Ancient Poetry Origin

Author: Compiled by the Writing Group of "Essential Chinese Traditional Culture Series for Students"
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2004-09-01
Features: As the saying goes, "Ten years to grow a tree, a hundred years to nurture a person." Nurturing an individual requires long-term, subtle (influence), making early childhood education particularly important. It plays a crucial role in shaping one's values, establishing one's character, and developing intelligence. But what should children read? Many experts recommend reading the classics of Chinese culture. The term "classic" refers to books that contain rich and representative eternal truths, "able to teach the eternal principles of life." After being washed by the course of history, these books have even greater timeless value, allowing us to experience the brilliance of the wisdom of our ancestors without being constrained by time and space. Although our traditional culture has spanned thousands of years, some cultural essence in our national studies remains closely related to the present, such as integrity, self-improvement, self-cultivation, and filial piety. These are all outstanding characteristics of traditional Chinese virtues and culture. Especially in today's society, it is not enough to give children knowledge; we must also teach them how to be good people. In this way, the philosophy of life contained in ancient culture will play a significant role. Moreover, children have excellent memories, so they should be encouraged to read valuable books during their most receptive years. On one hand, this allows them to learn ancient culture, gain knowledge, and enhance their cultivation; on the other hand, it enables them to draw wisdom from these texts. As children grow older and gain more experience, all of this will become a precious spiritual wealth that will benefit them throughout their lives. To make our "classics" more accessible to children, we have made efforts in selecting the book list and arranging the content. First, we selected representative book titles that are both the essence of our culture and relatively easy to read, including The Analects, Laozi·Daxue·Zhongyong, The Art of War·36 Stratagems, The Book of Songs, Sources of Ancient Poetry, Three-Character Classic, Mencius, The Book of Documents, A Thousand Character Classic, Ju Xiao Qiong Lin, Zhuangzi, The Songs of Chu, Rime of the Ancient Chinese, Rules for Students, Hundred Family Surnames, and Proverbial sayings. Second, in terms of content arrangement, we have made the following efforts: The original text is printed in large characters with Pinyin annotations, making it more prominent and easier to read; translations are added to help children grasp the essence of the entire text, making it easier to overcome any difficulties; word and phrase annotations are provided to help children understand the specific meanings of words and phrases, giving them a basic understanding of ancient literature; illustrations are included to make the text more vivid; and some books also include introductory stories to enhance reading interest. All of these efforts will help young readers better learn ancient culture.