3 h 27 minAudiobook4 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at costPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
How do you advise a ruler, speak for a state, or put the world into words?
The Best of Classical Chinese Prose brings together short pieces from the early Zhou period to the Ming dynasty. It opens a wide landscape of Chinese history and thought through court speeches, philosophical parables, letters, travel essays and prefaces.
In scenes from the Zuo Zhuan and other early chronicles, rulers, ministers and envoys speak in the courts of rival states. Elsewhere, Sima Qian represents Han historical writing, while officials address rulers with loyalty and anxiety. These pieces let you encounter the work of arguing, advising and describing, one short text at a time.
What you’ll discover
- Voices from rival courts Meet rulers, ministers and envoys through speeches rooted in the affairs of competing states.
- History through prose Explore early chronicles and the writing of Sima Qian within a broad historical selection.
- The weight of advice Read memorials where officials bring both loyalty and anxiety to their words for rulers.
- Ways of seeing Move between philosophical parables, personal letters and travel essays to discover different approaches to the world.
- A path into literature Follow a teaching anthology that introduces generations of readers to older Chinese writing.
Who will love it
For readers curious about Chinese history, thought and letters, and teachers or students who enjoy a wide sample in short pieces. Court speeches, philosophical parables, letters and travel essays offer many voices to explore.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A teaching anthology from the Qing dynasty
- Early voices of states, speakers and sages
- Han and Tang writers on duty, loss and nature
- What the anthology kept alive
Formats and delivery
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- Audiobook
- 3 h 27 min, complete, read by Lucas Linden.
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas in about 4 minutes, to read or to hear.
- Paperback
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Hardcover
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print paperback
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print hardcover
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
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Die schönsten Werke der klassischen chinesischen Prosa
Court speeches, parables and letters reveal how Chinese writers argue, advise rulers and describe the world.
Challenging2–5 hours to read25 languages
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In short
This is an anthology of short Chinese prose pieces spread over about two thousand years, from the early Zhou period to the Ming dynasty. It was put together in the Qing dynasty by two scholars of the Wu family, Wu Chengquan and Wu Dazhi.
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A teaching anthology from the Qing dynasty
The collection began as a school book. The Wu family scholars wanted pupils to have a short, well-ordered path through the best writing of earlier ages. They did not aim at every author or every genre. They picked pieces that could be read aloud, learned by heart and used as models for the formal essays that an educated person needed to write.
The pieces are arranged roughly in time. The early sections draw on old chronicles and records of states and statesmen. Later sections move through the Han, the age of division, the Tang and the Song, and end in the Ming. Each piece is short enough to be studied in a sitting.
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What is The Best of Classical Chinese Prose about?
It is a collection of short pieces of Chinese prose from about two thousand years, including court speeches, historical episodes, philosophy, memorials, letters and essays on travel and nature.
Who compiled this anthology of classical Chinese prose?
It was compiled by Wu Chengquan and Wu Dazhi, scholars of the Qing dynasty, who chose the pieces to teach students how to read and write the classical literary language.
What periods of Chinese history does it cover?
It runs roughly in time order from the early Zhou period and the Warring States through the Han, Tang and Song to the Ming dynasty.
The author
Wu Chengquan
1655–1719 · Chinese Qing dynasty scholar
Wu Chengquan (1655–1719), also known as Wu Chucai, was a scholar who lived in China during the Qing dynasty. He came from Shaoxing, in Zhejiang province. With his nephew Wu Daren, he compiled Guwen guanzhi, an anthology of classical Chinese prose. The anthology was first published in 1695.
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