Commentary on the General Principles of Literature and History (Volume I and II)

Author: (Qing) Zhang Xuecheng
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-03-01
Features: This book is in traditional vertical Chinese character layout. Wen Shi Tong Yi is a work by Zhang Xuecheng, a renowned scholar of the Qianlong and Jiaqing eras in the Qing Dynasty. Zhang Xuecheng (1738–1801), styled Shiqi, was a native of Huji, Zhejiang (now Shaoxing), and was a famous historian. He compiled county annals for Yongqing County in Huzhou and Bozhou, as well as the Hubei Tongzhi. He also wrote Zhangshi Yishu, from which the essential parts were selected to form Wen Shi Tong Yi, followed by Xiao Chuo Tong Yi. Zhang Xuecheng wrote Wen Shi Tong Yi with the intention of saving the academic trends of his time. In a letter to Qian Dameng, he wrote, "The customs of the world must be biased, and what the eminent and noble support, as well as what the clever and talented pursue, will inevitably have considerable flaws. If scholars do not think about rescuing and correcting these issues, there is no point in writing valuable works. If one wishes to rescue and correct them, one must go against the times." He saw the flaws in the academic trends of his time and wanted to save them.