Three Character Classic · Hundred Family Surnames · Thousand Character Classic · Thousand Family Poems · Rules for Students (Family Bookshelf)

Author: Wang Yinglin
Publisher:
Publishing Time: Not available
Features: "The Three-Character Classic" is one of the most influential and representative ancient children's educational texts in China, hailed as the "Wonderful Book of Ages." It is said to have been written by Song Dynasty Confucian Gong Yinglin and has been widely used as a textbook for primary education since the Southern Song Dynasty, until the late Qing Dynasty and early Republic of China. The entire book consists of 380 lines, with a rigorous structure, concise language, and lines formed by multiples of three characters. Each line is harmonious in rhyme, easy to recite, simple yet profound, and engaging. The content is divided into six parts, each with a central theme, covering a wide range of topics such as ethical norms, common knowledge, classics, history, and more. Many lines, such as "Failure to educate a child is the father's fault" and "Diligence brings success, while play brings no benefit," have become well-known and widely quoted.
"The Hundred Family Surnames" is another widely circulated children's educational text with an anonymous author. It compiles common surnames into four-character rhyming verses. Although lacking in literary merit, its clever arrangement makes it easy to remember, and it has thus remained influential to this day. The book includes 498 surnames, with 436 single-character surnames and 62 compound surnames. In ancient times, people read "The Hundred Family Surnames" to quickly recognize four or five hundred characters in a short time. Today, it is more often read to trace one's ancestry.
"The Thousand-Character Classic" was originally titled "Following the Rhyme of Wang Xizhi's Thousand Characters," a children's educational text written by Zhou Xingsi of the Southern Dynasties of Liang. It is named after the fact that it collects 1,000 different characters from the calligraphy of the calligrapher Wang Xizhi. The book consists of four-character rhyming verses, totaling 250 lines, and covers knowledge in areas such as nature, society, history, ethics, and education, making it a concise and vivid mini-encyclopedia. Its fluent writing, grand style, and elegant language made it popular starting from the Sui Dynasty. Due to its widespread influence, it was often used to represent numbers in written documents. Many great calligraphers throughout history have also written it, making it a model for learning various calligraphy styles.
Since the Ming and Qing dynasties, a small book called "The Thousand Poems" has been widely popular across the country. It is said to have been selected by Xie Dieshan of Xinzhou as a children's educational text. In terms of content, the book includes 240 poems, most of which are masterpieces by famous poets from the Tang and Song dynasties. Children who learn them from a young age can appreciate the richness and diversity of classical Chinese poetry and develop an interest in reading poems. Imagine that "The Complete Tang Poems" has nearly 50,000 poems, and it is impossible for an ordinary person to finish reading them. Having a carefully selected version makes it undoubtedly popular. Today, the poems in "The Thousand Poems" are still widely loved, with many included in primary and secondary school textbooks and passed down from generation to generation.
"The Rules for Students" is second only to "The Three-Character Classic" in terms of its influence and popularity in recitation. Its author, Li Yuxiu, was a scholar during the Kangxi era of the Qing Dynasty. He wrote "The Teachings for the Young" based on his teaching experience and later renamed it "The Rules for Students." The book begins with the phrase "Students should be filial at home, respectful abroad, cautious and trustworthy, love all people, and be close to benevolent friends. If there is extra time, they should study literature," from the "Analects of Confucius." It presents requirements for children's speech and behavior in the form of three-character rhyming verses, teaching them how to treat others and conduct themselves. Its core philosophy is filial piety, fraternal respect, and benevolence. The book is simple and easy to understand, with a rhythmic and catchy style, and its content aligns with traditional ethics, making it highly influential. After the Qing Dynasty, it became a widely circulated children's educational text.
The above five books encompass the essence of ancient Chinese children's educational texts. As times evolve, it has been proven that modern people who adhere to traditional values are more likely to become pillars of society. This is also the purpose of compiling this book.