Classics Stop

Author: Wu Chucai
Publisher:
Publication Date: 2002-08-01
Features: This book collects 222 prose pieces from the pre-Qin period to the end of the Ming Dynasty. It includes highly concise parallel prose, such as Du Mu's "Eulogy of the Palace of Fragrance," Su Shi's "Preface to the Red Cliff" and "Postface to the Red Cliff." Each piece is accompanied by annotations and commentaries. The book primarily features works from the pre-Qin era, such as the Zuo Zhuan and Zhan Guo Ce, the Records of the Grand Historian from the Han Dynasty, and the works of Han Yu and Liu Zongyuan from the Tang Dynasty, as well as those of Ouyang Xiu and Su Shi from the Song Dynasty. The interests and standards of the selection are largely reflected in Su Shi's works. However, the book includes Han Yu's writings without his "Postface to Zhang Zhongcheng's Biography," selects Liu Zongyuan's works without "The Fragments of Duan Taifu," and includes Ming Dynasty texts but excludes GUI Youguang's "Chronicles of the Pavilion of the Spine," which leaves one with the regret of missing out on some treasures. Furthermore, some pieces are mediocre in thought, convoluted in reasoning, and lacking in literary merit, revealing the compiler's ideological limitations. Despite these flaws, blemishes do not diminish the brilliance, and overall, Classical Prose Criticism remains an outstanding selection of classical Chinese prose.