To be an official, one must know

Author: Zheng Duan (Qing Dynasty)
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2003-01-01
Features: The traditional culture of the Chinese nation has a long and enduring history, and historical records are vast as the sea of smoke. As the long river of history rolls forward, the great waves wash away the sands, leaving behind the preserved documents as scattered gold and silver, particularly precious. The admonitory and instructive literature passed down in Chinese folk (private, family) circles directly reflects the moral ideals people advocated at the time, more directly and authentically embodying the characteristics of Chinese culture than those grand official Confucian classics. These educational texts for scholars and officials teaching their descendants comprehensively and thoroughly elaborate on a series of principles for conduct, ambition, family relationships, and interpersonal interactions. They also touch upon topics such as governing, ruling the state, academic pursuits, self-cultivation, and nurturing one's nature, as well as reflections on society, nature, and life, serving as valuable references for the construction of our current spiritual civilization and moral norms. Such maxims and family precepts are often concise, vivid, straightforward, and easy to recite, possessing great aesthetic value. As products of history, they naturally contain some negative and backward elements. We adopt an attitude of upholding the good while discarding the bad, having done the work of organizing and removing such content. At the same time, we hope readers will exercise correct judgment and understanding.