Classics at a Glance: Top and Bottom

Author: Wu Chucai
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2004-02-01
Features: During the reign of Emperor Kangxi in the Qing Dynasty, two literary anthologies that had a wide influence and were widely circulated in later generations emerged: one was Ancient Poems Source compiled by Shen Deqian, and the other was Essentials of Classical Chinese Prose compiled by Wu Chucai and Wu Dihou. These two books are considered the twin treasures of classical Chinese poetry and prose selection of that era. They had clear divisions of labor: Ancient Poems Source selected poems from ancient times to the Sui Dynasty, while Essentials of Classical Chinese Prose selected prose from the Eastern Zhou Dynasty to the late Ming Dynasty, totaling 220 pieces. It is often said that China has always been a land of poetry since ancient times, and this statement is not entirely unfounded. Compared to poetry, ancient Chinese prose was no less outstanding, and it also had a glorious past. Ancient Chinese prose emerged very early and has always held a pivotal position in literary history from the beginning. The reason why ancient prose dominated the literary scene early on was its strong practicality, which was widely used in various fields of social life. The earliest prose collection that has survived to this day is the Book of Documents, which records nothing but military and state affairs. Later, the scope of prose application expanded further, and prose was involved in almost every field of social life. Precisely for this reason, ancient prose was extremely diverse. The various literary forms listed by Liu Xie in The Literary Mind and the Carving of Dragons, except for a limited number of forms such as sao, poetry, yuefu, and fu, all belong to prose. It can be said that prose is a large family of ancient literary forms, and its prosperity stems from its practicality, adapting to the multifaceted needs of society. The of prose has great inclusiveness, as it can narrate, debate, and express emotions, thus dividing it into narrative prose, argumentative prose, and lyrical prose. It can also combine these three elements, melting narration, debate, and expression into one. Poetry, however, is different. Simple narration or expression can be poetry, but pure debate is often dull. The inclusiveness of the of prose is also reflected in its acceptance of poetry, as poetry can be interwoven into prose, while prose interwoven into poetry seems awkward. The diversity of prose's functions stems from this inclusiveness, which also made it a long-lasting literary form in ancient China. The development of ancient Chinese prose followed a path from unity to differentiation. Initially, prose was a fusion of literature, history, and philosophy, and there was no strictly defined literary prose. It was only from the late Warring States period that literary prose began to break away from its primitive state and differentiate itself from the unified mother body, becoming a relatively pure literary work. As time passed, the literary consciousness of the creators gradually improved, and the literary nature of prose also became stronger, making it more valuable for aesthetic appreciation. Reading Essentials of Classical Chinese Prose, one can see the evolution of ancient prose mentioned above. Essentials of Classical Chinese Prose is not confined to any single school or faction; it widely selects famous and excellent works from all dynasties with high ideological and artistic value, providing a relatively comprehensive reflection of the long history and development of Chinese prose. Of course, due to the historical limitations and aesthetic standards of the compilers, not all the selected articles are perfect. It does not include Confucian classics, the prose of the philosophers, or biographies of figures. The Literary Selections of Prince Zhaoming by the Prince Xiao Tong of the Liang Dynasty is the same. This is merely the traditional habit of the compiler and also determined by the conditions of the time. In the eyes of the compilers, Confucian classics were officially designated must-read books, so there was no need to compile them further. The prose of the philosophers, with scattered pieces, could not fully convey their meaning. However, the compiler's purpose was very clear, as stated in the original preface by Wu Xinze: "to correct the nourishment of the mind and benefit future learners." Most of the selected works are prose, with occasional parallel prose and rarely prose-like fu. However, in the vast sea of literature, it is not easy to pluck 222 waves of brilliance with wise eyes; only a great master can achieve this. Since its publication in the 34th year of the Kangxi reign (1695), Essentials of Classical Chinese Prose has been well-received and widely praised, becoming widely circulated and household names. This book adopts the strengths of the original book's annotations and incorporates the advantages of various annotation editions in recent years. It focuses on introducing historical background, analyzing ideological content, clarifying text, and removing obstacles, aiming to build a bridge for young readers to read and appreciate classical Chinese, making it easier to approach the treasure trove of classical Chinese. It is believed that after understanding the original text, readers will be able to further appreciate its linguistic features and artistic style. During the translation and annotation, the Zhonghua Book Company's printed edition was used, and the textual revisions made by the original compilers were retained as they were. For the convenience of reading, ancient characters, variant characters, and traditional characters in the classical Chinese text were also converted to the current standard characters.