” vol. 4) remains the go-to for anyone craving the original Victorian cadence. Its somewhat ornate English captures the 19th-century missionary ethos and, even if the phrasing can feel dusty, it still stands as the bedrock translation.

D.C. Lau’s The Four Books (Penguin Classics, 1978) strikes a much smoother balance. Phrases are kept tight and modern, but the footnotes dig into Xi Zhishi’s Song-dynasty glosses and Zhu Xi’s Neo-Confucian spin. For students of Chinese philosophy, Lau’s version feels like a friendly guide through centuries of commentary.

Edward Slingerland’s Penguin Classics edition (2020) takes things a step further: crisp, colloquial prose that makes passages like “cultivate the person” read like advice from a contemporary life-coach app. The introductory essays tie in recent scholarship on ritual, governance and even the way tech-driven self-help trends echo ancient self-cultivation.

Wing-tsit Chan’s translation in Sources of Chinese Tradition (ed. W.T. de Bary, Columbia Univ. Press, 1963) isn’t a stand-alone book, but it pairs the Great Learning with the Doctrine of the Mean, Mencius and Analects excerpts—all in one volume. Chan’s clear, academic style helps situate the text within the larger Confucian canon.

Roger T. Ames and Henry Rosemont Jr. are worth a nod for their thematic approach in Confucian Role Ethics, where snippets of the Great Learning are woven into discussions about social harmony and ethical leadership. That angle resonates today—just look at the recent push by cultural ministries in Beijing to re-anchor public life in Confucian ideals.

For a deep dive: start with D.C. Lau’s accessible commentary, leaf through Legge for the classic flavor, and then cruise through Slingerland’s modern take. Wing-tsit Chan fills in the broader tapestry, while Ames and Rosemont offer a fresh, role-ethical spin.