30 Chinese Classics

No matter how fierce the collision of old and new cultures is, no matter how Eastern and Western civilizations merge and penetrate each other, we cannot ignore or betray the vast treasure house of Chinese traditional culture, because traditional culture is the property of a country and a nation. Identity mark. Below are 30 Chinese classics that I have compiled for you. Welcome to read.

The degree of reading changes the length of life; the depth of reading determines the level of ideological realm. No matter how fiercely the old and new cultures collide, no matter how Eastern and Western civilizations merge and penetrate each other, we cannot ignore or betray the vast treasure house of Chinese traditional culture, because traditional culture is the identity symbol of a country and a nation. Since the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, although dynasties have come and gone and things have gone through vicissitudes in Chinese history, Chinese culture has been like the sun, moon, sky, and rivers flowing over the earth. The vast number of classics of Chinese classics are clear evidence that Chinese civilization has stood firm in the history of human civilization. "The Analects of Confucius"

Confucius, recognized as one of the top ten celebrities in the world, is the most profound thinker, philosopher, and educator who has influenced Chinese culture, politics, and institutions. The "The Analects of Confucius" records the words and deeds of him and his disciples. It is called "the Holy Spirit" in China. "Tao Te Ching"

Lao Tzu is the greatest philosopher and thinker in ancient China. His "Tao Te Ching" is profound and profound. Over the years, philosophers, politicians, military strategists, writers, and scientists have Even ordinary people have drawn wisdom from it. "Zhuangzi"

Zhuangzi is the master of Taoism. In the turbulent and noisy environment of the Warring States Period, his thoughts reflected a tranquil brilliance. The book "Zhuangzi" can be called a profound and profound treasure house of thoughts, resources and philosophy of the Chinese nation, which has profoundly affected the soul of every person in China. "Mencius"

The reason why Mencius, known as the "Senior Sage" of Confucianism, has become a century-old teacher in Chinese history is because of the profound thoughts reflected in his work "Mencius". Mencius's "awe-inspiring spirit" and his integrity: "wealth and honor cannot be licentious, poverty and lowliness cannot be moved, and power cannot be surrendered". We can still imagine his glory after the Qian Dynasty. "Mozi"

As a Mohist school of thought The founder, Mozi's economic theory of strengthening the country and enriching the people, non-offensive counter-war, and military thought of defense and self-defense. It is unique and the system is entirely a logical theory. "Xunzi"

The articles in "Xunzi" have clear themes, rigorous structure, thorough reasoning, and strong logic. His language is rich and colorful, he is good at metaphors, and he has many parallel sentences. He has his own unique style and has a certain influence on later generations of reasoning articles. The five short poems in "Xunzi" created the literary genre named after Fu; he wrote "Chengxiang Pian" in the form of folk songs at that time. The text is easy to understand and he used the form of rap to express his political and academic thoughts. It also has a certain impact on future generations. Gou Kuang deserves to be regarded as a great thinker, outstanding writer and educator in ancient my country. Xunzi regarded it as a master. "Han Feizi"

The book "Han Feizi" focuses on promoting Han's rule of law theory that combines law, technique and power. Han Fei's theory of combining "law", "skill" and "potential" reached the highest peak of pre-Qin legalist theory, providing theoretical weapons for Qin to unify the six countries, and at the same time, it also provided theory for the future feudal autocratic system according to. Han Fei's thought of simple dialectics is also prominent. He first proposed the theory of contradiction and used the fable of a spear and a shield to illustrate the principle that "the unbreakable shield and the all-fallable spear cannot exist in the same world." It is worth mentioning that the book "Han Feizi" records a large number of popular fables, the most famous of which are "self-contradiction", "waiting for rabbits", "concealing illness and avoiding medical treatment", "false use of Yu to make up for numbers", "old horse knows the way" and so on. These vivid fables contain profound philosophy. With their perfect combination of ideological and artistic qualities, they inspire people with wisdom and have high literary value. "Sun Tzu's Art of War"

"Sun Tzu's Art of War" is a brilliant treasure in China's classical military cultural heritage and an important part of China's excellent cultural tradition. It is the greatest military theory work in ancient China and one of the most influential and widespread Chinese ancient books in the world.

The strategic thoughts and philosophical thoughts it expounds are widely used in military, political, economic and other fields. Its content is broad and profound, its thoughts are profound and rich, and its logic is meticulous and rigorous. The author is Sun Wu, the great military strategist of the Spring and Autumn Period. It was written about 2,500 years ago in the late Spring and Autumn Period. It is the earliest military theory work in the world, and is more famous than "On War" written by Clausewitz in Europe. Still 2300 years early. "Zuo Zhuan"

Another outstanding achievement in the prose art of "Zuo Zhuan" is that it is good at writing about people. Although "Zuo Zhuan" uses years as its warp and events as its latitude, and does not consciously describe characters, it does involve various historical figures after all. There are nearly three thousand names in the book. Among them, there are quite a few who have a distinctive image and a certain personality. Through a series of descriptions of political, military, and diplomatic activities, the author depicts many moving images with different personalities. Another outstanding achievement in the prose art of "Zuo Zhuan" is Gongyu Jiyan. During the Spring and Autumn Period, diplomacy between various countries was unprecedentedly frequent, and visitors paid attention to diplomatic rhetoric when asking questions. These diplomatic phrases have been carefully refined after being collected and recorded in Zuozhuan, and they have become beautiful articles that have been passed down through the ages. "Songs of Chu"

"Songs of Chu" is my country's first collection of romantic poetry. Because the form of the poem is based on the folk songs of Chu, and the poem quotes a large number of local customs, products and dialect vocabulary of the Chu region, it is called "Chu Ci". "Chu Ci" is mainly the work of Qu Yuan, and his representative work is "Li Sao". Therefore, later generations also called "Chu Ci" as "Song style". At the end of the Western Han Dynasty, Liu Xiang collected the works of Qu Yuan, Song Yu and others and compiled them into collections. "Chu Ci" has a profound influence on later generations of literature. It not only opened up the later Fu style, but also influenced the prose creation of all generations. It is the source of my country's positive romantic poetry creation. "Lu's Spring and Autumn"

"Lu's Spring and Autumn" is a miscellaneous work compiled by Qin's prime minister Lu Buwei in the late Warring States period (around 221 BC). It was written in 239 BC, on the eve of Qin's unification of the six kingdoms. This book is divided into twelve chapters, eight chapters, and six treatises, with twenty-six volumes, one hundred and sixty chapters, and more than 200,000 words. The book respects Taoism and affirms that Lao Tzu conforms to objective thoughts, but discards the negative elements. At the same time, it integrated the strengths of Confucianism, Mohism, Legalism, and the military to form a theoretical system covering politics, economics, philosophy, morality, and military aspects. Lu Buwei's purpose is to synthesize the strengths of hundreds of schools of thought, summarize historical experience and lessons, and provide long-term state governance strategies for the future rule of the Qin State. "Historical Records"

"Historical Records" records a history of more than 3,000 years from the Huangdi era in ancient Chinese legends to the first year of Yuanshou, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty. The whole book includes twelve chronicles, thirty families, seventy biographies, ten lists, eight books, one hundred and thirty chapters, and more than 526,500 words. The author Sima Qian, with his historical knowledge of "studying the relationship between heaven and man, understanding the changes of ancient and modern times, and becoming a family", made "Historical Records" China's first and most famous biographical general history. "Historical Records" had a profound impact on the development of later historiography and literature. His pioneering method of chronicling historiography was passed down by the "official histories" of subsequent dynasties. At the same time, "Historical Records" is also considered an excellent literary work and plays an important role in the history of Chinese literature. Lu Xun called it "the swan song of historians and the rhymeless Li Sao". "Hanshu"

"Hanshu" and "Historical Records" are both biographical history books. The difference is that "Historical Records" begins with the legendary "Three Emperors and Five Emperors" and ends with the era of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, and is a general history; while "Hanshu" is a chronological history that specifically records the historical events of the Western Han Dynasty. This biographical chronological history genre was Ban Gu's creation. Since then, the "official history" of all dynasties has adopted this style. This is Ban Gu's major contribution to our country's history. "Shi Tong Liu Jia" said: "For example, the "Han Shu" studies the beginning and end of the Western Capital, and the decline and rise of the Liu family, including one generation. It is compiled into a book. The words are all concise, and the things should be kept secret, so scholars It is easy to take credit for it. From ancient times to the present, Liu Zhiji’s evaluation seems to be very fair.

"Lunheng"

The book "Lunheng" not only made a sharp and violent attack on Han Confucianism (but it did not completely deny Confucianism), but it also critically absorbed various schools of thought since the pre-Qin Dynasty. The thoughts of the Taoist school, especially the thoughts of the Huang-Lao School of Taoism, have great influence on the "way of heaven", "rituals and laws", "ghosts and gods and thin burials", "fate", "good nature and evil nature", etc. of various schools of thought in the pre-Qin period. A systematic review was conducted. Therefore, later generations called "Lunheng" a small ancient encyclopedia that "explains the opinions of hundreds of schools of thought". Although the book "Lunheng" cannot escape the limitations of its time and use naturalism and intuitive observation to describe the world, especially in terms of social and historical views, it is basically idealistic, but it was produced in an important historical period in Chinese history. , that is, the period when the feudal country was unified and strong, and Confucianism and Prophecy theology were combined to become the orthodox thinking of the ruling class. It dared to declare that the world was made of matter, dared not to recognize the existence of ghosts and gods, and dared to challenge the authority of Confucius and Mencius. And established a relatively complete system of ancient materialism, which played an epoch-making role in history. It has implications for future materialists and atheists, such as the philosopher Yang Quan in the Wei and Jin Dynasties, the thinker He Chengtian in the Southern Song Dynasty, the atheist Fan Zhen in the Qi and Liang Dynasties in the Southern Dynasties, Liu Yuxi and Liu Zongyuan in the Tang Dynasty, and the Ming and Qing Dynasties. Thinkers such as Wang Fuzhi and others have exerted varying degrees of influence. "Ji Kang Ji"

Writer, thinker and musician of the Wei Dynasty in the Three Kingdoms. The word is Shuye. A native of Qiao State (now southwest of Su County, Anwei). He married into the Wei clan and became a official official, known as Ji Zhongsan in the world. Advocate for Lao Zhuang and pay attention to the way of maintaining health and taking food. He is one of the "Seven Sages of the Bamboo Forest" and is as famous as Ruan Ji. Because he advocated "not Tang Wu but Zhou Kong" and was dissatisfied with the Sima group that was in power at the time, he was framed by Zhong Hui and killed by Sima Zhao. In philosophy, it is believed that "all living beings are endowed with vitality" ("Mingdan Lun"), and it is affirmed that all things are born with vitality. He also put forward the theory of "go beyond the famous teachings and let nature take over", advocating returning to nature and hating the cumbersome Confucian etiquette. Lu Xun said that his works were "novel in ideas, often in opposition to the ancient theories", and "The Letter on Severing Friendship with Shan Shiyuan" and "On the Difficulty of Natural Learning" are his representative works. The poem is longer than four words and has a clear and solemn style. There is "Poetry of Youang Anger" handed down from generation to generation. He wrote "On Sound without Sadness and Music", which believed that music itself has no sadness and music, and the same music can cause different emotions. He is good at drums and harp, and is particularly famous for his Guangling San. He also wrote "Qin Fu", which describes the playing method and expressive power of the harp in detail. His works include Ji Zhong San Ji, which has been lost. Among the editions compiled by later generations, "Ji Kang Ji" compiled and edited by Lu Xun is the most detailed. "The Collection of Tao Yuanming"

Tao's poetry follows the simple style of Wei and Jin poetry and enters a more mature state, like a milestone marking the height that simple poetry can reach. Tao Yuanming is another pioneer of innovation. He successfully elevated "nature" to a state of beauty; changed the mystical philosophy expressed by Lao and Zhuang in the Xuanyan poetry annotations to the philosophy of daily life; combined poetry with daily life, and created a new style of pastoral poetry. theme. His noble, upright, free and easy, sincere, honest and kind-hearted, and his philosophical thinking on life, together with his works, built a "nest" and a spiritual home for later generations of scholar-bureaucrats. On the one hand, it can protect them from hypocrisy and ugliness; on the other hand, it can also allow them to rest and escape. Their strong sense of identification with Tao Yuanming makes Tao Yuanming a topic that will never be boring. Tao Yuanming is the spiritual destination of Chinese scholar-officials. After many scholar-officials were frustrated in their career or tired of officialdom, they often returned to Tao Yuanming to find new life values ​​in him and to comfort themselves. Bai Juyi, Su Shi, Lu You, Xin Qiji, etc. are all like this. Therefore, not giving up for five buckets of rice has become a fortress in the spiritual world of Chinese scholar-officials to protect their freedom of choice. And plain nature has become a noble artistic realm in their minds. "Shishuoxinyu"

The text in "Shishuoxinyu" is generally very simple prose, sometimes almost like spoken language, but with meaningful meanings. It is also quite distinctive in the articles of Jin and Song Dynasties. Therefore, It has always been loved by people, and many of its stories have become commonly used allusions in poetry.

"The Literary Mind and the Carving of the Dragon"

"The Literary Mind and the Carving of the Dragon" contains 50 articles, including four main parts: general introduction, stylistic theory, creation theory, and criticism. There are 5 general chapters, discussing the "key point of literature", which is the theoretical basis of the whole book; 20 chapters on stylistics, each of which discusses one or two or three literary styles. "Chapter meaning, select articles to define the chapter, and apply reason to generalize"; 19 articles on creation, which discuss the creative process, writer's personality style, relationship between text and quality, writing skills, diction and rhythm, etc.; 5 articles on criticism, from different aspects From this perspective, he criticizes the writing styles and writers' achievements of the past era, and makes a special discussion on the criticism methods; the last "Preface" explains his creative purpose and the deployment intention of the whole book. Although this work is divided into four aspects, its theoretical viewpoints are consistent from beginning to end, and each part supports each other. Just as the author said in "Attachment Chapter": "Although the principles are complicated, there is no inversion; although there are many groups of words, there is no chaos." His style is large and thoughtful, which is unprecedented among ancient literary criticism works. of. "The Tantar Sutra of the Sixth Patriarch"

In addition to the Mahanibbana Sutra and the Vimalakia Sutra mentioned above, there are also other classics of the Tathagatagarbha system found in the "Tathagata Sutra" "Bodhisattva Sutra", "Lotus Sutra", "Huayan Sutra", "Analysis of Infinite Life Buddha Sutra", "Mahayana Jataka Sutra", etc. "Collected Works of Han Changli"

"Collected Works of Han Changli" The magnificent poems and essays of the prosperous mid-Tang Dynasty "Comprehensive Mirror to Aid in Government"

"Comprehensive Mirror to Aid in Government" ) is an unprecedented chronological general history masterpiece compiled by Sima Guang (1019-1086), a famous historian and politician in the Northern Song Dynasty, and his assistants Liu Xun, Liu Shu, Fan Zuyu, Sima Kang and others over a period of 19 years. It records the historical facts from the Warring States Period to the Five Dynasties in 1362. It overlaps with "Historical Records" about the Warring States Period and Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty. In this book, the editor summarized many experiences and lessons for rulers to learn from. The title of the book means "In view of the past, it is qualified to govern", that is, it uses historical gains and losses as a warning to strengthen governance, so it is called "Zhizhi" "Tongjian". "Zizhi Tongjian" has 294 volumes, about more than 3 million words, and "Kaoyi" and "Catalog" have 30 volumes each. It is the longest masterpiece in the chronicles of our country. "The Complete Works of Su Dongpo"

Su Dongpo, also known as Su Shi, was a writer, calligrapher and painter in the Northern Song Dynasty. He was one of the Eight Great Masters of the Tang and Song Dynasties. Together with his father Su Xun and his younger brother Su Che, he was known as the "Three Sus". Su Dongpo abided by traditional etiquette in politics, but also had the ambition to reform bad governance, so he experienced many ups and downs in his official career. He has a heroic character, his poetry is unbridled, fresh and bold, and he creates a bold and unrestrained school. He is open-minded. Although his calligraphy is based on the ancients, he is also able to create his own ideas and is full of innocent fun. At the same time, he is good at painting and likes to create dead trees and strange rocks. Su Dongpo claimed that there were three things in his life that were inferior to others, namely drinking, playing chess and singing. However, his poems, calligraphy and paintings were famous for future generations. His literary spirit can be learned by future generations. "Annotations on Chapters and Sentences of the Four Books"

Zhu Xi is the master of Neo-Confucianism and one of the main representatives of Confucianism in China's feudal era. His academic thoughts have always been the official philosophy of the feudal ruling class in China's Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties, marking the more complete ideology of feudal society. In the second year of Emperor Qing's reign (1313) of the Yuan Dynasty, the imperial examination was resumed, and the imperial edict determined that Zhu Xi's "Collected Commentary on the Four Books" should be used to test scholars, and Zhu Xue established it as the examination program. In the second year of Zhu Yuanzhang's Hongwu reign (1369), the imperial examination was based on Zhu Xi and others' annotations. Zhu Xuesui became a powerful spiritual pillar in consolidating the ruling order of feudal society. It strengthened the "Three Cardinal Principles and Five Constant Rules" and played a certain hindering role in the reform of later feudal society. Zhu Xi's academic thoughts also have an important influence in the history of world culture. Zhu Xi's main philosophical works include "Annotations to the Four Books", "Four Books or Questions", "Explanation of Tai Chi Diagram", "Interpretation of Tongshu", "Interpretation of Ximing", "Original Meaning of Zhouyi", "Enlightenment of Yi Xue", etc. In addition, there is "Zhu Xi Yu Lei", which is a collection of questions and answers between him and his disciples. So you have to take a look! "Zhuanxilu"

"Zhuanxilu" is the quotations and theoretical letters of Wang Shouren (also known as Yangming), a Chinese philosopher from the Ming Dynasty and a representative figure of the central Taoist school in the Song and Ming Dynasties.

The word "chuanxi" comes from the phrase "chuanxi" in The Analects. Zhuanxilu contains Wang Yangming's main philosophical thoughts and is an important material for studying the development of Wang Yangming's thoughts and psychology. "Zhuanxilu" concentratedly reflects Wang Yangming's theory of mind plays an important role in the history of ancient Chinese philosophy. To this day, Wang Yangming's thoughts still have a profound influence on contemporary New Confucianism. Many thinkers and scholars in this century have been committed to modern interpretations of it. Trying to overcome his bias. "Burning Books"

Li Zhi wrote "Burning Books" in the 18th year of Wanli (1590) when he was 64 years old, also known as "Li Shi's Burning Books". After his death, his disciple Wang Benke compiled the "Xu Burning Book", which was engraved in the forty-sixth year of Wanli (1618). The two books include the letters, miscellaneous works, and writings written by this famous thinker and writer during his lifetime. Historical commentaries, poems, historical essays, etc., demonstrate his political and philosophical thoughts and are important works for us to study Li Zhi's life and thoughts.

Li Zhi hated the false Taoism and those who upheld feudal ethics most. He criticized those so-called Taoists who spoke of benevolence and morality: "They are too pretentious and have too much protection." Love universally and love universally; in fact, you must stick to your own opinions, but you cannot talk exclusively about it. "When it comes to talking about studies, they say that you are for yourself and I am for others; you are selfish and I want to benefit others." In fact, they are all "study to seek high status, and to be in official positions to seek respect." They are all for themselves. The plan is to "scheme for others without any reason" ("Book Burning? A Reply to Geng Sikou"). Such hypocrites who are not consistent in their words and deeds are inferior to the "businessman" and the "Litian author", so what are they talking about? What (ibid.). He also further criticized Taoists as a group of sanctimonious fake Taoists, "Yang is Taoism, Yin is wealth, and being educated is like a dog and a pig" ("Continued Burning of Books? The Theory of the Return of Three Religions to Confucianism"). Taoists talk about benevolence, righteousness and morality, but in fact they use Taoism as a stepping stone to "deceive the world for profit" and seek high-ranking officials and salaries for themselves. They "talk about morality but have high-ranking officials in mind, and aim to be rich" ("Book Burning?" "With Jiao Ruohou"). Li Zhi's exposure of Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism and the defenders of Taoism is really hitting the mark. He not only created the academic style of the Qing Dynasty, but also drew spiritual power from him in modern China's political changes. Liang Qichao pointed out in "Introduction to Academics in the Qing Dynasty": "Confucian scholars in the Qing Dynasty regarded themselves as simple scholars to distinguish themselves. Literary scholar, Shi Yanwu Qizhi. In recent decades, Jingmu has influenced the political system, which is also the spirit of Shao Yanwu. " "Records of Visits to the Ming Yi"

This book was born during the Ming and Qing Dynasties. It is an enlightening masterpiece that criticizes the monarchy and calls for a democratic government. "School" advocates expanding the social functions of schools. , to make it play the role of discussing and participating in government affairs, saying: "What the emperor is is not necessarily right, and what the emperor is wrong is not necessarily wrong. Therefore, the emperor does not dare to make his own right and wrong, and right and wrong belong to the school." "We must make the tools for governing the world, They all come from the school, and then the idea of ​​establishing a school begins. "The future school envisioned by Huang Zongxi is similar to the public opinion center and parliamentary institutions in modern society. Although Huang Zongxi did not fundamentally deny the establishment of monarchs and ministers, he advocated an enlightened constitutional monarchy, strengthened the factor of equality, and expanded social supervision of those in power. Power has the idea of ​​modern democratic politics. This idea was not influenced by Western civilization, but developed from traditional Chinese culture, which made this book even more valuable. It was banned by the rulers of the Qing Dynasty and did not see the light of day until the end of the Qing Dynasty. "Du Tongjian Lun" was valued and praised by Tan Sitong, Liang Qichao and others.

"Du Tongjian Lun" is a historical commentary written by Wang Fuzhi, a progressive thinker and historian in the late Ming and early Qing dynasties.

In terms of understanding of historical development, "Du Tongjian Lun" points out that "there is a principle for life, a principle for death, a principle for governance, a principle for chaos, a principle for existence, and a principle for death. There is a reason for death. Heaven is the principle, and its destiny is also the person who makes the principle popular. If it goes against the principles of life, the shallow one will lead to illness, and the deep one will lead to death. People take it for themselves without knowing it, and they are ignorant of it. The governance and survival of the country are also like this.

"Volume 24: A country's governance and survival have its own laws, just like people's life and death, and they can be understood and controlled by people to a certain extent. Based on this ideological understanding, the author believes that Qin Shihuang abolished the enfeoffment of counties Counties are the inevitable result of historical progress and historical development trends, and are not subject to human will. After the Qin Dynasty, the system of prefectures and counties "has lasted for two thousand years and cannot be changed. It is consistent with the past and present, and it is in harmony with the situation." How can it be possible without reason?" Volume 1, the successful reform of the enfeoffed counties is in compliance with "the trend of the situation" and in line with "reason"? The result of the objective laws of historical development. The author further points out with evidence. "Qin dismissed the princes and placed them on guard for the purpose of selfishly pursuing the world, while Heaven pretended to be selfish and acted as a duke." Volume 1, Qin Shihuang implemented the system of prefectures and counties out of the motive of "privileging the world", and the inevitability of historical laws is exactly the same. It is reflected through the contingency of Qin Shihuang's subjective motivation. "The Complete Works of Gong Zizhen"

Overview of Gong Zizhen Gong Zizhen, a thinker and writer in the Qing Dynasty, was a pioneer of modern thinkers, writers and reformism since he was a child. He began to write poems at the age of 15, but failed after repeated attempts. He was awarded the Jinshi title at the age of 38 and served as a minor official for several terms. He was dissatisfied with the ideological rule of the Qing Dynasty and was unwilling to cooperate with the rulers. He finally resigned and returned one year before the Opium War. Home. His poems advocated "changing the law" and "changing the picture", exposing the corruption of the Qing rulers, and were full of patriotic enthusiasm. The most famous ones are "Jihai Miscellaneous Poems" and "Human Words"

"Human Words" is a literary criticism work written by the famous Chinese classics master Wang Guowei. After accepting the baptism of Western aesthetic ideas, he commented on old Chinese literature from a new perspective. There is no significant difference in the styles and formats of "Human Ci Hua" and Chinese poems and poems that have been copied for a long time. In fact, it has begun to form a theoretical system. Among the ancient poetry treatises, it can be regarded as one of the few. Even in the field of Ci theory in the past, many people regarded it as a standard and regarded its arguments as the basis for Ci theory and aesthetics. It had a profound influence. Wang Guowei's "Renjian Ci Hua" was the most influential since the late Qing Dynasty. One of the works.