On Efficacy
Tags
Summary
Editor's review
Who it's for
A good fit for
- Readers who want to understand Wang Chong's thought without reading all of the Lunheng
- Students studying the structure and argumentation of Han dynasty argumentative prose
- Readers interested in ancient Chinese materialist and pragmatic tendencies
- Teachers who need a single classical text for instruction or lesson preparation
Not a good fit for
- Beginning readers expecting a modern vernacular translation with detailed annotations
- Those seeking a systematic overview of Han Daoism rather than a single-chapter entry point
Reading tips
- Read the original through once, mark the key sentences that use objects as analogies, then review the thread of the argument.
- Read it alongside chapters such as "Appraising Ability" and "Weighing Knowledge" in the Lunheng to grasp Wang Chong's pragmatic thought.
- After reading, restate the core argument in your own words to check whether you have captured its main points.
About the publisher
Jinzhang Book Company (Jinzhang Shuju) was a private publishing and distribution house in Shanghai during the late Qing and early Republican periods, issuing traditional works by lithographic printing. Judging from the 1,194 titles in the collection, its publishing focused on classical poetry, Eastern philosophy, historical reading, traditional Chinese medical texts, and canonical works, along with books on literary appreciation. Representative titles include the poetry and prose collections of Du Fu and Ouyang Xiu; historical works such as the Book of Han and Zizhi Tongjian; classical texts such as the Book of Documents and Mencius; and specialized and literary classics such as Treatise on Cold Damage and Li Sao. Its author resources cover major figures across the ages, including Du Fu, Ban Gu, Sima Guang, Zhang Zhongjing, Qu Yuan, Ouyang Xiu, and Tang Shenwei, reflecting the house's characteristic reliance on traditional scholarship and medical literature while serving general readers. Public information on its early history and operational details is limited, so no conjecture is offered here.
Contents
- 版权信息
- 卷十三 效力篇第三十七
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About the author
Wang Chong (27–c. 97), courtesy name Zhongren, was a native of Shangyu in Kuaiji (present-day Shaoxing, Zhejiang). A thinker, literary critic, and atheist of the Eastern Han, he entered the Imperial Academy in Luoyang in his youth and studied under Ban Biao; later he left office, stayed at home, and devoted himself to writing. His representative work, the eighty-five-chapter Lunheng (Balanced Inquiries), criticizes Chenwei superstition and the theory of interactions between Heaven and humanity, advocates a naturalist theory of qi, and stands as an important representative of Han-dynasty materialist thought. Wang Chong valued evidence and analysis in his writing, often developing arguments through questions and debates in a plain but sharp style. The collection holds sixty-nine of his works, including such pieces as Shizhi pian, Wenkong pian, Ziran pian, Daoxu pian, Duizuo pian, and Hanwen pian, covering philosophy, social criticism, and literary appreciation. He championed independent thinking and opposed blind submission to authority, exerting a lasting influence on later thought and literary criticism.
