Four-character epitome

Author: Zhang Wanjun
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Publishing Date: 2004-10-01
Features: There are numerous books that record the splendid history of China over 5,000 years. How to condense this long historical record, summarize the key points, and make it into popular and accessible reading material for historical education has been a matter of great importance to scholars as early as a thousand years ago. The great philosopher and educator Zhu Xi of the Southern Song Dynasty simplified the content of books like the Zizhi Tongjian and compiled the Tongjian Gangmu. In the Ming Dynasty, scholars Wang Shizhen and Yuan Huang separately compiled even more concise versions called Gangjian, which were named after the compilers, such as Yuan Wang Gangjian He Can and Yuan Liefan Gangjian, and were repeatedly reprinted. During the Qing Dynasty, there was the official Imperial Edicts on the Zizhi Tongjian Compilation, and Wu Chengquan (styled Chucai), the compiler of Guwen Guanzhi, also wrote Gangjian Yizhi Lu, both of which were ancient texts summarizing the history of China. However, these concise chronicles were mainly intended for scholars and primary students and could not serve as children's reading materials. Popular reading materials for children's literacy education were all in rhyming form, making them easier to remember. The earliest rhyming reading material on Chinese history is undoubtedly the Three-Character Classic compiled by Wang Yinglin during the Southern Song Dynasty. Although this book is primarily focused on Confucian ethical and moral education, it includes over 200 characters dedicated to the history of China.