Ancient Chinese (Reading Course. Outline) (Set of Two Volumes)

Author: Zhang Wenguo et al.
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-01-01
Features: This book is a summary of the authors' many years of teaching ancient Chinese. It has the following characteristics:
1. Practical. The book is written from the perspective of a single viewpoint throughout, while also listing the different opinions of several popular current ancient Chinese textbooks in the form of footnotes. This way, reading this book is equivalent to reading several books, giving readers a general understanding of the current state of research on ancient Chinese. The main ancient Chinese textbooks mentioned in the footnotes include: Wang Li (ed.), Ancient Chinese; Guo Xiliang, He Jiuying, et al. (eds.), Outline of Ancient Chinese; Zhu Zhenjia (ed.), Ancient Chinese; Zhang Zhiqiang (ed.), Ancient Chinese; Hong Chengyu (ed.), Ancient Chinese Tutorial; Zhang Shilu (ed.), Ancient Chinese Tutorial; Xie Huiquan (ed.), Ancient Chinese Tutorial, and others.
2. Concise. During the writing process, the book strives to be brief yet comprehensive, which is inseparable from its practical purpose. Although it covers a wide range of content, the book focuses on key points, avoids unnecessary (research), lengthy discussions, and excessive examples, aiming to include as much knowledge as possible in the smallest space.
3. Comprehensive. The main body of the book remains the five parts: texts, vocabulary, grammar, rhetoric, and phonology. However, four additional sections are included: "Reading Methods of Ancient Books," "Punctuation in Ancient Books," and "Basic Knowledge of Classical Documents." Especially the section "Basic Knowledge of Classical Documents" briefly introduces changes in book formats, the composition of the Four Divisions (Jing, Shi, Zi, Ji) of classical literature, versions of ancient books, collation of ancient texts, explanations of ancient books, and avoidance of taboo words, giving readers a general understanding of the basics of classical documents. After the four parts of texts, vocabulary, grammar, and phonology, there is a section titled "Introduction to Major Works," which not only helps readers recognize ancient linguistic literature but also deepens their understanding of the ancient Chinese theories learned.
4. Scientific. The main text of the book is very cautious in its selection of viewpoints, choice of examples, and arrangement of style. For example, it only includes widely accepted views, while controversial opinions are listed in the footnotes. Each section is preceded by a "Key Learning Points" section, which can serve as an outline for studying that section, achieving twice the result with half the effort.