Talent and Strategy

AnonymousBashu Publishing House · ChinaJun 2024

4.4

Word count: 1.9K words
Chapters: 2

Summary

The writings of the nine eras are rich and abundant; their rhetoric and literary brilliance can be outlined and examined in detail. In the writings of Yu and Xia, there were Gao Yao's Six Virtues, Kui's ordering of the Eight Tones, Yi's Panegyric, and the Five Sons' Songs; their wording and meaning were gentle and elegant, models for ten thousand generations. In the age of Shang and Zhou, Zhong Hui handed down admonitions, Yi Yin spread teachings, and men like Ji Fu all set forth the Shi and Song; their meaning is certainly canonical, and their wording is also instructive.

Editor's review

"Cailüe" is a short treatise on literary criticism that surveys the literary styles of nine eras, broad in vision and concise in wording. It begins with the writings of Yu and Xia, citing Gao Yao's Six Virtues, Kui's ordering of the Eight Tones, Yi's Panegyric, and the Five Sons' Songs as examples, praising them as "gentle and elegant in wording and meaning, models for ten thousand generations"; it then discusses Shang and Zhou, listing Zhong Hui's admonitions, Yi Yin's teachings, and Ji Fu's composition of the Shi and Song, pointing out that "their meaning is certainly canonical, and their wording is also instructive." This approach of taking eras as the framework and people and works as the entries provides readers with a clue for quickly grasping the thread of writings from high antiquity through Shang and Zhou. Its value lies not in deep and detailed textual analysis, but in establishing a standard of appraisal that gives equal weight to "wording" and "meaning," reminding readers that beyond literary brilliance there is also a foundation in canonical meaning. This edition by Bashu Publishing House is suitable as an introduction to ancient literary criticism or as supplementary reading for literary history. When reading, it can be compared with relevant chapters of Wenxin Diaolong to appreciate the ancients' habits of diction and standards of evaluation in discussing literature; one need not demand that it cover all writers and works.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers interested in ancient literary criticism and the history of literary criticism
Students of literature and history who need to sort out the thread of pre-Qin writings
Readers who enjoy short classical treatises on literature and are willing to read closely and appraise

Not a good fit for

Readers hoping for a complete literary-history textbook-style narrative
Readers who prefer modern and contemporary literature and lack interest in ancient texts
Beginners who need extensive selected passages and detailed annotations

Reading tips

First list the eras and figures mentioned in the text, make a brief table, and clarify the order of discussion.
Focus on appreciating the standard of such evaluative phrases as "gentle and elegant in wording and meaning" and "their meaning is certainly canonical, and their wording is also instructive."
Can be read alongside relevant chapters of Wenxin Diaolong to compare angles of appraisal.
After reading, try to summarize in one paragraph the author's standard for good writing, to test whether you have grasped the main points.

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
才略第四十七

FAQ

Which nine eras does "the writings of the nine eras" refer to?

The text does not list the names of the nine eras one by one; it is usually understood as the successive eras from high antiquity through Shang and Zhou that the author traces. When reading, there is no need to rush to pin down specific dynasties; the focus is on the author's approach of arranging the evolution of literary style in chronological order and the framework of appraisal established thereby.

What is the core viewpoint of this passage?

The core is that writing should give equal weight to wording and meaning: it should have both gentle and elegant rhetorical brilliance and a foundation in canonical meaning. By listing representative figures and works of Yu, Xia, Shang, and Zhou, the author shows that good writing is both a model of wording and a paradigm of meaning, and the two cannot be neglected.

Can it be read without a foundation in literary history?

It can be read, but a basic understanding of figures such as Gao Yao, Yi Yin, and Ji Fu is needed; otherwise one may easily be interrupted by names and allusions. It is advisable first to look up the approximate era and identity of the figures in the text, then read through the whole piece, focusing on the author's evaluative wording rather than memorizing all the works.

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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.