State Standards

管仲Bashu Publishing House · ChinaSep 2024

4.0

Word count: 579 words
Chapters: 2

Summary

The Guanzi is a collective work compiled by the Jixia Daoists in honor of Guan Zhong, and the writings of this Jixia Guanzi school are gathered here. The "Hanshu Yiwenzhi" lists it under the Daoist section of the Masters, the "Suishu Jingjizhi" under the Legalist school, and the "Siku Quanshu" under the Legalist section of the Masters. The book is grand in scale, complex in content, and rich in thought, making it an important classic for the study of ancient Chinese academic and cultural thought, especially that of the pre-Qin period.

Editor's review

The Guanzi is a school anthology compiled by Jixia scholars in honor of Guan Zhong. Rich in content, it touches on politics, economics, law, and philosophy; successive bibliographies wavered between classifying it as Daoist or Legalist, which shows precisely how hard it is to confine within a single school. As an edited edition of this classic, the book's value lies in giving readers direct access to this intellectual composite in its original form rather than relying on secondhand summaries. The pleasure of reading it lies in seeing how the compliance of the Way and the regulation of law coexist within the same text, and in understanding the openness and hybridity of pre-Qin scholarship. For readers studying pre-Qin thought, institutions, and theories of governance, it is an indispensable source. One caveat: the work is grand in scale and complex in content, so it is not suited to being read straight through like a novel; it is better to read selected chapters with specific questions in mind, working through them gradually with annotations and reference works, and to appreciate the layers of its thought through repeated rereading.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Students and scholars of pre-Qin thought and academic culture
Readers interested in ancient statecraft and economic thought
Writers on history and literature who need to cite the original text of the Guanzi
Advanced readers willing to read the classic slowly and selectively by theme

Not a good fit for

General readers looking for light stories or introductory popular science
Those without a foundation in Classical Chinese who are unwilling to use annotations

Reading tips

Start with the introduction or table of contents, then read selectively by theme such as politics, economics, and law rather than from beginning to end.
Keep a notebook to record how different chapters express the same concept, and appreciate the work's mixed-school character.
When you reach key passages, understand them sentence by sentence against the annotations, consult reference works when necessary, and then return to the original text.

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
国准第七十九

FAQ

Is the Guanzi a Daoist or a Legalist work?

Classifications have differed over the ages: the "Hanshu Yiwenzhi" lists it as Daoist, while the "Suishu Jingjizhi" and the "Siku Quanshu" list it as Legalist. This divergence reflects precisely that it is a collective work of Jixia scholars with eclectic thought, and it should not be simply labeled as belonging to a single school.

Can I read this book without a background in Classical Chinese?

You can start with an annotated edition, but be prepared for a challenge. It is advisable to begin with chapters that have a clear theme and to work through them sentence by sentence with reference works; if you are completely unwilling to engage with Classical Chinese, the reading experience will be rather difficult.

Why is it said to be suitable for selective reading by theme?

The book is grand in scale and complex in content, and the focus of each chapter differs markedly. Reading in groups by theme such as politics, economics, and law makes it easier to grasp the thread than reading linearly straight through, and it also facilitates comparing how the same concept is expressed in different chapters.

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About the author

管仲 Author

Guan Zhong was an important statesman and thinker in China's ancient Spring and Autumn period. His sayings and deeds are chiefly preserved in the book Guanzi, attributed to him. The library holds eight related works, including Guanzi and an unannotated edition of it, as well as chapters such as "Li Zheng," "Ba Xing," "Ba Yan," "Zhi Fen," "Guo Zhun," and "Di Zi Zhi." These texts deal with governing the state, enriching the country and strengthening the army, combining ritual and law, and economic regulation, and they also touch on educational discipline and the way of ruler and minister. Because public information on Guan Zhong's dates of birth and death and nationality is limited, it is difficult to give a detailed personal biography. Judging from the extant texts, his writing excels in political argument and dialogue, is clearly organized, and often uses concrete institutions and examples to explain his views; it has had a profound influence on later Legalist and political thought.