Complete Prose of the Han

AnonymousQunyan Publishing House · ChinaJun 2024

4.1

Word count: 450K words
Chapters: 64

Summary

This book is one volume of The Complete Prose of High Antiquity, the Three Dynasties, Qin, Han, the Three Kingdoms, and the Six Dynasties (hereafter The Complete Prose).

The Complete Prose, compiled by Yan Kejun of the Qing dynasty, is divided into fifteen collections: The Complete Prose of High Antiquity and the Three Dynasties, The Complete Prose of Qin, The Complete Prose of the Later Han, The Complete Prose of the Three Kingdoms, The Complete Prose of Jin, The Complete Prose of Song, The Complete Prose of Qi, The Complete Prose of Liang, The Complete Prose of Chen, The Complete Prose of the Later Wei and the Complete Prose of the Northern Qi, The Complete Prose of the Later Zhou, The Complete Prose of Sui, and The Complete Prose of the Pre-Tang. It includes 3,497 (or 3,502) authors before the Tang, each with a brief biography, and is the most comprehensive general collection of pre-Tang prose to date. It holds extremely important scholarly value for research on the history, literature, religion, and language of the pre-Tang period, and is also the literary general collection covering the longest span of time among ancient Chinese documents.

Editor's review

The Complete Prose of Han is the Han dynasty portion of The Complete Prose of High Antiquity, the Three Dynasties, Qin, Han, the Three Kingdoms, and the Six Dynasties, based on Yan Kejun's compilation, and is a documentary work in the nature of a dynastic general collection of prose. Its value lies not in offering a lightweight selected reader but in building a relatively complete documentary framework for research on pre-Tang prose: edicts, memorials, letters, inscriptions, miscellaneous writings, and other scattered texts are gathered in one place, each item placed under its author's name, making it easy to search by person, by genre, and by period. For those who need access to primary Han sources, this book is more like a basic reference library than a collection to be read straight through. It should be used as a reference work and documentary compilation: first clarify the research question, then trace authors or genres, and read it alongside histories and relevant scholarly works so that its strengths in retrieval and compilation can be fully utilized. The 2024 Qunyan Press edition is convenient for ordinary readers to purchase and use, but formal citation should still involve checking the original sources and edition information.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Graduate students in ancient Chinese literature and history who need to consult primary sources of scattered Han writings
Professionals engaged in compiling Qin-Han documents or editing ancient texts who need a dynastic prose retrieval tool
University teachers preparing lectures who need examples of Han edicts, memorials, letters, and other genres
Serious history and literature enthusiasts with a strong interest in Han prose and a certain ability to read classical Chinese

Not a good fit for

General readers who hope to learn Han history stories casually and lack a foundation in reading classical Chinese
Beginning learners who only want to read selected famous Han pieces and need annotations and vernacular translations
Readers looking for literary appreciation guides or work-analysis readers

Reading tips

Begin with the general preface and the compiler's notes to understand the book's structure, scope, and arrangement of author biographies, then proceed to the main text.
Search with specific questions, such as a certain type of edict or a certain author's lost writings, locating them by author or genre; it is not advisable to read straight through.
When encountering important pieces, read them alongside the Book of the Later Han, the Book of Han, and relevant collated editions, and check textual variants and sources.
Keep your own notes on entries, recording author, genre, source, and possible research questions for later verification.

About the publisher

Qunyan Publishing House China · Founded in 1989

Founded in 1989, Qunyan Publishing House has long been committed to publishing academic and educational books for mid- and high-level readers, and has built up a certain presence in Eastern philosophy, classical literature, and classic works. Representative titles available in the database include Records of the Grand Historian, Dream of the Red Chamber, Selections of Refined Literature, Complete Song Ci, Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio, Record of Daily Knowledge, Taiping Huimin Hejiju Fang, and The Collected Works of Wang Yangming, covering common categories such as ancient poetry, medicine, and examinations. Its author resources include Sima Qian, Cao Xueqin, Xiao Tong, Li Shan, Pu Songling, and Gu Yanwu. The press also offers distinctive series such as the Biographical Series of the China Democratic League and the Historical Documents Series of the China Democratic League, and publishes research on historical documents, biographies, memoirs, and textbooks and academic works by League members. Public information is limited, and its overall publishing scale and complete catalogue require further verification.

版权信息
●卷一
●卷二
●卷三
●卷四
●卷五
●卷六
●卷七
●卷八
●卷九
●卷十
●卷十一
●卷十二
●卷十三
●卷十四
●卷十五
●卷十六
●卷十七
●卷十八
●卷十九
●卷二十
●卷二十一
●卷二十二
●卷二十三
●卷二十四
●卷二十五
●卷二十六
●卷二十七
●卷二十八
●卷二十九
●卷三十
●卷三十一
●卷三十二
●卷三十三
●卷三十四
●卷三十五
●卷三十六
●卷三十七
●卷三十八
●卷三十九
●卷四十
●卷四十一
●卷四十二
●卷四十三
●卷四十四
●卷四十五
●卷四十六
●卷四十七
●卷四十八
●卷四十九
●卷五十
●卷五十一
●卷五十二
●卷五十三
●卷五十四
●卷五十五
●卷五十六
●卷五十七
●卷五十八
●卷五十九
●卷六十
●卷六十一
●卷六十二
●卷六十三

FAQ

Is The Complete Prose of Han suitable for reading straight through?

Not very. It is a dynastic general collection that gathers scattered writings by author; it is large in scale and mixed in genre, so reading it straight through easily loses the thread. A more reasonable approach is to first understand its structure, then search around specific authors, genres, or research questions, using it as a reference library and tool.

Can someone without a foundation in classical Chinese read this book?

It will be rather difficult. The book collects primary Han writings, most without item-by-item annotation or vernacular translation, and it involves specialized genres such as edicts and memorials. If your classical Chinese is weak, it is advisable to first read annotated anthologies of Han poetry and prose, then gradually move on to this kind of general collection.

What should be noted when citing articles from this book?

This kind of compilation gathers scattered texts whose sources are complex. For formal citation, try to check the original source or authoritative collated editions, and note the author, title, and edition information, avoiding making definitive claims based solely on the general collection's text.

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About the author

Anonymous Author

Anonymous is not a real personal name but a general Chinese designation for authors whose names are unknown, lost, or unsigned. Neither nationality nor dates of birth and death can be verified, and available public information is limited, so the works attributed to this name are the only basis for description. The collection holds 2,078 works under Anonymous, spanning medicine, classics, historical readings, ancient poetry, classical literature, and philosophy. Representative works include The Yellow Emperor's Inner Canon: Lingshu, Mencius, The Book of Documents, Nineteen Old Poems, Complete Song Ci, and The Peacock Flies Southeast. Most of these works took shape through long transmission and editing, emerging either from collective folk creation or from authors whose names were lost over time. In ancient China, the Book of Songs, the Great Learning, and many popular storybooks and plays were signed Anonymous because their authors could not be traced. Anonymous works cross the classics, histories, philosophical writings, medical texts, and poetry; their subjects are broad, and their styles vary from archaic simplicity to clear naturalness, making them important and influential sources for understanding ancient Chinese thought, medicine, and literature.