Duke Wen

AnonymousThe Commercial Press · ChinaJul 2024

2.0

Word count: 15K words
Chapters: 19

Summary

Chinese traditional culture and thought have a long history and are highly original, inventive and literary. Early thought forms have distinctive features: religious theology, traditional Chinese medicine classics, ancient military texts, Confucianism, Daoism, Buddhism and the Hundred Schools, feng shui and metaphysics, the Twenty-Four Histories, customs and local gazetteers—all are profound and extensive. This "Classic Chinese Studies Essence Culture Original Texts" series preserves the appearance of the original books and focuses on preserving and transmitting traditional Chinese thought and culture. By reading the literary essence left by ancient sages, readers can cultivate character and subtly appreciate the classics of Chinese studies.

Editor's review

This book is a facsimile or collated edition of Wengong as originally published by the Commercial Press in the Republican period, and belongs to the "Classic Chinese Studies Essence Culture Original Texts" series. Its greatest value lies in preserving the original book's appearance, allowing readers direct contact with how traditional classics were arranged and presented in the Republican era. Unlike common vernacular annotated editions, it emphasizes the original textual appearance and the interest of editions, making it suitable as primary material for understanding modern publishing history and the history of transmitting Chinese studies. Reading it, one can feel both the original atmosphere of traditional thought texts and the care with which Republican-era scholars reorganized the national heritage. For readers already familiar with common annotated translations who wish to get closer to the original publication form, this book provides a rare comparative text. However, the book's content covers a wide range—religious theology, traditional Chinese medicine, military texts, Confucianism, Daoism, Buddhism and the Hundred Schools—and a single volume cannot treat them systematically and in depth; it is better used as a desk reference for browsing alongside other annotated editions.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Collectors and textual enthusiasts interested in the original appearance and edition forms of Republican-era publications
Readers with some foundation in Chinese studies who wish to compare with the original text
Scholars studying the modern transmission of Chinese studies and the publishing history of the Commercial Press
General readers who like to browse traditional thought texts casually without systematic reading

Not a good fit for

Complete beginners with no classical Chinese reading ability who need sentence-by-sentence vernacular explanation
Professional researchers seeking systematic study of a particular school of thought
Readers who prioritize modern typographic comfort and detailed annotation

Reading tips

Begin with the table of contents and publishing notes to understand the original structure and scope, then start with sections of interest.
Prepare a common annotated edition for comparison, and promptly check rare characters, terms and institutional names.
Read by topic—for example, first concentrate on Confucian or Daoist sections—to avoid superficial browsing.
Note the layout, annotations and character usage of the original publication as observations on the edition.

About the publisher

The Commercial Press China · Founded in 1897

"Republic-era Commercial Press Original Editions" refers to original books printed by The Commercial Press during the Republican period, not a separate publishing house. Judging from the 300 titles held in the collection, its publishing focus centers on classical poetry and lyrics, literary appreciation, classic works, military texts, prose and miscellaneous writings, and Eastern philosophy. Representative titles include Wang Guowei's Renjian Cihua, Zhong Rong's Shipin, the lyric collections of Xin Qiji and Liu Yong, Sun Wu's The Art of War, and Lü Buwei's Xianshi Lan. Its author resources are mainly classical writers, together with modern scholars such as Li Jingbang and Guo Huaruo, whose collations and annotations are also represented, giving the list a character centered on original texts while attending to annotation and appreciation. Public information on the precise Republican-era catalog and printings is limited; this overview is based only on the titles held in the collection.

版权信息
文公元年
文公二年
文公三年
文公四年
文公五年
文公六年
文公七年
文公八年
文公九年
文公十年
文公十一年
文公十二年
文公十三年
文公十四年
文公十五年
文公十六年
文公十七年
文公十八年

FAQ

Is this book a vernacular annotated edition?

No. This book belongs to a series that preserves the original appearance of the books, focusing on presenting the text and layout of the original Commercial Press Republican-era publication. It is not a popular edition with sentence-by-sentence vernacular translation and detailed annotation; reading it requires some classical Chinese foundation, and it is best used alongside other annotated editions.

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

They can browse it, but will find it hard to go deep. The book covers many areas of traditional thought; without basic classical Chinese ability and background knowledge, readers may remain at the literal level. It is advisable to read introductory works on Chinese studies first, then compare with the original publication for more noticeable gains.

Is this book suitable for reading straight through from beginning to end?

Not really. The content is broad and the sections do not necessarily form a coherent progression; it is better suited to selective reading by interest or topic. Browsing it as a desk reference is more efficient than forcing a complete read-through.

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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.