Three Character Classic, Hundred Family Surnames, Thousand-Character Classic

Author: Anonymous
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2000-09-05
Features:
Excerpt 1: On top, a grass radical, below, the character for "execute." The eight tones are: gourd, earth, hide, wood, stone, metal, silk, and bamboo.
[Annotation] "Gourd" refers to the calabash, used for the sheng (a reed pipe wind instrument): made of purple bamboo, with seventeen pipes arranged in a gourd. "Earth" refers to earthenware, used for the xun and chi: the xun is earthen, egg-sized, pointed at the top with a flat bottom like a pestle, and has six holes; the chi is bamboo, 14 inches long, 3 inches in circumference, with seven holes, one extending upward, totaling eight holes, blown horizontally. "Hide" refers to leather, used for the ying drum: 3 feet tall, 2 feet 1 inch wide, struck three times per musical phrase with a beater. "Wood" refers to wooden instruments, such as the zhu and di: the zhu, made of fir, resembles a square barrel with a circular hole on top, three sides painted with mountains, one with water; it produces three sounds by striking the bottom and then the sides to begin the music; the di resembles a crouching tiger, with 27 tines on its back, made of bamboo 4 inches long, split into ten stalks, called di, its back struck to adjust the music. "Stone" refers to jade instruments, used as chimes. "Metal" refers to copper gongs, drums, suona horns, trumpets, zheng, bells, and cymbals. "Silk" refers to instruments like the pipa, qin, and se. "Bamboo" refers to instruments like the flute, guan, xiao, yu, and flute.
[Definition] These eight tones were invented by Huangdi's minister, Rong. According to tradition, each of the Five Emperors and Three Kings had their own music, used in temples to honor ancestors, in nature to worship gods, in courts to display etiquette, and at banquets to entertain guests. Thus, when rituals and music are complete, governance succeeds. The uses of music are broadly as follows.
Grandparents, parents, oneself, children, and grandchildren form the nine clans, the human order.
[Definition] The family line above oneself is called the father's line; the father's father is the grandfather, the grandfather's father is the great-grandfather, and the great-grandfather's father is the patriarch. The family line below oneself is called the son's line; the son's son is the grandson, the grandson's son is the great-grandson, and the great-grandson's son is the great-great-grandson. From the patriarch to the great-great-grandson, there are nine generations, known as the nine clans. The term "clan" implies multitude. Among them, births are abundant, with varying degrees of closeness and distance. "Order" refers to hierarchy. Respect and age determine roles without chaos. All of these relatives—brothers, sons, fathers, uncles—originate from the same root of human bonds, which should be nurtured with kindness and respect. A father's love, a husband's submission, a brother's friendship, a younger brother's respect, seniority and juniority, friendship between friends, a ruler's reverence, and a subject's loyalty: these ten virtues are universal.
[Definition] The five relationships are father and son, husband and wife, elder and younger brothers, and friends and ruler and subject. From the perspective of human order, the nine clans further include ten virtues: a father's kindness, a son's filial piety, a husband's leadership, a wife's obedience, an elder brother's friendship, a younger brother's respect, a senior's kindness, a junior's order, a friend's sincerity, and a ruler's respect, a subject's loyalty. These ten virtues are shared by all.
To educate the young, one must elaborate on meanings, clarify sentences, and study classics.
[Definition] "Meng" refers to the initial growth of grass, ignorance and obscurity. To instruct young children, one must explain principles, examine facts, and thoroughly research classical texts to open their ignorance. Additionally, one must clarify sentences and phrases: a full sentence is a "sentence," and half is a "phrase." If a sentence is too long, slight pauses are added to aid memorization.
A learner must begin with primary education, then progress to the Four Books.
[Definition] Ancient scholars followed a progressive order in studying. First, they read Xiaoxue (Primary Learning), learning etiquette, rituals, music, archery, charioteering, calligraphy, and mathematics, and understanding how to serve parents and respect elders. Then, they studied the twenty chapters of Lunyu (The Analects), recording the teachings of Confucius and his disciples.
[Annotation] "Lun" means "discourse," and "yu" means "response."
[Definition] Lunyu is a book recording Confucius's teachings, discussing learning, governance, rituals, and music in Lu. It is divided into twenty chapters, including 253 chapters repeated, totaling 15,917 characters, all recorded by Confucius's disciples. There is also Qi Lun (The Argument), divided into twenty-two chapters, with many chapters similar to Lu Lun. However, Qi Lun is no longer in circulation today, and only Lu Lun is used in examinations.
Mengzi (The Master Mencius) has seven chapters, discussing morality and benevolence.
[Definition] Mencius's surname is Meng, given name Ke, courtesy name Ziyou. Following his mother's teachings, he studied under Zisi and became a great scholar. He traveled to Qi and Liang but failed to spread his ideas widely, so he retired to (Zou) and taught his disciples about morality and benevolence, writing Mengzi, which has seven chapters, totaling 35,377 characters. The sixteen disciples of Mencius are: Le Zhengzi, Wan Zhang, Gongsun Chou, Gongsun Zi, Chengqiu Meng, Chen Zhen, Wulu Zi, Gao Zi, Chen Dai, Peng Geng, Chong Yu, Teng Geng, Tao Ying, Xu Pi, Meng Ji Zi, and Meng Zhong Zi.
Zhongyong was written by Zisi (Zengzi's disciple) and records the "zhong" (moderation) and "yong" (constancy).
[Annotation] "Zhong" means avoiding excess or deficiency, and "yong" means normalcy. Zisi (Zi Ling, Confucius's grandson, and Zili's son) studied under Zengzi and wrote Zhongyong, which was passed to Mencius.
[Definition] The Confucian school's teachings prioritize the "zhongyong"—a path of fairness, balance, and sincerity, free of extremes. Only sages can follow this path. The sixteen-character heart transmission is: "Human minds are perilous, while the Dao's mind is subtle; only with precision and unity can one truly hold the center." It was passed from Yao to Shun, then to Yu, Wen Wang, the Duke of Zhou, Confucius, Zengzi, Zisi, and finally Mencius. After Mencius's death, it was no longer transmitted. Zhongyong has thirty-three chapters, including three repetitions of "those in lower positions" within twenty chapters, totaling 3,568 characters.
Da Xu (Great Learning) was written by Zengzi and outlines self-cultivation, family harmony, and governance.
[Annotation] "Da Xu" refers to the study of the great person. Zengzi's surname is Zeng, given name Can, courtesy name Ziyou. His father's name was Dian (also Xian). His son was Zeng Yuan, and his grandson was Zeng Xi.
[Definition] Zengzi studied under Confucius and taught in Xihe and Wucheng. He wrote Da Xu, summarizing Confucius's teachings, divided into ten chapters, three principles, and eight methods, totaling 1,753 characters. Zhu Xi added a chapter inspired by Cheng Xi, adding 134 characters.
When Xiao Jing (the Classic of Filial Piety) is mastered and the Four Books are familiar, one may begin studying the Six Books.
[Annotation] Xiao Jing has eighteen chapters, written by Confucius, explaining the principles of filial piety.
[Definition] In ancient times, students first studied Xiao Jing, then the Four Books. After fully understanding Xiao Jing and mastering the Four Books, they could study the Six Books. However, only Lunyu and Mengzi are included here. Zhu Xi extracted Da Xu and Zhongyong from the Book of Rites and annotated them, compiling them with the Four Books into a single volume. Thus, it is called the Four Books, totaling 433 chapters and 57,746 characters.
Shi Shu Yi, Li Chunqiu are the Six Classics, which should be studied.
[Definition] This refers to the six classics: Shijing, Shujing, Yijing, Rujing, Daijing, and Chunqiu. Scholars should study and research them. The Rujing was once among the six classics but is now considered one of the five classics. The five classics are: Shijing (also called the "Floral Classic"), totaling 39,222 characters; Shujing (also called the "Carried Classic"), totaling 25,500 characters, also known as the "Wall Classic"; Yijing (also called the "Hua Classic"), totaling 24,707 characters; Daijing (also called the "Dai Classic"), totaling 99,020 characters; and Chunqiu (also called the "Linhua Classic"), totaling 18,000 characters.
There is Lianshan, Guizang, and Zhoubi, the three Yi.
[Definition] Lianshan, Guizang, and Zhoubi are the titles of three books. In the time of the Xia dynasty, they were based on the "San Fen" (Three Fossils) to create the Yi—Lianshan, with Gen (a mountain radical) as its starting point, symbolizing mountains. The Great Image includes eight elements: ruler, subject, people, objects, yin, yang, weapons, and images, all grouped under the mountain theme. In the Shang dynasty, they were based on the "San Fen" to create the Yi—Guizang, with Kun (a earth radical) as its starting point, symbolizing earth. The Great Image includes eight elements: storage, life, movement, stillness, growth, nourishment, order, and destruction, all grouped under the air theme. In the Zhou dynasty, they were based on the "San Fen" to create the Yi—Zhoubi, with Qian (a heaven radical) as its starting point, symbolizing heaven. The Great Image includes eight elements: heaven, earth, sun, moon, mountains, rivers, clouds, and air, all grouped under the form theme. These three books are the "San Yi." The "San Fen" are the books of the Three Emperors. The "Wu Dian" are the books of the Five Emperors. Fu Xi drew the hexagrams before the invention of writing, and Cang Jie invented characters after it.