The Golden Coffer
Tags
Summary
Editor's review
Who it's for
A good fit for
- Researchers of pre-Qin texts and ancient history who need to study core chapters of the Book of Documents
- Enthusiasts of classical scholarship and ritual institutions interested in Zhou sacrificial rites and ruler-minister ethics
- Readers of classical literature who wish to closely read early prose that is archaic and spare
- University students of literature and history using it as a supplementary reader for courses on the Book of Documents
Not a good fit for
- Beginners lacking a foundation in classical Chinese who need modern vernacular translation to read
- Casual readers expecting narrative storytelling or popular history
- Readers who only want a quick overview of Western Zhou history and do not wish to examine the text closely
Reading tips
- Read the original through once, mark words and passages you do not understand, then read closely paragraph by paragraph against the annotations
- Read alongside related chapters of the Book of Documents and materials on Zhou ritual institutions to understand ceremonies such as the three altars on a single platform
- Note the tone and rhetoric of the Duke of Zhou's prayer and appreciate the economy of early prose
- After reading, consult commentaries of successive eras on the authenticity and interpretation of the metal-bound coffer for further reflection
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
- 周书·金縢第八
FAQ
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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.
