Zhou Zhenfu recommends ancient prose -- everyone recommends everyone to read

Author: Zhou Zhenfu et al. Translated and Annotated
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-11-01
Features: This collection of ancient prose is comparable to the Qing Dynasty's Classified Prose of the Ancients by Yao Nai and Essentials of Classical Prose by Wu Chucai and Wu Diao Hou. However, while they refer to it as "classical prose" or "ancient literature," we call it "ancient prose." Yao Nai's "classical prose" includes prose, parallel prose, and fu, such as the selection of A Letter from Prison to the King of Liang by Zou Yang, which is parallel prose. However, he did not select the main parallel prose of the Wei, Jin, and Southern and Northern Dynasties periods, so Li Zhaoluo selected Collected Parallel Prose to supplement its deficiency. The fu selected includes Li Sao by Qu Yuan, The Vast Expanse by Sima Xiangru, and The Garden of the Forest by the same author. Essentials of Classical Prose's "classical literature" includes prose, parallel prose, and four-six prose, such as Wang Bo's Preface to the Pavilion of Prince Teng, and also includes fu, such as Tao Yuanming's Tao's Return and Du Mu's The Palace of Fragrance. This collection is designed to assist readers in comprehension, featuring prefaces, annotations, and modern translations. The prefaces provide a concise explanation of the main themes and writing techniques of each piece, while the modern translations help readers understand the original text.