3 h 27 minAudiobook7 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
You will enjoy this if you like history told through speeches, if you read essays and letters for their wit and feeling, or if you wonder how ancient advisers spoke truth to power.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A ruler who waits lets wrongdoing grow
- Virtue protects a state better than treasure
- Small states survive by clear and fearless speech
- Let people speak or face the flood
- The strategists turn words into power
- Sima Qian writes history out of suffering
- Han writers argue about danger, grain and strangers
- Tang and Song essayists make the small thing carry the large
- Later writers turn to inner life and loss
Formats and delivery
- eBook
- On your phone, tablet or computer, once the book texts are online.
- Large-print eBook
- The same book in bigger, clearer type, once the book texts are online.
- Audiobook
- Read by Lucas Linden, complete. It opens once the recording is online.
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas in about 7 minutes, to read today.
- 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.
Every printed copy is made when you order it and shipped worldwide; shipping is shown at checkout. The eBook and the audiobook open when the book texts go online.
How it works
- Start free. Nothing to pay today; the eBook of this book is yours to keep.
- Read, listen and print. 200,000+ classics as eBook, large-print eBook, audiobook and 15-minute summary, and any book printed at cost as a paperback, hardcover or large print, 5 accounts for the price of one.
- We remind you first. Free for 3 months, and we email you 7 days before your first payment. Then 0,14 USD a day in your first year on the yearly plan and 0,27 USD a day after, or 0,66 USD a day on the monthly plan. Cancel online in two clicks.
Bought on its own? Every eBook, audiobook and printed book you buy without the plan carries our 30-day money-back guarantee.
Le meilleur de la prose chinoise classique
Duke Zhuang of Zheng digs a tunnel to a spring so he can meet his mother without breaking his oath.
Challenging2–5 hours to readfrançais
Excellent
- Read or listen
- Print and large print at cost
- 5 accounts for the price of one
Free for 3 months · starts right away, on any device
Read free3 months free · cancel anytimeFree for 3 months, then 0,14 USD a dayCancel anytimeHow it works
In short
What does a duke do when his own mother and brother plot against him? The first pages of this anthology answer with a story of patience, a secret tunnel and a reunion.
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A ruler who waits lets wrongdoing grow
The anthology opens with the Zuo Tradition and a family quarrel. Duke Zhuang of Zheng grants his younger brother Duan the walled city of Jing at their mother's urging. Ministers warn him that a large city is a danger to the state.
The duke answers that a man who does much wrong brings about his own ruin, and he tells them to wait. Duan gathers troops, and the duchess plans to open the gates to him. The duke strikes at once, and Duan flees. In anger, the duke confines his mother and swears they will meet only in the Yellow Springs, the land of the dead. Soon he regrets the oath.
Free for 3 months · Cancel anytime
You looked at
Which edition is right for me
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas of the whole book in about 7 minutes. A good first look, or a refresher.
Details
- Language
- français
- Reading time
- 2 h 15 min
- Level
- Challenging
Free gifts
580 USD in free gifts when you start
Every book in every format and in 25 languages, 5 accounts for the price of one. Nothing to pay today.
- 200,000+ classic eBooksIn 25 languages, side by side
170 USDFREE - Every audiobookIn 25 languages, any device
120 USDFREE - 15-minute summariesRead or listen, in 25 languages
60 USDFREE - Print at cost, no markupPaperback, hardcover, large print
60 USDFREE - 5 accounts for the price of oneA shelf for everyone at home
170 USDFREE - A part in rebuilding the libraryNew languages and books for all
FREE
Questions about Le meilleur de la prose chinoise classique
Can I read it free?
Yes. The first key idea of the 15-minute summary is free with no sign-up. Start free and the whole book is yours for 3 months, with the eBook to keep, plus 200,000+ more classics and any book printed at cost as a paperback, hardcover or large print. Nothing to pay today: we email you 7 days before your first payment, and you can cancel online in two clicks.
Can I buy the printed book?
Soon. The paperback, hardcover and large print editions are being prepared. Choose Paperback or Hardcover above, leave your email, and we tell you the day you can order it, printed at cost.
How many accounts do I get?
Five, for the price of one: you and 4 more people, each with their own login, shelf and their own place in every book.
Can I cancel anytime?
Yes. Cancel online in two clicks at any time and nothing more is charged. Nothing is charged in your first 3 months, and we email you 7 days before your first payment.
What is The Best of Classical Chinese Prose about?
It is an anthology of Chinese prose drawn from many periods, from early court histories and persuasions through Han memorials and Tang and Song essays to Ming and Qing letters and records. The themes are government, duty, friendship and loss.
Who are the main writers in the collection?
Early pieces come from the Zuo Tradition, the Discourses of the States and the Strategies of the Warring States. Later writers include Sima Qian, Jia Yi, Han Yu, Liu Zongyuan, Ouyang Xiu, Su Shi, Wang Shouren and Zeng Guofan.
Are the pieces true stories?
Many are historical records or real letters, while some, like the Peach Blossom Spring and the animal tales of Liu Zongyuan, are fables or imaginative writing. The headings give a writer or source, helping you place the pieces.
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.
More like this
Our mission
The library burned once. We are building it back.
Every great book, in every language and every format, for every family. Every plan helps pay for new languages, new audiobooks and books for readers who have never had them. Join the movement.
Read our story- Every language25 languages today, side by side, and more every year
- No wastePrinted on demand: no warehouses, no unsold stock, no pulped copies
- For everyonePaperback, hardcover and large print at the cost of printing
