On Liu Bosheng

AnonymousBashu Publishing House · ChinaJun 2024

3.3

Word count: 1.2K words
Chapters: 2

Summary

The heroes of old, when the world fell into chaos, rose up with resolve, all harboring the aim of saving the people and setting things right. Their armies and prestige were likewise enough to achieve merit and establish enterprises. Yet in a single morning their livers and brains were trampled to mush in the hands of common men and callow youths, and they never came to any realization, becoming a laughingstock for the world—why? Because they relied on their spirit and made light of others, took pride in their multitudes and neglected disaster, and calamity broke out suddenly from where their hearts and minds had never reached.

Editor's review

Though brief, "On Liu Bosheng" is a piece of historical commentary that uses the past to illuminate the present, with incisive argumentation. Taking as its point of entry the history of Liu Bosheng, who raised troops against Wang Mang with the aim of setting things right yet ultimately fell victim to suspicion and met his downfall, the author asks why heroes rise in times of chaos but fail at the brink of success, and advances the core judgment of "relying on spirit and making light of others, taking pride in multitudes and neglecting disaster." The book's greatest strength lies in its interwoven analysis of personal character, circumstance, and political risk—possessing both the calm of a historian and the edge of a policy essay. Readers can feel that the ancients were not content merely to list facts when evaluating history, but sought to distill the patterns of success and failure and the lessons of conduct. This newly collated edition from Bashu Publishing House offers an accessible text for readers interested in the history of the Qin–Han transition, ancient historical commentary, and political wisdom. It suits both as an introduction to historical commentary and as close-reading material for classical Chinese, and is also suitable for cross-reference when reading the relevant chapters of the Records of the Grand Historian and the Book of Han.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers interested in the history of the Qin–Han transition and the story of the Liu brothers' uprising
Readers who wish to closely read ancient historical commentary and train their ability to argue in classical Chinese
General readers concerned with the patterns of success and failure in times of chaos and with reflections on political risk
Teachers in need of a short classical Chinese text as discussion material for class or a reading group

Not a good fit for

Readers expecting a systematic, complete biography of Liu Bosheng or detailed narrative of warfare
Readers who prefer the reading experience of a long historical novel
Beginners with weak foundations in classical Chinese who are unwilling to consult annotations

Reading tips

Reading the relevant passages on Liu Bosheng in the Book of Han or the Zizhi Tongjian first, then returning to this essay's argument, will make for smoother reading.
While reading, mark the key sentences in which the author judges success and failure, and try to retell the chain of argument in your own words.
It can be read alongside famous pieces of historical commentary such as "On the Faults of Qin" to compare how different authors use history to build their arguments.
After finishing, write a short review stating whether you agree with the explanation of "relying on spirit and making light of others, taking pride in multitudes and neglecting disaster."

About the publisher

Bashu Publishing House China · Founded in 1983

Bashu Publishing House is a publisher centered on collating and publishing classical Chinese cultural texts, with its main publishing areas covering classical literature, Eastern philosophy, ancient poetry, and educational classics. Its library currently holds 1,075 titles, including representative works such as Dream of the Red Chamber, the Preface to the Orchid Pavilion Gathering, Renjian Cihua, and Out to the Frontier, involving authors such as Cao Xueqin, Wang Xizhi, Wang Guowei, Wang Changling, Liu Xie, and Yan Yu. These reflect the publisher's focus on literary classics, poetry criticism, and philosophical readings. Its publishing character lies in working around ancient texts and canonical works, with attention to textual collation and presentation. Public information on its more detailed publishing background and series plans is limited; this introduction is based only on the library's book information.

版权信息
刘伯升论

FAQ

What main problem does this "On Liu Bosheng" discuss?

The essay centers on the phenomenon of heroes in times of chaos who, despite great ambitions and military strength, ultimately meet defeat and death. It focuses on analyzing the causes of their failure,归结为 relying on spirit and underestimating the enemy, taking pride in multitudes and neglecting disaster, and calamity breaking out from where the heart and mind had never reached. It is a piece of argumentative writing that distills lessons of success and failure from historical events, rather than a simple narrative of Liu Bosheng's life.

What background should one know in advance to read this historical commentary?

It is best to have some understanding of Wang Mang's reforms at the end of the Western Han, the uprisings of the Green Woods and Red Eyebrows, and the basic course of the Liu Yan (Liu Bosheng) and Liu Xiu brothers' raising of troops. Knowing the background of Liu Bosheng's high merit arousing jealousy and the internal conflicts of the Gengshi regime will make it easier to understand what the author means by "the hands of common men and callow youths."

Is this book suitable as close-reading material for classical Chinese?

Yes. The essay is short, its argumentation concentrated, and its key sentences advance layer by layer, making it convenient for sentence-by-sentence translation and for outlining the argumentative structure. Readers can use the annotations to clarify words and phrases, then analyze how the author proceeds from phenomena to inquire into causes—suitable material for training in reading and writing argumentative classical Chinese.

Related on WeRead

Comments

Find this book

This site is an index: you start “Search all sources” in your browser, and the entries it lists all point to third-party sites; please judge their availability yourself.

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.