Primary School Classics: Six Works

Author: Compiled by the Zhonghua Book Department
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 1998-11-01
Features: The importance of primary education has been valued since ancient times. The Zhou official Zong Guan was responsible for nurturing the state's children and teaching them the six scripts. Under the Han system, the Historian's Office tested scholars to see if they could recite 9,000 characters or more before they could become officials. If the characters in official or citizen documents were incorrect, they would be impeached. The chapters such as "Fan Jiang Yuan Shang Pang Xi" have all lost their transmission. Later, a learned man became a village book teacher and included the "Cangjie" script in his studies. Xu Shen of the Han Dynasty used this to compile the "Shuowen Jiezi," the ancient part of which. From one to this is already the "Gu Yiwen" by Gu Ji. The "Xu Shi" had some minor adjustments, additions, and deletions. By the end of the Shang Yuan era, the scholar Sun Qiang slightly increased the number of characters. Later, Shi Huili compiled the "Xiangwen." The Taoist Zhao Li Zheng compiled the "Jieyi." In the Song Dynasty, Chen Pengnian, Wu Shuiqiu, Qiong Yong, and others further revised and corrected it. Thus, more and more people contributed to the "Gu Yiwen."