3 h 27 minAudiobook14 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at cost
Audiobook edition · 3 h 27 minPaperback · 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
Readers drawn to persuasive speeches, clever strategists, reflective essays, and heartfelt letters will enjoy this anthology, especially if they wonder how writers express duty, friendship, and grief.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- Early court scenes weigh family against state
- A calm mind and a clear argument beat armies
- Zichan shows how a small state keeps dignity
- Rulers who silence warnings invite their own ruin
- Persuaders of the Warring States speak to interest
- Qin and Han writers argue for order and fairness
- Memorials and prefaces join duty with private feeling
- Han Yu and Liu Zongyuan write plain, pointed prose
- Song writers find lessons in gardens, rain, and poverty
- Late writers grieve, mock, and teach by example
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- Large print hardcover
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Lo mejor de la prosa clásica china
A duke digs a tunnel to meet his banished mother, and an old man lowered over a wall talks an army away.
Challenging2–5 hours to readEspañol
Excellent
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In short
Would you open the gate to a brother your mother loves, or dig a tunnel to see her again? A duke in the very first piece faces his mother's support for his brother and later finds a way to see her again.
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
Early court scenes weigh family against state
The Zuo Tradition supplies the earliest scenes in the book.
Duke Zhuang of Zheng was born feetfirst, and his mother, Wu Jiang, comes to hate him for it. She favors his younger brother Duan and asks for the large fief of Jing. The duke waits. Duan stores weapons and plans to attack the capital while his mother opens the gates. The duke sends two hundred chariots against Jing, Duan flees, and the duke confines his mother, swearing they will not meet until the Yellow Springs, the land of the dead.
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Which edition is right for me
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas of the whole book in about 14 minutes. A good first look, or a refresher.
Details
- Language
- Español
- Reading time
- 2 h 15 min
- Level
- Challenging
Cite this edition
Wu, Chengquan, and Wu Dazhi. The Best of Classical Chinese Prose. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-best-of-classical-chinese-prose.
Wu, C., & Wu, D. (2026). The best of classical Chinese prose. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-best-of-classical-chinese-prose
Wu, Chengquan, and Wu Dazhi. The Best of Classical Chinese Prose. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-best-of-classical-chinese-prose.
@book{wu2026best,
author = {Wu, Chengquan and Wu, Dazhi},
title = {The Best of Classical Chinese Prose},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-best-of-classical-chinese-prose}
}
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What is The Best of Classical Chinese Prose about?
It is an anthology of short pieces by many writers, from court speeches in the Zuo Tradition to essays of the Ming and Qing. It covers statecraft, history, letters, prefaces, travel records, and reflections on friendship, duty, and grief.
Who compiled this collection and who are the main writers in it?
Wu Chengquan and Wu Dazhi, uncle and nephew, compiled it. Major writers include Sima Qian, Jia Yi, Zhuge Liang, Han Yu, Liu Zongyuan, Ouyang Xiu, Su Shi, Wang Shouren, and Gu Yanwu.
Is it a story with one plot or separate pieces?
It is a gathering of separate pieces arranged roughly in time. Each stands on its own, and many contain vivid scenes, such as a duke digging a tunnel or an envoy lowered over a city wall.
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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