Principles of Generalship

AnonymousBashu Publishing House · ChinaAug 2020

2.4

Word count: 406 words
Chapters: 4

Summary

Recuperate and nurse one's health. Song dynasty, Ouyang Xiu, "First Memorial Declining the Post of Qingzhou": "Grant that I may for the time being keep my former office, in the hope of being able to recuperate and nurse my declining years." Song dynasty, Luo Ye, "Zuiweng Tanlu: Li Yaxian Does Not Betray Zheng Yuanhe": "Recuperating for a whole year, he recovered better than before." Song dynasty, Wen Tianxiang, "Letter to Liu Sihu Sanyi": "It is fortunate that no medicine is needed, which I take as excellent; in hot weather, recuperating and nursing one's health is truly not easy."

Editor's review

Zhengli is a small compilation-style book of ancient documents centered on the idea of "rest and recuperation." Its title comes from phrases in Song dynasty letters such as "recuperate and nurse one's declining years" and "in hot weather, recuperating and nursing one's health is truly not easy," pointing to the ancient understanding and practice of post-illness care and daily regimen. The materials are drawn largely from Song dynasty collected works, notebooks, and letters, allowing readers to see how the term zhengli was used in specific contexts and to sense the attitude toward life with which traditional literati faced aging, illness, and seasonal change. Its value lies not in offering systematic medical theory but in presenting, through primary sources, how ancients arranged food, drink, and daily living, and how they described illness and the progress of recuperation to relatives and friends. It is suitable as supplementary reading for the history of daily life and the social history of medicine in antiquity, and for readers who like to approach ancient daily life through words and phrases. It is best read as a sourcebook, examining each entry closely alongside annotations and background notes rather than aiming to finish it in one sitting. For readers seeking modern health regimens or systematic medical knowledge, the book does not directly respond.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers of literature and history interested in Song dynasty documents and details of ancient daily life
Those studying ancient medicine, ideas of health cultivation, and literati letter writing
People who like to understand traditional everyday expressions through word glosses
Readers who need short source materials for reading notes or topical excerpts

Not a good fit for

Those hoping for systematic traditional Chinese medicine theory or modern practical health regimens
General leisure readers expecting continuous narrative or a complete storyline
Beginners who need extensive vernacular explanation and accessible guided reading

Reading tips

Begin with the preface or editorial notes to understand the documentary sources of the term zhengli and how the book is organized.
Read entry by entry according to source, noting along the way the contextual differences among letters, notebooks, and other genres.
Read alongside Song literati collected works or works on daily life history to deepen understanding of ideas of recuperation.
Do not aim for speed; each time select a few entries to read closely and make brief notes.

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
正文一
正文二
正文三

FAQ

What does the term zhengli mean in this book?

According to the materials in the book, zhengli means rest and recuperation, often used in Song dynasty letters to describe arrangements for nursing one's health after illness or in old age. Through the writings of Ouyang Xiu, Luo Ye, Wen Tianxiang, and others, the book shows how the term was used in specific contexts, so that readers may appreciate how ancients expressed the care of the body and the arrangement of daily life.

Can this book be read as a health guide?

It should not be taken directly as a health guide. What the book presents are terms and passages about rest and recuperation in ancient documents, with an emphasis on documentary and daily-life-history value rather than systematic medical advice. Those seeking modern health methods should consult professional medical and nutritional materials; this book is better suited as supplementary material for understanding ancient ideas of health cultivation.

Can someone without a foundation in classical Chinese read this book?

You can try, but patience is needed. The materials are mostly fragments from ancient letters and notebooks, with compressed wording, and some expressions are distant from modern Chinese. It is advisable to read the editorial notes and annotations first, slow down when encountering unfamiliar words and phrases, and use reference books or annotated editions for help; there is no need to understand everything in one reading.

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

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.