Classics of Ancient Chinese (Parallel Text)

Author: Wu Chucai (Qing Dynasty)
Publisher:
Publishing Date: Not available
Features: This book is divided into twelve volumes, collecting over a hundred classical Chinese essays from the Zhou to Ming dynasties, as well as those from the Qing Dynasty in the companion volume Essays of the Qing Dynasty: A Must-Read. In addition to the original text, it includes detailed translations in colloquial Chinese, comprehensive annotations, and summaries of the content. The book is rich in content and innovative in form, combining knowledge and readability. Through reading it, readers can broaden their knowledge, expand their horizons, and improve their ability to read and understand classical Chinese. Essays of the Qing Dynasty: A Must-Read extends the scope of Essays of the Ming and Qing Dynasties: A Must-Read from the Zhou and Qin periods to the Ming Dynasty, continuing with the Qing Dynasty's essays to create a complete collection. For those who have already read Essays of the Ming and Qing Dynasties: A Must-Read, this volume serves as a perfect complement. The selection of Qing Dynasty essays follows these criteria: (1) Relevance to the times. (2) In addition to renowned masterpieces, essays with profound meaning and contributions to society are also included. (3) A wide range of literary styles are selected to ensure comprehensiveness, allowing readers to generalize from specific examples.
The purpose of compiling Essays of the Ming and Qing Dynasties: A Must-Read is "to cultivate moral education and benefit future learners," providing young people with an introductory text for studying classical Chinese prose. In the preface to Three Hundred Tang Poems, Sun Shu, known as "Retired Scholar of Hongtang," wrote: "Read three hundred Tang poems thoroughly, and even if you cannot compose poetry, you will know how to." Similarly, we can say: "By reading most of the essays in Essays of the Ming and Qing Dynasties: A Must-Read, one becomes familiar with the vocabulary, grammatical structures, and rhetorical techniques of classical Chinese, gains a wealth of emotional knowledge, lays a foundation for reading and even writing classical Chinese, and grasps the general outline of the development of classical Chinese prose in ancient China. This opens the door to further study. Moreover, these over two hundred essays are short and mostly widely acclaimed, making them easy to memorize. For three hundred years, it has been immensely popular with readers. Its widespread circulation among the general public can be said to have surpassed Essays Classified by Genre: A Must-Read compiled by the master Yao Nai of the Tongcheng School during the Qing Dynasty, becoming a must-read textbook for beginners in classical Chinese. Even after the 1911 Revolution, many schools continued to use it as a national literature textbook.