Guwen Guanzhi Translation and Notes (Pinyin Version)

Author: Li Mengsheng
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-01-01
Features: The Classic Chinese Reader (Pinyin Edition) (Exquisite) Editor's Recommendation: The classical literature of ancient China is vast and diverse in form, with prose and poetry being the most prominent. From the earliest oracle bone inscriptions, the Hundred Schools of Thought, the Zuo Zhuan, the Guoyu, the Zhan Guo Ce, the Records of the Grand Historian, the parallel prose of the Han and Wei dynasties, the prose of the Tang and Song dynasties, to the Ming and Qing dynasties, classical Chinese fully embodies the social function of literature as "writing to convey meaning" and also outlines a clear trajectory of the development of Chinese literary history. There are countless anthologies of famous classical prose from various dynasties, among which the Classic Chinese Reader compiled by Wu Chucai and Wu Diao Hou of the Qing Dynasty is the most widely circulated. The classical Chinese selected by them is truly "breathtakingly brilliant." However, compared to the melodious and rhythmic nature of poetry, classical Chinese prose often gives people a sense of being obscure and difficult to understand. The reasons are mainly two: first, the grammatical structures of ancient texts differ greatly from modern linguistic habits, making it hard to grasp the meaning; second, many characters in classical Chinese are no longer commonly used in modern language, making it difficult to read. Among these, the difficulty of reading is particularly perplexing, especially for young people who read and recite classical Chinese. Therefore, we have launched The Classic Chinese Reader with Annotations and Pinyin (Pinyin Edition), aiming to eliminate the textual barriers for readers in learning, appreciating, and reciting outstanding classical Chinese prose. This book is a pinyin-annotated exquisite edition of the Classic Chinese Reader selected and annotated by Wu Chucai and Wu Diao Hou of the Qing Dynasty, with passages that are overly obscure and lack significant learning value being omitted. It saves readers the trouble of looking up difficult or obscure characters in reference books. To date, this is the first pinyin-annotated original classical Chinese text in China, and it is also part of Shanghai's efforts to promote the dissemination of traditional literary masterpieces.