Gazing at Immortals

AnonymousJul 2024

2.5

Word count: 3.7K words
Chapters: 4

Summary

Traditional Chinese thought has a long history and is highly original, inventive, and literary. Early forms of thought have distinctive features; religious theology, classical texts of traditional Chinese medicine, ancient military strategy, Confucianism, Daoism, Buddhism, and the Hundred Schools of Thought, feng shui and metaphysics, the Twenty-Four Histories, and customs and local gazetteers are all profound and extensive. This series, “Essential Classics of Chinese Traditional Culture: Original Texts,” 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 their temperament and subtly come to appreciate the classics of Chinese learning.

Editor's review

Wangxian is included in the series “Essential Classics of Chinese Traditional Culture: Original Texts.” The author is listed as Anonymous, indicating that the textual source and author information are difficult to verify. It should therefore be read as an organized presentation of traditional material rather than as a work with a clear authorial intention. The value of such books lies in preserving the original appearance of the text and allowing readers to come into direct contact with the vocabulary, conventions, and imaginative modes of ancient texts; it is suitable as primary material for understanding one aspect of traditional culture. Because authorial background and textual history are lacking, some unfamiliarity in understanding is inevitable; it is advisable to use relevant introductions or reference works, first reading through to grasp the whole and then examining parts of interest in detail, without judging its structure by modern literary standards.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers interested in the original appearance of traditional texts
Those engaged in popular reading of Chinese classics who are willing to encounter original texts
Readers who enjoy experiencing ancient modes of expression through anonymous texts

Not a good fit for

Researchers who need clear authorial background and textual history
Readers expecting a complete plot or modern narrative

Reading tips

Read through once to understand the overall conventions, then return to parts of interest for close reading.
Jot down unfamiliar words and names of things while reading, and look them up together.
Read alongside comparable anthologies of Chinese classics to help grasp the text’s position.

版权信息
望仙
一
二

FAQ

Why is the author listed as “Anonymous”?

Listing the author as Anonymous usually means that author information was lost in transmission or could not be confirmed during editing. This does not affect the reading value of the text itself, but it means the content cannot be explained through the author’s life; readers must seek interpretive clues more from within the text and from comparable documents.

Is this book suitable for beginners in Chinese classics?

It can serve as reading material for encountering the original appearance of traditional texts, but because it preserves the original form, it may not have detailed modern annotations, and beginners may find it unfamiliar. It is advisable to prepare a beginner’s guide to Chinese classics with introductions and annotations and read the two alongside each other, so as to see the original appearance without becoming unable to continue.

What preparation is needed to read this kind of book?

At minimum, prepare a dictionary of common classical Chinese and basic reference works on cultural knowledge, and look up institutions, names of things, and allusions as they arise. In terms of reading mindset, do not seek speed and do not insist on understanding everything; first grasp the general content and then gradually go deeper—the effect will be better.

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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.