50 Must-Remember Ancient Chinese Poems and Prose for Junior High Students - Revised Edition

Author: Wang Feng, Ma Benpeng
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2002-01-01
Features: The Ministry of Education promulgated the "Curriculum Standards for Compulsory Education Chinese" in July 2001. This book is compiled based on the recommended ancient Chinese and classical poetry and prose for in junior high school as outlined in the "Standards," selecting a total of fifty pieces. We often say that ancient China had a tradition of not separating literature, history, and philosophy. Half of the classical Chinese texts selected in this book are not the literary prose we usually refer to, but historical and philosophical prose. For example, the articles selected from "The Analects" and "Mencius" belong to Confucian classics, primarily expressing philosophical insights on governance, conduct, and human nature. However, they do not present dry theories but are rich in literary charm: "The Analects" skillfully uses concise language to record the words and appearances of figures, while "Fish I Want" and "Born of Suffering, Died of Comfort" reflect Mencius's expertise in metaphors and powerful rhetoric. "The Battle of Cao Ji" and "Zhao Ji's Persuasion of King Qi to Accept Advice" are historical prose pieces, yet they also demonstrate exceptional narrative techniques and vivid writing. "The Three Gorges" is selected from the geographical work "Annotations to the Waterways of China," and it is also a beautiful and concise piece of literary prose. "The Memorial to the Emperor" and "A Letter to Ma Sheng on His Journey East" are practical essays—the latter discusses attitudes and methods of learning, still offering practical insights today. These articles are relatively plain in style, unadorned, but they all pay attention to structure and layout, employing various techniques with genuine emotions, equally possessing strong artistic appeal. The literary prose in the book ranges from over 400 to 500 words long, such as "Record of Yueyang Tower" and "Record of," to under 100 words, such as "On the Love of Lotus" and "Record of a Night Visit to Chengtian Temple," fully reflecting the vivid, concise, and exquisite characteristics of ancient Chinese prose. The phrases "To be worried before others and happy after others" from "Record of Yueyang Tower," "The meaning of the Drunken Old Man is not in the wine" from "Record of," and "Lotus emerging from mud without being stained" from "On the Love of Lotus" are concise and highly summarized, becoming widely quoted famous sayings. Many outstanding ancient Chinese writers were deeply concerned with reality and held beautiful ideals. Even if they could not change the corrupt reality, they never abandoned their ideals and never compromised with the morally corrupt. This thought is reflected in essays like "The Memorial to the Emperor," "The Peach Blossom Spring," and "Record of Yueyang Tower," as well as in poems like "Song of the Thatched Roof Blown by Autumn Wind" and "Crossing the Lingdingyang." This strong patriotic and people-centered sentiment, as well as the noble spirit of dedicating oneself to ideals, runs through ancient Chinese literature and poetry. The poems selected in this book span over two thousand years, from the "Book of Songs" to the late Qing Dynasty, covering various forms from four-character and five-character quatrains to seven-character quatrains, as well as regulated verse, ci poetry, and sanqu. Their styles and contents evolve with the times, offering readers multi-dimensional and multi-angle artistic inspiration and aesthetic enjoyment. Whether it is the grandeur and magnificence of "View of the Ocean" and "Song for Wu Pan's Return to Court," the subtlety and grace of "Reed Flats" and "Autumn Thoughts in Jingsha," or the freshness and elegance of "Drinking," they all evoke a sense of longing. Chinese poetry reached its peak in the Tang Dynasty, with over 50,000 extant Tang poems, diverse in style, theme, and excellence. Great poets like Li Bai and Du Fu left behind the most brilliant treasures in the literary treasury. More than half of the poems selected in this book are Tang poems, reflecting this objective reality. From "Sending Wang Changling to Longbiao from Afar" and "Hard Road," we can see Li Bai's unrestrained, imaginative, and metaphorical style, while Du Fu's melancholic and rhythmic, as well as his concern for the times and sorrow for the world, are fully expressed in poems like "Spring View" and "Song of the Thatched Roof Blown by Autumn Wind." Additionally, Bai Juyi's poems are straightforward and flowing, Li He's are magnificent and unique, Li Shangyin's are mournful and lingering, and others like Wang Wei, Cen Shen, and Liu Yuxi each excel in their own ways, showing the vibrant and diverse landscape of Chinese poetry. From national and people's livelihood to personal experiences, the content of these poems is also varied and rich. Beyond the common themes of focusing on reality and pursuing ideals, sincere friendship, family love, romantic love, and nostalgia have always been indispensable themes in poetry since ancient times, as artfully expressed in works like "The Song of the Silkworms," "Seeing Du Shaofu Off to Shu," and "Night Rain to Bei." Regardless of whether the emotions are intense or mild, or whether the expression is direct or subtle, they all share the commonality of being substantial in content and rich in emotion. Later generations describe the overall characteristics of Tang poetry as "the atmosphere of the prosperous Tang" and "the spirit of youth," which is very reasonable. Many ancient writers excelled in both prose and poetry, such as Han Yu, Liu Yuxi, and Su Shi. This book includes both their prose and poetry. Different genres reveal different aspects of the same writer. For example, Han Yu's "Miscellaneous Discourses" (IV) are short and sharp like a dagger thrown at a target, while "Early Spring Presented to Zhang Jia, Head of the Water Department" is elegant and pleasing, showing another side of the author. The versatile literary talent of Su Shi is reflected in his poetry, ci, and prose, all of which achieve high artistic merit. They are distinctive yet consistent. His works like "Night Visit to Chengtian Temple," "River Town in Mici Hunting," and "Water Moon Dream" all demonstrate a broad perspective and extraordinary talent. By studying and memorizing these poems and prose, readers can deepen their understanding of ancient Chinese culture, art, and language, laying a foundation for future engagement with more Chinese cultural classics. Below each selected poem and prose, there are three supplementary sections to aid learning: author biographies, annotations, and interpretations. The author biographies provide background information on the authors and their works. The annotations explain difficult characters, terms, and allusions, with interpretations accurate and concise, and some difficult characters are annotated with pinyin. The interpretation section focuses on analyzing the main content and characteristics of the articles to help readers and teachers, parents better understand the ideological content and artistic features. Ancient Chinese literature and art are interconnected. The book includes several ancient Chinese paintings that correspond to the content of the poems and prose, helping readers deepen their understanding and broaden their perspectives.