Fa Yan (Complete Text, Full Annotation, Full Translation)

Fa Yan is a collection of aphorisms modeled on The Analects by the Western Han scholar Yang Xiong (53 BCE–18 CE). The work consists of thirteen scrolls, each containing about thirty entries, with an autobiographical preface appended at the end of each scroll. The word fa in the title carries the sense of what is proper and of a norm or standard; fa yan thus means words that serve as criteria for judging right and wrong and assessing things. The book ranges widely, touching on philosophy, politics, economics, and ethics, as well as literature, art, science, military affairs, and historical figures, events, schools, and documents. It is a fundamental source for understanding Yang Xiong's thought and stands alongside his Tai Xuan and Fang Yan as one of his principal works. This edition in Zhonghua Book Company's Complete Text, Full Annotation, Full Translation Series of Chinese Classics has its introductory notes, annotations, and vernacular translation by Han Jing. The text is based on the Song Zhiping Directorate edition of Yangzi Fa Yan, reproduced in the Sibu Congkan facsimile of the Qin Enfu Shiyanzhai reprint held in the Hanfenlou collection, and has been collated against other fine editions and against Fa Yan passages quoted in ancient books and older commentaries. The volume flows naturally through four parts—introductory note, original text, annotation, and translation. The translation strives for clarity and fluency while remaining faithful to the original meaning, and supplies necessary complements where the original omits elements through excessive concision. It suits readers who wish to read the original through without being blocked by philological difficulties.