Selected Prose Works of Cao Jinghua

Author: Cao Jinghua Sun Sun (editors)
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2004-10-18
Features: Millions of essays, millions of life attitudes, embodying the emotions of masters as they contemplate nature and experience life and death. Life is like the changing seasons—blossoms and falls—yet the truths within are etched into these pages. Reading this book, you will linger among masterpieces, savoring the love of family and the care of friends. A force for goodness will nourish the parched soul and invigorate the withering life. Together, we share the exquisite and immortal works, feeling the beauty through the masters' pens. The moment you open this book becomes a part of your life, enjoying the joy of reading, the joy of perception, and the joy of life. Every selected essay is a household name, a masterpiece of language and literature. Throughout history, how many exquisite essays have shone like pearls! The "Hundred Flowers Essay Series" may not claim to have strung them all into a necklace, but here, they are no longer scattered pearls but are now more accessible for reading and appreciation. The selected essays focus on lyrical and narrative prose; their themes range from society and life to parting and flowers. The styles are both grand and unrestrained, as well as subtle and reserved. The series is vast and inclusive. Though it may not be called a "Treasure Collection," the works included still hold brilliance and inspiration. The "Hundred Flowers Essay Series" includes the "Ancient Essays Series," "Modern Essays Series," and "Contemporary Essays Series," all published in separate volumes, each curated by different authors. Ancient Chinese prose has a long and rich history, with deep roots and lush branches. Like poetry, it is one of the most important and distinctive forms of ancient Chinese literature, as well as a splendid cultural treasure in the history of human civilization. To promote the fine culture of the Chinese nation, inherit the traditions of ancient prose, and foster the prosperity and improvement of contemporary prose creation, as well as provide readers with references for appreciation, this "Ancient Chinese Prose Series" has been compiled as a part of the "Hundred Flowers Essay Series." The scope of the prose genre has evolved over time, differing between ancient and modern eras. This series primarily selects essays with strong literary qualities, such as lyrical and narrative prose. The selected authors range from the pre-Qin period to the Qing Dynasty, each published in separate volumes. The essays are arranged in chronological order based on their writing time, allowing readers to trace the development and evolution of prose creation. Each book in the series consists of two parts: one is an essay, which, in addition to introducing the author's life and literary activities, focuses on analyzing and commenting on their prose creation philosophy, especially artistic features, the development of their prose writing, and its influence. The other is the prose itself, with each piece accompanied by a title explanation and annotations. The essay part aims to complement and enhance the prose part, helping readers achieve a rational understanding of the selected essays while deepening their through the essays themselves. This mutual reinforcement makes the series not only a collection of selected essays for reading but also, to some extent, a study of the author and even a history of ancient prose, setting it apart from general prose anthologies and ordinary histories of ancient prose with its unique characteristics. The selected essays in each book include the author's representative masterpieces but also take into account their literary works from different periods, themes, and styles to reflect the author's development in prose writing. The title explanations, in addition to interpreting relevant words, specialized terms, and explaining the writing time and sources, also provide concise comments on the background, ideological value, artistic features, and artistic techniques of the works. The annotations primarily focus on explaining difficult characters, words, allusions, official titles, artifacts, names, and places. For important or uniquely used terms, references or examples are cited to help readers not only understand the "what" but also the "why."