Classics for Children: Increase of Virtue

Author: Gao Xiuchang, Ge Peiling
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-12-01
Features: In recent years, reading classics and learning traditional Chinese culture have become a bright feature of our era. From universities to middle schools, primary schools, and kindergartens; from academia to politics, business, and cultural circles; from cities to rural areas; from mainland China to Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, and overseas Chinese communities, reading, reciting, and studying traditional Chinese culture and researching it have become a widespread trend, resembling a "classic reading movement." This is commendable. History of all nations, both ancient and modern, has proven that only by actively and continuously returning to their own traditions can a nation innovate while inheriting and develop, truly standing tall among the world's nations. "Returning to the roots and opening new paths" is the universal path for the development of all cultures. To pass on the excellent spiritual essence of our nation's traditional culture, every Chinese person should, to varying degrees, understand and familiarize themselves with our traditional classics. The "Four Books and Five Classics," as well as other traditional classics, are the carriers of our national cultural spirit. Therefore, as Chinese people, it is essential to receive a certain level of classic education from a young age, walk alongside the classics, and be friends with the sages. Through reading and reciting classics, we can regulate our words and deeds, cultivate our character, enlighten our wisdom, and develop our personalities, inheriting the national spirit of the Chinese nation—resilience, virtue, and harmony—subtly and gradually. This will not only bring fresh vitality to the rapid and healthy development of our country in the future but also greatly benefit world peace and progress. Traditional classic education and modern education are complementary and parallel, and we cannot neglect traditional classic education in the emphasis on modern education, nor vice versa. The correct approach is to organically integrate the two, achieving the effect of "mutual benefit."
In light of this, we have compiled this series of children's readers on traditional Chinese classics. Currently, there are many classic readers available, each with its own strengths. The readers we have compiled include both complete and selected works, with phonetic annotations and explanations, as well as summaries of sentences and paragraphs, aiming to provide a set of classic readers suitable for children. This annotated series consists of twelve volumes: The Book of Changes, The Analects, Mencius, The Great Learning and The Doctrine of the Mean, The Tao Te Ching, The Zhuangzi, The Book of Songs, The Art of War, The Three-Character Classic and The Classic of Filial Piety, The Thousand-Character Classic, The Hundred Family Surnames, and The Thousand-Character Poems, The Rules for Students and The Duties of Scholars, and The Family Precepts of Zhu Xi. The authors who participated in the annotations are experts with specialized knowledge, and we have specially invited authoritative experts from the China Confucius Society to review them, ensuring the quality of this classic series. Classics are works that awaken human nature, capable of opening people's wisdom! Classics can delve deep into the depths of a person's soul, cultivating an elegant temperament and a kind and honest character! In the long history of China's five thousand years of civilization, what has endured to this day are the Classics, Histories, Philosophies, and Collections. The Children's Readers on Traditional Chinese Classics have been rechecked and revised for their essence, accompanied by colloquial translations to facilitate children's reading and enhance their interest. Reading and reciting classics step by step will benefit you for a lifetime! The Family Precepts of Zhu Xi can be said to be an excellent collection of folk proverbs, most of which teach people how to navigate life, stand up in society, and survive and thrive. This book largely reflects the life principles of ordinary people in ancient China and also includes some Taoist or Buddhist ways of handling life.