The Kingly Way

AnonymousJun 2024

2.6

Word count: 210K words
Chapters: 14

Summary

Traditional Chinese thought has a long history and is highly original, inventive and literary. Early forms of thought are distinctive: religious theology, classical texts of Chinese medicine, ancient military strategy, Confucianism, Daoism, Buddhism and the Hundred Schools, feng shui and metaphysics, the Twenty-Four Histories, and local customs and gazetteers are all vast and profound. This series, "Essence of Chinese Classics: Original Texts," preserves the original appearance of the books and focuses on preserving and spreading traditional Chinese thought and culture. By reading the literary essence left by ancient sages, readers can cultivate their character and subtly appreciate the classics of Chinese learning.

Editor's review

Titled "The Kingly Way," this book is part of the "Essence of Chinese Classics: Original Texts" series, continuing its editorial approach of preserving the original appearance of the books and focusing on spreading traditional thought and culture. Judging from the table of contents, the content covers discussions related to statecraft and the ethics of ruler and minister in the doctrines of Confucianism, Daoism, Legalism and other schools, and also touches on ancient military strategy, historical records and other materials, presenting ancient thinkers' reflections on political order and moral cultivation. Its value lies in providing relatively original texts of thought, allowing readers to come into direct contact with the language and argumentation of early forms of thought rather than secondhand summaries. It should be read as introductory material for intellectual history, with excerpts and comparisons made in connection with specific chapters, so as to appreciate the differences in how various schools understand "king" and "way." It is suitable for slow reading in a quiet environment and can also serve as supplementary reading for courses on traditional culture or book clubs. It should be noted that the original book's format and wording retain their old appearance, and some concepts require notes or reference works to understand, so it is not advisable to aim for a quick read-through.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Beginning readers interested in the pre-Qin philosophers and ancient political thought who wish to read primary texts
Members of traditional culture book clubs who need selected reading materials
Students in university humanities courses who need supplementary primary text reading
General readers who like to copy ancient sayings and accumulate writing material

Not a good fit for

Beginners expecting modern vernacular explanations and sentence-by-sentence translation
Readers who only want narrative history with a story-like quality and lack patience for intellectual discussion
Researchers who need a strictly scholarly collated edition or a complete annotation system

Reading tips

Read the table of contents and the introductory notes first, mark the chapters directly related to "the kingly way," and read them in thematic groups.
After reading each passage, summarize the argument in your own words, then compare it with the views of other schools and make simple notes.
Look up unfamiliar characters and words in reference works first; do not rush, read a small section each day and review it.
Read alongside general books on Chinese intellectual history to help situate the text in its context.

版权信息
代序
第一章新罗明神之谜
第二章清海镇大使
第三章暗斗
第四章蓄势
第五章结义兄弟
第六章扬州梦记
第七章龙虎相搏
第八章再相逢
第九章胜战鼓
第十章黑暗中巡行
第十一章坚白同异
第十二章血花

FAQ

Is this book the complete original text or an anthology?

From the available information, it belongs to the "Essence of Chinese Classics: Original Texts" series, which emphasizes preserving the original appearance of the books and focuses on preserving and spreading traditional thought and culture. The exact range of chapters should be based on the actual table of contents; before reading, it is advisable to check the table of contents and the publisher's notes to confirm whether the selected chapters cover what you want to read.

Can I read it without a foundation in classical Chinese?

You can try, but you will need reference works or annotations. This book preserves the original appearance of the text, and its wording and format are rather old; without a foundation, you may easily get stuck on characters and words. It is advisable to start with short pieces or familiar passages, use a dictionary and a general intellectual history as support, and build up gradually rather than trying to read the whole book from the start.

Is it suitable as material for a book club?

Yes. The book covers the views of different schools such as Confucianism, Daoism and Legalism on statecraft and morality, making it easy to set themes for discussion. A book club can select a small section each time, assign a discussion leader in advance, and focus on conceptual differences and contemporary relevance, avoiding vague generalities.

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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.