East Zhou Li Guo Zhi: Illustrated Text

Author: (Ming) Feng Menglong, (Qing) Cai Yuangang revised
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-01-01
Features: The Story of the Warring States is a renowned historical novel in China's classical literary treasury. As early as the Yuan Dynasty, there were vernacular versions of stories about the "Warring States." During the Jiajing and Longqing periods of the Ming Dynasty, Yu Shaoyu compiled The Story of the Warring States, and in the late Ming Dynasty, Feng Menglong revised, corrected, and polished it into a 108-chapter New Story of the Warring States. In the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty, Cai Yuangang further revised the book and named it The Story of the Warring States in the Eastern Zhou Dynasty. The Story of the Warring States depicts the history from the end of the Western Zhou Dynasty (789 BC) to the unification of the six states by Qin (221 BC), covering over 500 years of stories from the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods. The content is quite rich and complex. The history narrated in The Story of the Warring States is precisely such an era, and all the stories unfold against this backdrop. The facts described in the book are sourced from four historical works: The Strategies of the Warring States, Zuo Zhuan, The Records of the States, and Records of the Grand Historian. These scattered historical stories and biographies are woven together in chronological order, creating a well-structured historical romance. Historians before the Qin and Han dynasties, for certain ideological reasons, sometimes concealed their accounts of historical events and evaluations, hiding their meanings in the text. Without a keen insight, it is difficult to notice, let alone understand. The popular nature of this book lies in making the hidden meanings clear, so that everyone can see and understand the various right and wrong, good and evil, loyalty and treachery, wisdom and foolishness, laid bare under the open sky. This is the author's intention in writing the book and their contribution to future generations. The Story of the Warring States is like other historical books, focusing on the rise and fall of nations, exploring the causal relationships between the rise and decline of fate and human affairs. Through the rise and fall of characters' fortunes, the author vividly tells people that whether a nation can uphold morality and appoint the capable is the fundamental basis for judging its future. He who gains the people gains the world. Morality is the clarification of the will of Heaven, and the will of Heaven is the will of the people. When the people's will remains, the government thrives; when the people's will fades, the government declines. This humanistic perspective holds progressive significance. Over the 500 years described in the book, heroes emerged one after another, like stars in the sky. Centuries later, though many such figures appeared, the people and events of this period stood out the most and were the most typical in history. They almost became the source of later theories on right and wrong, success and failure, and set the standards and role models for future generations. Through rich and vivid plots, the novel praises the virtuous people, the rulers who reward and punish fairly, and the emperors and feudal lords with broad minds, as well as the loyal and wise generals. It also praises the brave and resourceful heroes who act bravely for justice. In stark contrast to these positive characters, the novel also portrays the ignorant, cruel, and shameless emperors and feudal lords, as well as the greedy, treacherous, and cunning courtiers. The author's attitude of exposing and condemning them is naturally integrated into the progression of the plot.