Han Yu Collection

Author: (Tang) Han Yu / Chen Xiacun / Xu Qiaosheng (Commentary)
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2005-05-01
Features:
"Morning I presented my memorial to the throne, evening I was banished to Chaozhou with a journey of eight thousand li.
I wish to eliminate the ills of the virtuous dynasty, yet dare not spare my declining years.
Clouds cross the Qin Mountains, where is my home? Snow blocks the Blue Pass, my horse cannot advance.
I know you came far with purpose, so better bury my bones by the miasma-ridden river." — Han Yu, "To My Nephew's Grandson at the Blue Pass"
"Light rain on the street is as soft as butter, the grass looks green but disappears when viewed closely.
This is the best time of spring, far surpassing the smoky willows of the imperial capital." — Han Yu, "Light Rain in Early Spring"
A nation's culture has its source and stream. At the very least, the vast majority of its people should know what the true source of traditional Chinese culture is, and what its fundamental stream is. As publishers, we have no need to explore this issue, but we have the obligation to present publications that embody the essence of Chinese culture to the people. Thus, we created this series, Essential Family Library of China.
This is a publishing plan that is nearly boundless, but it reflects the sincere hearts of us as publishers. We know that the Chinese family is the fundamental unit of Chinese culture. If Chinese cultural families possess the essential classics and representative works of the Chinese nation, it will undoubtedly contribute to promoting our excellent national culture and forging our great national spirit. This is the original intention behind publishing this series.
Therefore, this series is based on classic traditional cultural works and is divided into six volumes:
Volume 1: Classics of the Hundred Schools
Includes 16 pre-Qin foundational works such as the Book of Songs, Book of Changes, Analects, Mencius, Oneself and Others, etc. They are the lifeblood of the Chinese nation. Zhang Zhidong once said, "Pre-Qin writings are worth a thousand gold per character," which accurately summarizes the works of the pre-Qin philosophers.
Volume 2: Selected Works of Famous Poets
Includes personal selected collections of 21 renowned literary figures such as Tao Yuanming, Wang Wei, Li Bai, Du Fu, and Yuan Haowen. This section focuses on Tang and Song literary masters, representing the highest achievements of Chinese lyrical literature.
Volume 3: Masterpieces of Historiography
Includes the Zuo Zhuan, the Four Histories, and the Comprehensive Mirror to Aid in Government. They are the essence of Chinese historiography. To understand history, one must start here.
Volume 4: Comprehensive Selections
Includes Tang poetry, Song lyrics, Yuan qu, A Thousand Poems by a Thousand Masters, and Essentials of Classical Chinese. These are all tested and renowned selected works, intended to broadly supplement the shortcomings of the Selected Works of Famous Poets in capturing the essence of Chinese literature.
Volume 5: Notes and Miscellaneous Works
Includes 15 widely accepted miscellaneous works from Three-Character Classic to Zeng Guofan's Family Letters. In fact, they embody the deeper connotations of the excellent culture of the Chinese nation.
Volume 6: Dramas and Novels
Includes 18 dramas and novels from Romance of the West Chamber to the four great classical novels. This is the peak of Chinese literary creation. To some extent, they are like Three-Character Classic, nourishing the fundamental spirit of the Chinese people.
To be responsible to readers, we do not seek immediate success in publishing but adopt a strategy of gradual expansion by releasing volumes over time. We do not aim for economic benefits from a single book or a single time but strive to continuously broaden our readership. Our hearts are in harmony with the vast readership, so we are confident of achieving a broad market.
Han Yu (768–824) was a Tang Dynasty literary figure and philosopher. His courtesy name was Tuizhi. He was from Heyang, Henan (now Mengxian), with the surname Han and the honorific title Han Changli. He was also known as Han Lizha for serving as the Vice Minister of Personnel. Posthumously honored as "Wen" (Literary), he was also called Han Wengong.
At the age of three, he lost his father and was raised by his older brother and sister. He experienced early hardship and instability but harbored ambitions to study and serve the state. At the age of 20, he went to Chang'an to take the imperial examinations but failed three times. From 25 to 35, he passed the examinations but failed the prestigious Boluo Hongci exams, serving instead as a counselor in the military governments of Dongzhou's Dong Jin and Xuzhou's Zhang Jianfeng. Later, he returned to the capital as a doctoral scholar. From 36 to 49, he served as a censor and was exiled to Yangshan as a county magistrate after submitting a memorial on behalf of the drought-stricken and famine-ridden people, requesting tax relief. During Emperor Xianzong's reign, he returned north and became a doctoral scholar at the Imperial University, rising to the position of Vice Minister of the Crown Prince. However, he remained politically unsatisfied. From 50 to 57, he first joined Pei Du's campaign against Wu Yuanji, then was transferred to the Ministry of Justice. Due to his criticism of the Buddhist relic ceremony, he was exiled to Chaozhou and later moved to Yuanzhou. He soon returned to the capital, serving as the Imperial University President, Vice Minister of War, Vice Minister of Personnel, and Capital Prefect. Politically, he achieved notable accomplishments. His thoughts were rooted in Confucianism but also included unconventional views. He claimed to uphold Confucian orthodoxy, opposing Buddhist quietism and divine authority while believing in fate and spirits. He highly praised Confucius's rejection of Yang Chu and Mozi, believing that their philosophies were the right path, yet advocated for the integration of Confucianism and Mohism. He promoted the Confucian way and the "royal path," denouncing the "tyrannical path," yet admired Guan Zhong and Shang Yang's achievements. He criticized the reform efforts of the Wang brothers but shared their views on opposing warlordism and eunuch tyranny. These complex contradictions are reflected in his works.
His prose occupies a significant place in Han Yu's writing. His mid-to-long essays, primarily on upholding Confucianism and opposing Buddhism, include On the Way, Memorial on the Buddhist Relic Ceremony, On Human Nature, and On Teachers, which are generally well-structured and clearly organized. His satirical essays, such as the short Miscellaneous Discourses and Interpretation of the Capture of the Qilin, employ clever metaphors and profound reflections; the long On Exorcising Poverty and On Learning use question-and-answer formats with humorous and imaginative writing. His essays on literary thought and writing experience are diverse in style and technique, with fantastical imagery and refined theory.
His narrative prose is relatively prominent. Works like Epitaph for the Pacification of the Western River draw on the style of the Book of Documents and the Odes, with grand scale and powerful language. Illustrations of Paintings directly narrates multiple characters, inspired by the Book of Documents and the Rites of Zhou. Works that inherit the historical prose tradition of the Records of the Grand Historian and the Records of the Han Dynasty, such as the famous Postscript to the Biography of Zhang Zhongcheng, blend narrative, commentary, and emotion. Works that depict characters vividly, like Epitaph for Wang Jun of Qinghe and Epitaph for Zhang Jun of Qinghe, draw on the Records of the Grand Historian and the Records of the Han Dynasty without resorting to commentary. Works that highlight the characteristics of his literary friends, such as Epitaph for Liu Zihou, Epitaph for Fan Shoushu of Nanyang, and Epitaph for Master Zhenyao, are also notable. However, among the numerous epitaphs and memorials, Han Yu also included some overly flattering works, which were criticized at the time.
His lyrical prose includes eulogies. One type expresses family affection, written in prose and breaking the conventional four-character rhyme, such as Eulogy for My Twelve Nephews. The other type reflects friendship and hardship, written in four-character rhyme, such as Eulogy for Zhang Yuanwai of Henan and Eulogy for Liu Zihou. Additionally, his letters, such as Letter to Meng Dongye, and prefaces, such as Preface to Sending Yang Shaoyin, are also powerful works.
Han Yu also wrote some prose works entirely fictional, such as Biography of Mao Ying and the preface to Couplet Poem of the Stone Cauldron, which resemble fiction. His prose is full of vigor, with alternating long and short sentences, and clever metaphors. It ranges from mystical to solemn, displaying diverse artistic features. He swept away the soft and ornate prose style of the Six Dynasties. He skillfully adapted and refined the spoken language of his time, introducing new terms like "swarming like flies and groveling like dogs" (On Exorcising Poverty), "same work, different tune," and "both embrace and preserve" (On Learning). These innovative expressions are common in his prose. He advocated "writing in accordance with the language," creating a written prose language refined from spoken language, expanding the expressive function of classical Chinese. However, he also had awkward and convoluted sentences. He once said, "Not suitable for the times, only for my own amusement" (On Exorcising Poverty), which had a certain influence on later generations.
Han Yu was also a renowned poet, with artistic characteristics of grandeur, strangeness, and brilliance. Works like Fire of Lu Hun Mountain and Poem on Lunar Eclipse are bizarre and profound; Poem on the Southern Mountain, Farewell to Dou Sizhi at Yueyang Tower, and Meng Dongye's Loss of a Child are majestic. However, in his pursuit of novelty, his poems often became filled with obscure words and difficult rhymes. He also had a style of simple and natural poetry. His ancient-style poems were more numerous than regulated verse, but he also had excellent regulated verse and quatrains, such as the seven-regulated verse To My Nephew's Grandson at the Blue Pass, Reply to Zhang Shiyi, and Written on a Post at a Relay Station, and the seven-quatrain To Zhang Shizhao at Tong Pass First and Written on Chu Zhao Wang's Temple.
Later generations highly praised Han Yu, honoring him as the first of the "Eight Masters of the Tang and Song." Du Mu ranked Han's prose alongside Du's poetry, calling them "Du's Poetry and Han's Prose." Su Shi called him "reviving the prose of the eight dynasties." Han and Liu advocated the Guwen movement, which paved the way for the development of classical Chinese prose since the Tang Dynasty. Han's poetry sought novelty, emphasized vigor, and made original contributions. By treating prose as poetry, he introduced new classical Chinese language, structure, and techniques to the poetic field, enhancing its expressive function, expanding its scope, and correcting the mediocre poetic style of the Great Lixun period (766–780). However, this also brought about negative trends such as overemphasis on erudition, philosophical discourse, and pursuit of obscurity. Especially the practice of writing poems as philosophical essays, even entire poems filled with arguments, turned poetry into rhymed theory, which had a detrimental effect on poetry after the Song Dynasty.
The best ancient editions of Han's collected works are the Collected Works of Master Han Changli and Supplementary Collection by Wei Huizhong of the Southern Song Dynasty, and the Collected Works of Master Han Changli, Supplementary Collection, and Unpublished Works (reprinted by Xu's Dongyatai in the Ming Dynasty). In the Qing Dynasty, Gu Siuli and Fang Shiju had separate annotated editions of his poetry. Qian Zhonglian's Collected Poems of Han Changli with Chronological Annotations is a separately annotated annotated edition. Additionally, there are scholars who collated or supplemented notes on Han's collected works without including them in the main text, such as Fang Songqing and Zhu Xi of the Song Dynasty, Chen Jingyun, Wang Yuanqi, Shen Qinkai, Fang Chenghe, and Xu Zhen of modern times. The chronology is most detailed in Hong Xingzu's Chronology of Master Han. The relevant sections of Zhao Yi's Oubei Poetic Notes, Fang Dongshu's Zhao Mei Zhan Yan, and Lin Shu's Research Method of Han Liu Prose are representative works on reviewing his poetry and prose.
This book was completed by adding and revising the original manuscript. It includes 35 prose works, with similar genres grouped together; 30 poems, arranged in chronological order. Selected from the Collected Works of Master Han Changli by the World-Classroom Press, with reference to Ma Tongbo's Collected Works of Han Changli with Annotations and Qian Zhonglian's Chronological Collection of Han Changli's Poems. During annotation and commentary, reference was made to the works of many scholars, though not all are listed here. We extend our sincere gratitude! To facilitate the use of this book, appendices include Brief Chronology of Han Yu, Important Research Works on Han Yu, and Famous Quotes from the Collected Works of Han Yu.