The Cholera Section

Chen MengleiJun 2024

2.5

Word count: 29K words
Chapters: 3

Summary

Traditional Chinese culture has a long intellectual lineage, marked by a high degree of originality, inventiveness, and literary quality. Its early modes of thought are highly distinctive, and its religious theology, classical Chinese medical texts, ancient military strategy, Confucianism, Daoism, Buddhism, and the Hundred Schools of Thought, feng shui and arcane studies, the Twenty-Four Histories, and local customs and geography are all profound and extensive. This series, "Essential Classics of Chinese Traditional Culture: Original Texts," preserves the appearance of the original books, with emphasis on conserving and transmitting traditional Chinese thought and culture. By reading the literary essence left by ancient sages, readers can cultivate their temperament and quietly absorb the classics of Chinese learning.

Editor's review

This book also belongs to the "Essential Classics of Chinese Traditional Culture: Original Texts" series and continues its editorial approach of preserving the original books' appearance and focusing on conserving and transmitting traditional thought and culture. Its value for reading lies not in offering ready-made popular conclusions but in letting readers confront the original expression of traditional texts directly and appreciate the features of ancient knowledge systems in classification, terminology, and narration. Readers accustomed to modern reading may find the first encounter alienating, but this alienation is itself part of understanding tradition: it reminds us that the thought forms of the ancients had their own context and logic. It is suitable as a book to keep on the desk for browsing, to be read paragraph by paragraph and pondered repeatedly alongside annotations, dictionaries, and related introductions. Readers interested in traditional cultural threads such as classical medical texts, religious theology, military strategy, and the Hundred Schools of Thought can use this book as one volume in the series to help build a concrete sense of the "original text" form. Overall, it is better suited to patient readers willing to read slowly and chew carefully in a quiet setting rather than to those seeking quick completion.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers interested in the original classics of Chinese learning who are willing to read Classical Chinese texts directly.
Enthusiasts who hope to accumulate experience in reading traditional texts and do foundational work.
Self-learners able to use annotations and reference books for slow, close reading.
Readers interested in the original appearance of traditional culture who prefer preservative editions.
Students with some grounding in Classical Chinese who want to broaden their reading of classics.

Not a good fit for

Beginner readers expecting vernacular translation or light, story-based interpretation.
Researchers needing systematic textual collation, detailed annotations, and scholarly introductions.
People seeking quick access to key points who are unwilling to read slowly word by word.

Reading tips

First look at the table of contents and editorial format, judge which parts relate to your interests, then plan close reading or selective reading.
Keep a Classical Chinese dictionary or relevant annotated edition at hand; look up unfamiliar characters and words before reading on to reduce frustration.
After each short passage, summarize the main idea in one sentence to test comprehension, then continue.
Compare with other volumes in the same series to sense what traditional texts share in classification and expression.

版权信息
古今图书集成医部全录卷二百五十七
古今图书集成医部全录卷二百五十八

FAQ

What is the difference between this book and others in the same series?

According to available information, this book shares with other volumes in the series the editorial approach of "preserving the original books' appearance and conserving and transmitting traditional thought and culture." Specific content differences should be judged by the actual table of contents and main text. It is advisable to first browse the table of contents to confirm whether the range of texts included matches your reading interests, then decide where to focus.

What background knowledge should one have before reading this book?

It is best to have basic Classical Chinese reading ability and some understanding of the general contours of traditional thought and culture. If your background is insufficient, you can first read related vernacular introductions or general works to build a framework, then return to the original text and understand it paragraph by paragraph. Using dictionaries and annotated materials can noticeably lower the threshold.

Is this book suitable as an introductory book for Chinese classics?

It is better suited as supplementary reading for encountering original texts than as the sole introductory book. Preserving the original books' appearance means the language and format retain their ancient character, which beginners may find alienating. It is advisable to first use introductory works to build an overall understanding, then treat this book as practice material for returning to the original text and experiencing its authentic flavor.

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About the author

Chen Menglei Author · China · 1651–1741

Chen Menglei (1651–1741), courtesy names Zizhen and Shengzhai, later styled the Old Man of Songhe, was a Qing dynasty scholar from Houguan, Fujian. He passed the imperial examination in the ninth year of the Kangxi reign and was appointed to the Hanlin Academy as a compiler. After 1698, by imperial order, he tutored the third prince, Yinzhii, and took the opportunity to compile a vast classified encyclopedia, the Hui Bian, using the collection of the Xieyi Hall; the Kangxi Emperor later bestowed on it the title Gujin Tushu Jicheng. The library holds more than 410 of his works, mostly sections of the officialdom chapters of that encyclopedia, covering institutions such as the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, the Imperial Observatory, the Ministry of Personnel, the Ministry of Rites, prefectural governors, the Transmission Office, and the Imperial Medical Academy. These works address ancient bureaucratic systems, ritual norms, and administrative practice. His compilations are distinguished by systematic classification and extensive citation, preserving a wealth of source materials for later generations; they are commonly categorized under culture and Eastern philosophy. As public information on his life is limited, this note confines itself to his known scholarly contributions.