The Bushido of China
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Summary
He wrote this book to promote the martial spirit of the Chinese nation and to hold up the martial virtue of the forebears as a model for later generations.
He selected many famous figures from the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods, and by commemorating their spirit of sacrifice—their readiness to stake their lives for personal honor or the interests of the state—he sought to awaken and renew the spirit and thought of the Chinese people.
Editor's review
Who it's for
A good fit for
- Readers interested in Liang Qichao's thought and modern intellectual history
- Readers concerned with discussions of national spirit and the martial spirit
- Readers who enjoy stories of pre-Qin figures and biographical portraits
- Students seeking background on the salvationist currents of the late Qing and early Republic
Not a good fit for
- Readers expecting an objective, neutral, scholarly general history
- Readers who want only light storytelling and no argumentative prose
- Beginning readers unfamiliar with modern political classical Chinese
Reading tips
- First learn the background of the failure of the Hundred Days' Reform and Liang Qichao's exile in Japan, then read the main text.
- For each figure, note the author's criteria for selection and tone of evaluation, and sense his contemporary point.
- Read alongside works on pre-Qin history to compare the deeds, distinguishing historical fact from the author's commentary.
- After finishing, revisit the book's central thesis and consider what the "martial spirit" was aimed at in its time.
Contents
- 版权信息
- 蒋叙
- 杨叙
- 自序
- 凡例
- 孔子
- 曹沫
- 弘演
- 鬻拳
- 先轸 狼瞫
- 郑叔詹
- 先縠 栾书 郤至
- 庆郑 魏绛
- 李离
- 鉏麑 奋扬 子兰子
- 卞庄子 华舟 杞梁及其母
- 晏婴
- 公孙接 田开疆 古冶子
- 北郭骚及其友
- 齐太史及其三弟 南史氏
- 邢蒯瞆及其仆
- 程婴 公孙杵臼
- 伍子胥 江上渔父 溧阳女子
- 申包胥
- 要离
- 子囊
- 雍门子狄
- 田基
- 成公赵
- 申鸣
- 豫让
- 墨子 孟胜 徐弱
- 聂政 聂荣
- 赵武灵王
- 蔺相如
- 侯嬴 信陵君 朱亥
- 毛遂
- 鲁仲连
- 王歜
- 虞卿 平原君
- 缩高
- 荆轲 高渐离 燕太子丹 田光 樊於期
- 张良
- 项羽
- 田横及其客
- 樊哙
- 贯高 田叔 孟舒 赵午
- 朱家 剧孟 郭解
FAQ
What was the background to Liang Qichao's writing this book?
What does "bushido" mean here?
Is this a rigorous work of history?
Can I understand it without a background in modern history?
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About the author
Liang Qichao, courtesy name Zhuoru and pseudonym Rengong, was a native of Xinhui, Guangdong. He was a thinker, politician, historian, and man of letters of the late Qing and early Republican periods, and one of the leaders of the Hundred Days' Reform. He founded the newspapers Shiwu bao and Xinmin congbao, and advocated the "revolution in poetry" and the "revolution in fiction," exerting a profound influence on intellectual enlightenment and literary reform. In his later years he served as a tutor at the Tsinghua Institute of Chinese Studies, continuing academic research and teaching. The library holds 131 of his works, spanning categories such as examinations, comprehensive biography, classic works, historical reading, and Eastern philosophy. Representative works include A History of Chinese Scholarship in the Last Three Hundred Years, The Biography of Li Hongzhang, An Introduction to Qing Dynasty Scholarship, The New Citizen, and the supplemented collection of writings outside the Yinbingshi Collected Works. His writings cross history, philosophy, and political commentary; his prose is vigorous and fluent, his reasoning clear, and his work combines scholarly weight with strong appeal, making it important material for understanding the intellectual transformation of modern China.