Continued Tales of the World

孔平仲Qunyan Publishing House · ChinaJun 2024

3.8

Word count: 106K words
Chapters: 14

Summary

Liu Zun of Liang, as Attendant Gentleman of the Crown Prince, died, and the Crown Prince deeply mourned him. He wrote to Liu's cousin Xiaoyi: "Your worthy cousin, the Attendant Gentleman, was filial, friendly, sincere, and deep; he conducted himself with firm integrity; within he held jade-like smoothness, without he showed clear waves. His words matched his deeds, consistent from beginning to end; he was rich in letters and history, with a heart of polished jade; his compositions were broad and learned, with the colors of dark and yellow. He manifested his nature through modest humility and positioned himself as one who finds advancement difficult; of the three kinds of beneficial friends, he was truly such a person. When he administered a small district, before he could display good governance, he could still make people form lingering thoughts of him after departure. The fields had many tame pheasants—this too is a single feather of the awe-inspiring phoenix, enough to verify his five virtues."

Editor's review

The Continuation of the Tales of the World was compiled by Kong Pingzhong of the Northern Song, continuing the format of Liu Yiqing's A New Account of Tales of the World of the Southern Dynasties. It gathers old records from histories and biographies, arranging them by category, sketching characters' words and deeds and the customs of the age in brief strokes. This edition is the 2024 Qunyan Press edition. The appended material shows its style: after the death of Liu Zun of Liang, the Crown Prince wrote to his cousin, praising him as filial, friendly, sincere, and deep, firm in conduct, jade-like within and clear without, words matching deeds and consistent throughout, rich in letters and history and broad in composition, and mentioning lingering thoughts after departure and tame pheasants. Such writing shows the tradition of character appraisal and preserves historical events and worthy words and deeds. Its value lies in providing readable historical fragments and character portraits in the form of classified notes, concise in language and combining literary and historical interest. It suits extended reading of classical notes and is easy to dip into. Readers should note its nature as a continuation and its sources; it should not be equated with rigorous official history or full biography.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers who have read A New Account of Tales of the World and want to explore continuations
Readers in history and literature interested in ancient Chinese notes and character anecdotes
Liberal arts students needing short classical Chinese materials for reading practice
General readers interested in character appraisal and historical fragments before the Northern Song

Not a good fit for

Readers seeking systematic study of a complete dynasty's history
Those who find classical Chinese difficult and need sentence-by-sentence vernacular translation
Readers expecting coherent plots or long narratives

Reading tips

First understand the categorical format of A New Account of Tales of the World, then compare with this book's arrangement to see similarities and differences.
Read a few entries daily; when encountering a person, first check their period and identity, then review the appraisal of words and deeds.
Group entries concerning the same person or event for comparison, noting echoes among historical fragments.
If classical Chinese is difficult, first read the plain text for the gist, then use reference works to resolve difficult words.

About the publisher

Qunyan Publishing House China · Founded in 1989

Founded in 1989, Qunyan Publishing House has long been committed to publishing academic and educational books for mid- and high-level readers, and has built up a certain presence in Eastern philosophy, classical literature, and classic works. Representative titles available in the database include Records of the Grand Historian, Dream of the Red Chamber, Selections of Refined Literature, Complete Song Ci, Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio, Record of Daily Knowledge, Taiping Huimin Hejiju Fang, and The Collected Works of Wang Yangming, covering common categories such as ancient poetry, medicine, and examinations. Its author resources include Sima Qian, Cao Xueqin, Xiao Tong, Li Shan, Pu Songling, and Gu Yanwu. The press also offers distinctive series such as the Biographical Series of the China Democratic League and the Historical Documents Series of the China Democratic League, and publishes research on historical documents, biographies, memoirs, and textbooks and academic works by League members. Public information is limited, and its overall publishing scale and complete catalogue require further verification.

版权信息
序
卷一
卷二
卷三
卷四
卷五
卷六
卷七
卷八
卷九
卷十
卷十一
卷十二

FAQ

Is the Continuation of the Tales of the World a sequel to A New Account of Tales of the World?

Yes. Kong Pingzhong followed the note format of A New Account of Tales of the World, arranging by category and gathering old records from histories and biographies. It does not continue the original entry by entry but collects characters' words, deeds, and anecdotes in a similar format; readers may regard it as a continuation in style rather than a direct supplement to the original.

Where do the book's materials mainly come from?

Judging from its nature as a continuation and the appended text, the content largely gathers old records from histories and biographies, characters' words and deeds, and worthy sayings and deeds, with the character of a note compilation. Specific sources for each entry should be checked against the main text's annotations. Readers should note the difference between its historical sources and literary editing, and not treat it all as original official history.

If my classical Chinese is average, how should I read it?

Start with short entries, reading a few daily; first grasp the general meaning, then look up words. For personal and official names, use reference works or historical indexes. If the edition has annotations or translation, read alongside them first, then return to the original, gradually building a feel for classical Chinese; there is no need to read the whole book at once.

Is it better read as history or as literature?

Both, but the use should be distinguished. As history, it preserves characters' words and deeds and historical fragments and can serve as auxiliary reference; as literature, its concise language and character appraisal have the charm of note sketches. While reading, maintain a critical awareness and do not treat every entry as strict historical fact.

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About the author

孔平仲 Author

Kong Pingzhong was a literatus of the Song dynasty. Public information about his life is limited: his birth and death years and native place are not clearly recorded, so a complete biography cannot be reconstructed. Judging from his extant works, he excelled in note-style writings and poetry criticism, touching on historical anecdotes and literary circles. Xu Shishuo follows the format of Shishuo Xinyu, recording the words and deeds of figures in a concise and engaging style; Tan Yuan collects anecdotes and institutional lore from court and country, with rich materials that supplement official histories; Heng Huang Xin Lun develops arguments and reflects his learning and insight. His poems are included in Song Shi Chao: Qingjiang Ji Chao, with a clear and natural style that values sentiment and refinement. Five of his works are held in the collection, commonly classified under ancient poetry and literary appreciation, showing that his writings have mainly circulated as reading material on Song dynasty notes and poetry.