A Thousand Chariots

《大戴禮記》Nanhai Publication Company · ChinaJun 2024

4.2

Word count: 1.8K words
Chapters: 2

Summary

The Duke said: “A state of a thousand chariots, receiving its mandate from the Son of Heaven, opening its four borders,teaching its village associations, following its ancestral temples, establishing its clan heads, appointing its four assistants, and setting out its five offices, occupying its court and marketplace—how does one practice benevolence in such a state?” The Master said: “Without benevolence, the state will not be transformed.”

Editor's review

Qiancheng is taken from the Da Dai Liji and, in the form of a dialogue between Duke Ai of Lu and Confucius, discusses how a state of a thousand chariots receives its mandate from the Son of Heaven, governs its four borders, and establishes clan heads and the hundred officials. Though brief, it concentrates the Confucian political-ethical reflection on state governance and “benevolence”: with the single line “Without benevolence, the state will not be transformed,” Confucius ultimately grounds institutional arrangements in the benevolent heart of those who govern. This 2024 standalone edition from Nanhai Publishing House is well suited as an entry point for studying a single chapter of the Da Dai Liji. Readers can see the framework of ancient political-institutional discourse and also appreciate the concision and tension of the question-and-answer text. When reading, it is advisable to consult the surrounding context and relevant annotations rather than treating the fragment as a complete system; if used for writing or teaching, it can serve as primary material for discussing the relationship between “institutions and virtue.”

Who it's for

A good fit for

General readers interested in pre-Qin Confucian texts and ancient political institutions
University teachers and students who need passages from the Da Dai Liji as teaching or writing material
Readers who enjoy short question-and-answer classics and are willing to read slowly and savor them

Not a good fit for

Readers seeking a systematic theoretical framework of modern political science
Casual readers who only want storytelling and entertaining vernacular reading
Those lacking patience for classical Chinese and ritual terminology who need extensive annotation

Reading tips

First read the original text once through, then work through the annotations sentence by sentence to understand the institutional terms and the logic of the dialogue.
Take “Without benevolence, the state will not be transformed” as the core sentence and sort out Confucius's requirements for the virtue of those who govern.
Read it alongside other chapters of the Da Dai Liji or relevant passages of the Analects to avoid interpreting it in isolation.

About the publisher

Nanhai Publication Company China · Founded in 1988

Nanhai Publication Company is a comprehensive publisher known for its literature and arts titles, covering fields such as classical poetry, martial arts fiction, and folk literature. Judging from the more than 1,600 books in the database, the company has released classical poetic works including the Nineteen Old Poems and the Nine Songs, as well as multiple volumes of Huanzhulouzhu's series The Swordsmen of Mount Shu, along with related writings by authors such as Guan Hanqing, Qu Yuan, Zuo Si, and Wang Zhihuan. Its publishing character lies in balancing the organization of classic texts with the dissemination of popular literature, placing poetry anthologies alongside long martial arts novels and presenting a relatively diverse literary profile. Public information is limited, and further details about its editorial practices and series planning remain to be supplemented.

版权信息
千乘第六十八

FAQ

Is this book the complete Da Dai Liji?

According to the materials, this book centers on the “Qiancheng” chapter and is a single text within the Da Dai Liji, not the complete edition of the whole work. For systematic study, other chapters or the complete edition should also be used.

Can I read it without any foundation in classical Chinese?

You can try, but it is advisable to use an edition with annotations or translation as support. The original is in question-and-answer form and the sentence patterns are not complicated, but it involves ritual concepts such as “village associations,” “ancestral temples,” “four assistants,” and “five offices,” and without annotations it is easy to misread.

What does “a state of a thousand chariots” refer to in the text?

Through Duke Ai of Lu's question, the text discusses how a state with a military scale of a thousand chariots receives its mandate from the Son of Heaven, governs its territory, and establishes offices and duties. The focus is not on the military number but on the discussion of statecraft and benevolent governance that unfolds from it.

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About the author

《大戴禮記》 Author

The Da Dai Liji is not the work of a single author but the title of a compilation of ritual-learning texts assembled by the Han scholar Dai De, and later generations generally treat it as a single classic. Public information about Dai De himself is limited: his dates, nationality, and scholarly lineage are unknown. Six related works are held here, with representative chapters such as Wei Jiangjun Wenzi, Xia Xiaozheng, Qiancheng, and Shaojian, covering ancient ritual institutions, seasonal phenomena, and the words and deeds of historical figures; they combine the qualities of a classic, documentary writing, and Eastern philosophy. The style is plain and archaic, consisting mainly of records and discussion, often conveying ethical and political ideas through specific ceremonies and historical anecdotes. Xia Xiaozheng is especially known for its month-by-month records of seasonal phenomena and farming, making it important material for the study of early calendars and daily life. The book holds considerable documentary value in the transmission of ritual learning and provides precious texts for understanding ritual institutions and thought from the pre-Qin to early Han periods, while also being read as literature.