On Governing the State
Tags
Summary
Editor's review
Who it's for
A good fit for
- General readers interested in pre-Qin political thought and "Guanzi"
- Humanities students who need to study the original text of a single chapter of "Guanzi" in depth
- Traditional culture enthusiasts concerned with ancient ideas of governance and institutional design
- Readers hoping to encounter classical political essays in short form
Not a good fit for
- Readers expecting modern public administration theory or policy analysis frameworks
- Advanced researchers requiring detailed annotation, vernacular translation, and academic textual criticism
- Readers with major difficulties in reading classical Chinese who are unwilling to use reference tools
Reading tips
- Read through the whole chapter first to grasp the layers of argument, then work through each section with annotations to sort out the key points of governance.
- Consult other chapters of "Guanzi" alongside it to understand its overall style of valuing practical affairs and institutions.
- Note differences between ancient and modern institutions as you read, distinguishing specific measures from universal principles of governance.
- The chapter is not long; after finishing, summarize each section's claims in a few sentences for easy review.
About the publisher
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.
Contents
- 版权信息
- 正文一
- 正文二
- 正文三
- 正文四
FAQ
What is the position of "Zhiguo" within "Guanzi"?
Does this book contain only the single chapter "Zhiguo"?
Can I read this book without a foundation in classical Chinese?
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About the 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.
