The Chart of Pushing Back

李淳风北京汇聚文源文化发展有限公司 · ChinaJul 2024

3.0

Word count: 3.2K words
Chapters: 2

Summary

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

Editor's review

Tui Bei Tu is attributed to Li Chunfeng and Yuan Tiangang of the Tang dynasty. A traditional text of the prophecy and apocrypha tradition, it uses illustrations paired with poems to speculate on the succession of dynasties and circulated widely among the people. This book belongs to the "Essence of the Chinese Classics: Original Texts" series and aims to preserve the original appearance of the book; it is suitable as a source text for understanding ancient prophecy culture and popular historical imagination. Its value lies not in "prediction" itself but in how it reflects people's concern across the ages with order and chaos, rise and fall, their use of prophetic symbols, and the distinctive expressive mode of the poetic prophecy genre. When reading, place it in the perspective of cultural history and textual scholarship, attending to the structure of illustrations and text, the sources of allusions, and the evolution of editions, rather than insisting on word-for-word correspondences. For readers who wish to encounter traditional divination literature and understand how the ancients narrated events, this book offers an accessible sample; but because its content is largely metaphor and cryptic language, it is best read alongside historical background and rational analysis.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Traditional culture enthusiasts curious about ancient prophecy culture and divination literature
Students of literature and history studying popular historical imagination and the poetic prophecy genre
General readers who wish to understand the diversity of Chinese classics and broaden their reading

Not a good fit for

Readers expecting definite historical predictions or practical guidance from it
Beginners lacking a classical Chinese foundation who need line-by-line vernacular interpretation
Readers averse to mysticism who read only evidentiary historical sources

Reading tips

Read the preface or publisher's note first to clarify its attributed nature and its status as prophecy literature, then enter the main text.
Read alongside a chronology of major Chinese historical events, distinguishing what was appended after the fact from what reflects the currents of the time.
Look at illustrations, poems and commentary separately, note the repeated use of metaphor, and keep brief notes.
After reading, consult standard research on prophecy literature to help build a framework for rational examination.

About the publisher

北京汇聚文源文化发展有限公司 China

Beijing Huiju Wenyuan Cultural Development Co., Ltd. is a cultural institution focused on publishing traditional Chinese classics. Public information about the company is limited, and its publishing profile is mainly reflected in the 83 books in the database. Judging from its representative titles, the company attends to classics across the traditional Four Categories of Chinese literature. The Lotus Sutra relates to Buddhist literature; Comprehensive Institutions, A Record of Reading in the Prefectural Studio, and The Meaning of Textual Criticism are works of history and bibliography; New Songs from the Jade Terrace is a literary anthology; Agricultural Administration in Its Entirety concerns agricultural policy and practice; and Annotations to the Gongyang Commentary on the Spring and Autumn Annals and Discourse on the Song Dynasty reflect the directions of classical scholarship and historical commentary. Its authors include Du You, Chao Gongwu, Xu Ling, Xu Guangqi, He Xiu, Zhang Xuecheng, and Wang Fuzhi, as well as anonymous works. Its common categories center on classic works, social sciences, Eastern philosophy, literary appreciation, and philosophical reading, indicating a publishing orientation characterized by the organization of traditional scholarly primary texts and the promotion of traditional cultural reading.

版权信息
推背图

FAQ

Can Tui Bei Tu really predict the future?

From the perspective of textual scholarship, the extant editions of Tui Bei Tu have undergone transmission and alteration, and their content is largely metaphor and cryptic language; it is not a reliable predictive tool. It is better suited as a text for studying ancient prophecy culture and popular historical ideas, and should be read rationally, attending to its cultural significance rather than word-for-word correspondences.

Can I read this book without a classical Chinese foundation?

This book belongs to a series that "preserves the original appearance of the book," and contains much classical Chinese and cryptic language, so direct reading poses certain barriers. It is advisable to first acquire basic classical Chinese reading ability, or to read alongside annotated editions and scholarly works; if you read only for the stories, you may find it demanding because of the dense metaphors.

How is this book different from the interpretive editions on the market?

According to the publication information, this book focuses on preserving and transmitting traditional thought and culture and on preserving the original appearance of the book, rather than offering item-by-item vernacular interpretation or elaboration. It is better suited as a reference to the original text; if you need accessible explanation, you can use relevant studies or annotated readings alongside it.

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About the author

李淳风 Author

Li Chunfeng is an author from ancient China whose life is poorly documented; publicly available information is limited, and his exact native place, dates of birth and death, and official career cannot be verified with certainty. Two of his works are currently held in the collection: Yisi Zhan and Tui Bei Tu. In terms of subject matter, Yisi Zhan is an ancient divination text concerned with astronomy, celestial phenomena, and the interpretation of omens, while Tui Bei Tu circulated in the form of prophetic verses accompanied by illustrations and carries a distinctly predictive character. Both books were widely circulated among the people and are often classified under fortune-telling and the occult arts; because of their obscure language and rich imagery, they have also drawn attention as objects of literary appreciation. Li Chunfeng's writing tends toward concision and restraint, making use of symbolism and suggestion, and his works have exerted a certain influence on later occult culture and popular literature.