Merit and Fame
Tags
Summary
Editor's review
Who it's for
A good fit for
- Readers interested in pre-Qin political thought and the topic of statecraft who want to read short classical Chinese texts
- Teachers who need material for classroom discussion and want to guide students in analyzing the conditions for success
- Readers who enjoy itemized argumentation and hope to use classical texts to reflect on organization and management
- Self-learners with some grounding in classical Chinese who want to use short texts to practice identifying arguments and structure
Not a good fit for
- Readers expecting systematic political theory or long historical case analysis
- Scholarly researchers hoping to read textual criticism establishing a definite author's life and school background
Reading tips
- First mark the four conditions—timely opportunity, the hearts of the people, skill and ability, position and power—then summarize in one sentence the meaning of each condition in this piece.
- Combine a historical story or a nearby organizational case, check the four conditions one by one, and write a brief analysis.
- Pay attention to this piece's expression, which is mainly in declarative sentences; try imitating its itemized structure and list three key points on a familiar topic.
- After reading, read it alongside other short pre-Qin texts on governance and compare what different texts select and emphasize regarding the "conditions for success."
About the publisher
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.
Contents
- 版权信息
- 功名第二十八
FAQ
Who is the author of "Merit and Renown"?
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About the 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.
