A Brief History of China in Four-Character Phrases

Author: Foreign Trade University of China Press
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-03-01
Features: For a long time, I have been thinking about how to lower and connect the great mountain of history in the minds of ordinary people, which is the "Twenty-Five Histories" – this daunting barrier – to facilitate popularization and quick learning. Why do I have such an idea? We know that since the reform and opening-up, our country has undergone earth-shaking changes, with strengthened national strength and improved people's lives. However, people, especially the youth and some groups, know very little about the history of our country, even misrepresenting dynasties and mixing up names. Moreover, we are now in an era where time is money and development is rapid. As a proud Chinese, if one cannot be well-versed in the history of our country, it is indeed a great shortcoming. But the historical records of the Chinese nation are vast and not easily accessible to ordinary people. How to find a shortcut that is both time and labor-saving to condense and simplify the five thousand years of Chinese history into an easy-to-learn and remember method has been a lingering question in my mind. This is also my responsibility. Over the years, I have indeed put a lot of thought into it and read many books and articles, hoping to find a shortcut. Later, I was inspired by ancient children's books, broadened my horizons, and found a method, which suddenly illuminated my mind. After several revisions and corrections, I wrote the popular book "Four-Character Classics of Chinese History." To facilitate understanding of historical facts, annotations were made on the meaning of the four-character sentences to help the youth and the general public get a general idea of the history of our country. If this is achieved, my wish will be fulfilled!