Introduction to the Thirteen Classics

Author: Bai Yulin, Dang Huaxing / Country: Mainland China
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-05-01
Features: This textbook provides a comprehensive introduction and explanation of thirteen classic works that form the main pillars of traditional Chinese culture. It helps students gain a relatively thorough understanding of the basic knowledge related to the "Thirteen Classics," enabling them to grasp the fundamental essence of Confucian thought and culture, as well as the knowledge involved in various aspects such as rituals, politics, economics, and military affairs. The book assists students in comprehensively understanding the influence and development of the "Thirteen Classics" in the field of Chinese cultural thought, as well as the different academic achievements of various schools of study, such as Confucian exegesis (jingxue) and elementary studies (xiaoxue), that emerged as a result. It gives students a basic understanding of the developmental trajectory of ancient Chinese academic history. The book offers detailed explanations on the content, historical context of compilation, editorial circumstances, and textual origins of the thirteen classics, including the Book of Changes (Zhou Yi), the Book of Documents (Shang Shu), the Classic of Poetry (Shijing), the Rites of Zhou (Zhou Li), the Rites (Yili), the Book of Rites (Liji), the Zuo Zhuan (Commentary of Zuo on the Spring and Autumn Annals), the Gongyang Commentary (Commentary of Gongyang on the Spring and Autumn Annals), the Guliang Commentary (Commentary of Guliang on the Spring and Autumn Annals), the Analects (Lunyu), the Classic of Filial Piety (Xiaojing), the Erya (Er Ya), and the Mencius (Mengzi). This book can serve as both a textbook for undergraduate university students studying traditional Chinese thought and culture, as well as a reference and supplementary reading for a broad audience interested in learning about Chinese classics.