Classics for Chinese Students to Read (1) 80 Famous Essays You Should Read in Your Lifetime

Author: New Growth Reading Guidance Committee
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2005-05-01
Features:
1. Gain true knowledge and wisdom through reading.
2. Achieve enlightenment and growth in appreciation.
3. The best gift for yourself.
4. The soul-stirring elixir for classmates.
5. The wisdom treasure for parents to give to their children.
6. The spiritual guide for teachers to give to their students.
It is not necessarily true that loving to read is always a good thing. Unselective reading, or reading low-quality, poorly written books, is better than reading less or not at all. For young readers whose bodies and minds are still developing, while reading widely is important, reading classics may be even more so. The famous French writer André Malraux once said, "Do not drown yourself in the sea of general books"—because life is too short, even reading classic masterpieces is not enough. To British writer Samuel Smiles, reading the best books is like conversing with the greatest thinkers of all time and becoming friends with the wisest minds. Both believed that only by reading classics could one truly be a smart reader.
Classic works are renowned masterpieces that have been tested by hundreds of years and are universally recognized as the best. Such works are unmatched in terms of intellectual depth, profound insights, and exquisite language. Throughout human history, countless texts and works have been created, but only a very few have survived the test of time. Thus, classic works are the essence of human civilization and the crystallization of human wisdom. Even the renowned scholar Qian Liqun has argued that reading classics is the fundamental way of education.
To encourage young students to read more classics, we adhere to the principle of selective reading. Based on five major themes— (), , , —we have carefully selected 400 of the best works from the vast body of outstanding literature across generations. These works have been categorized and compiled into the book China Students' Classic Readings. We hope that young readers will find in these timeless words the depth of history and the charm of thought, gaining the motivation and inspiration for life and growth!