Thousand-Character Classic

Author: Qu Bo
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-07-01
Features: The "Thousand-Character Classic" is placed last in the ancient children's literacy textbook "San Bai Qian" (Three-Character Classic, Hundred Family Surnames, Thousand-Character Classic), but its composition date is earliest, and it is the only one among "San Bai Qian" whose author and completion date are definitely known. According to historical records, the "Thousand-Character Classic" was compiled during the reign of Emperor Wu of the Southern Dynasties (Liang Dynasty), with the compiler being Zhou Xingsi, a Court Scholar and Attendant. The "Thousand-Character Classic" consists of four-character lines, totaling 250 lines and 1,000 unique characters, with no repetition. The selected characters are mostly common ones, making them easy to recognize and read. The "Thousand-Character Classic" is not merely a collection of individual characters but a well-structured, rhyming prose that is smooth to recite, covering topics on nature, society, history, education, ethics, and more. It is written in rhyme throughout, with a fluent and powerful style, elegant language, and rich content. Since the Sui and Tang dynasties, the "Thousand-Character Classic" has become extremely popular, and memorizing it was regarded as a shortcut for literacy education. The "Thousand-Character Classic" is divided into four parts: From "Heaven and Earth, Black and Yellow" to "Relying on Ten Thousand Sides" is the first part; from "This Body and Its Origin" to "Favorable Titles Are Not Endless" is the second part; from "Governance Rooted in Agriculture" to "Foolishness and Mockery" is the third part; and from "The Way of Governance" to "Ignorance and Ridicule" is the fourth part. At the end, there are two additional lines "Interrogative particles are 'ye, zai, hu, ye', which have no special meaning and are listed separately. The first part of the "Thousand-Character Classic" begins with the creation of heaven and earth, discussing the universe, sun, moon, stars, clouds, rain, frost, mist, and the changes of seasons, as well as early human history. The second part focuses on the standards and principles of personal cultivation, or self-cultivation. The third part covers various aspects related to governance. The fourth part primarily describes a tranquil pastoral life, praising those who willingly embrace solitude and are not bound by fame or fortune, expressing a deep longing for the warm human relationships of the common people. Famous calligraphers throughout history, such as Huaisu, Ouyang Xun, Zhao Ji, Zhao Mengfu, and Wen Zhengming, have competed to write the "Thousand-Character Classic" as models for practicing calligraphy, further enhancing its reputation. The "Thousand-Character Classic" not only became popular domestically but also spread far and wide overseas, widely circulated in countries like Japan and Korea, and had a significant influence.
(Note: The repeated sections in the original text have been retained as-is, as per the instruction to keep "" unchanged.)