Notes on Ancient and Modern Matters

崔豹Jul 2024

4.0

Word count: 9.6K words
Chapters: 12

Summary

Traditional Chinese thought has a long history and is highly original, inventive and literary. Early forms of thought have distinctive features: religious theology, classical Chinese medical texts, ancient military strategy, Confucianism, Daoism, Buddhism and the Hundred Schools, feng shui and arcane learning, the Twenty-Four Histories, customs and local gazetteers—all are profound and extensive. This series, "Essence of Classic Chinese Culture: Original Texts," preserves the appearance of the original books and focuses on preserving and transmitting traditional Chinese thought and culture. By reading the literary essence left by ancient sages, readers can cultivate their temperament and imperceptibly come to appreciate the classics of Chinese learning.

Editor's review

Gujin Zhu, a notebook by Cui Bao on ancient names and institutions, covers ceremonial dress, capitals, music, birds and beasts, plants and trees, and more. It has long been regarded as a compact reference for understanding daily life in antiquity and the origins of names and things. Unlike systematic histories that lay out grand principles, it records in条目 form the origins of names, the evolution of institutions, and old anecdotes—ideal for browsing at leisure. This edition preserves the appearance of the original and focuses on preserving and transmitting traditional thought and culture, allowing readers to glimpse how ancients named, classified and assigned meaning to the things around them. Its value lies in "looking things up by object": encounter an ancient name, consult the relevant entry, and often a whole chain of institutions and customs opens up. For those who love traditional culture, the history of ancient daily life, or writers needing details of names and things, this is a practical desk reference. Note that it is not an encyclopedia in the modern sense; entries are brief and bear the limitations of their time, so it is best used as a source of clues, not as sole authority.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Lovers of traditional culture interested in ancient names, institutions and the origins of customs
Writers who need to check details of ancient objects, plants, dress and vehicles
Readers who enjoy entry-style notebooks and fragmentary browsing
Beginners seeking an entry point into Chinese learning through concrete names and things

Not a good fit for

Serious researchers needing systematic general histories or modern scholarly verification
General fiction readers expecting a complete plot and continuous narrative
Those wholly unfamiliar with classical Chinese entries and ancient names, unwilling to verify

Reading tips

Skim the table of contents first, then choose entries by category—dress, music, plants—according to interest.
Note unfamiliar names as you read, then verify them in a batch to avoid constant interruption.
Read alongside histories of ancient daily life or dictionaries of names and things for cross-checking.
Treat entries as a writing sourcebook; excerpt and organize them by theme into your own notes.

版权信息
卷上
舆服第一
都邑第二
卷中
音乐第三
鸟兽第四
鱼虫第五
卷下
草木第六
杂注第七
问答释义第八

FAQ

What is Gujin Zhu mainly about?

It is a notebook on ancient names and institutions. Entries cover dress and vehicles, capitals, music, birds and beasts, plants and trees, recording the origins of names, institutional evolution and old anecdotes. Readers can learn how ancients named and classified things around them, and use it as a source of clues for ancient daily life rather than a systematic history.

Can I read this without a foundation in classical Chinese?

You can try, but it takes patience. Entries are short and mostly not difficult, though some names and allusions are obscure. Start with familiar categories from the contents, skip entries you don't understand, and verify keywords in batches. An annotated edition helps a lot; without one, keep a dictionary of ancient names and things at hand.

Can this book be used as writing material?

Yes. It preserves numerous entries on ancient names, institutions and customs, offering concrete clues and wording for historical fiction, cultural essays, or explaining traditional terms. But entries are brief and time-bound; verify against other sources before quoting. Treat it as an entry point, not the final word, and avoid copying directly.

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

崔豹 Author

Cui Bao is an author whose life dates, birthplace, and native place are not clearly recorded; available public information about him is very limited, and all that is known today is that he wrote the single work Gu Jin Zhu (Notes on Things Ancient and Modern). This is a notebook-style work that miscellaneously records the names and systems of things, the evolution of customs, plants, insects and fish, music, and implements. Its contents are broad and varied and its format informal; it often examines and discusses old accounts and received traditions, making it a kind of reference material for understanding ancient names of things and institutional systems. Because of its wide-ranging sources and small, detailed entries, later catalogues mostly classified it among the miscellaneous schools or the novelists, while people today often draw on its materials from the perspectives of literary appreciation and literary-historical textual research. Cui Bao's name has come down to later generations mainly through Gu Jin Zhu; apart from this book, his activities and associates are difficult to examine in detail.