Lines

AnonymousNanhai Publication Company · ChinaJun 2024

2.6

Word count: 3.3K words
Chapters: 49

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Summary

"Ju" is a collection of classical Chinese poetry.

Editor's review

Titled "Ju," this book gathers memorable lines and celebrated couplets from classical Chinese poetry that reward repeated reading, published by Nanhai Publishing House in 2024. Unlike anthologies arranged by dynasty or author, it takes the "line" as its unit, lifting striking phrases out of longer poems so that readers can appreciate the compressed beauty of classical verse—its wordcraft, parallelism, and imagery—without reading entire works. For busy people who can only read in spare moments, this format lowers the barrier to entry: a few pages turned at random yield something of value. Most selections come from public-domain classical poems, allowing readers to become familiar with the sources and contexts of well-known lines, and the book can also serve as a resource for writing, calligraphy, and classroom quotation. One caveat: once a fine line is separated from its whole poem, its emotional arc and structural logic are somewhat diminished; reading only excerpts risks turning classical poetry into a collection of maxims. Treat this book as an entry point rather than a destination—when a line appeals to you, go back to the original poem and experience how the whole work builds and resolves.

Who it's for

A good fit for

General readers who love classical poetry but have fragmented time and want to dip in at leisure
Students and teachers seeking quotable lines for writing, speeches, or classroom use
Readers with a budding interest in classical poetry who want to start with famous lines

Not a good fit for

Serious researchers seeking systematic study of a particular poet or dynasty
Beginners who require detailed annotations and translations for every line
Readers who prefer long-form essays or academic scholarship

Reading tips

Read three to five lines a day; copy out favorites and note their sources
When a line catches your interest, return to the original poem and read it in full to understand the context
Categorize excerpts by theme—parting, landscape, homesickness—for easy reference when writing

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
【醉中惜花更书与诸从事】李建勋
卷739_52【和判官喜雨】李建勋
卷739_53【离阙下日感恩】李建勋
卷739_54【细雨遥怀故人】李建勋
卷739_55【春水】李建勋
卷739_56【蝶】李建勋
卷739_57【中春写怀寄沈彬员外】李建勋
卷739_58【钟山寺避暑勉二三子】李建勋
卷739_59【道林寺】李建勋
卷739_60【和致仕沈郎中】李建勋
卷739_61【醉中咏梅花】李建勋
卷739_62【闲出书怀】李建勋
卷739_63【寺居陆处士相访，感怀却寄二三友人】李建勋
卷739_64【春雪】李建勋
卷739_65【惜花】李建勋
卷739_66【梅花寄所亲】李建勋
卷739_67【登升元阁】李建勋
卷739_68【雪有作】李建勋
卷739_69【宫词】李建勋
卷739_70【晚春送牡丹】李建勋
卷739_71【岁暮晚泊，望庐山不见，因怀岳僧呈察判】李建勋
卷739_72【重台莲】李建勋
卷739_73【迎神】李建勋
卷739_74【春词】李建勋
卷739_75【独夜作】李建勋
卷739_76【竹】李建勋
卷739_77【清明日】李建勋
卷739_78【宫词】李建勋
卷739_79【送喻炼师归茅山】李建勋
卷739_80【和元宗元日大雪登楼】李建勋
卷739_81【游栖霞寺】李建勋
卷739_82【答汤悦】李建勋
卷739_83【金山】李建勋
卷739_84【送李冠（冠善吹中管）】李建勋
卷739_85【游宋兴寺东岩】李建勋
卷739_86【批周宗书后】李建勋
卷739_87【题信果观壁】李建勋
卷739_88【送八分书与友人，继以诗】李建勋
卷739_89【句】李建勋
卷七百四十
卷740_1【蟠溪怀古】孟宾于
卷740_2【怀连上旧居】孟宾于
卷740_3【公子行】孟宾于
卷740_4【湘江亭】孟宾于
卷740_5【题梅仙馆】孟宾于
卷740_6【题颜氏亭宇】孟宾于
卷740_7【晚眺】孟宾于
卷740_8【献主司】孟宾于

FAQ

Is this book suitable for someone who has never read classical poetry?

It can serve as an introductory browse, but the book focuses on excerpted lines and lacks line-by-line annotations and translations. Complete beginners would do best to use it alongside an annotated anthology or reference tools: first grasp the meanings of words, then appreciate the lines, so as not to memorize phrases without understanding them.

Why organize by "line" rather than by whole poems?

The line-by-line format makes good use of fragmented time and highlights the classical craft of word and meaning, making famous lines stand out. But a fine line loses some of its emotional arc when separated from the whole poem; readers who want true understanding must return to the original to see how it is set up and resolved.

Can reading this book directly improve my writing?

The lines can build vocabulary and sentence patterns, offering models for writing. But direct imitation can feel stiff; better to first understand each line's context and feeling, then adapt it to your own expressive needs rather than piling up famous lines as decorative quotations.

Comments

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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.