The Doctrine of the Mean

AnonymousJul 2024

4.7

Word count: 4.6K words
Chapters: 2

Summary

Traditional Chinese culture has a long intellectual history, marked by a high degree of originality, inventiveness, and literary quality. Early forms of thought are highly distinctive: religious theology, classical texts of Chinese medicine, ancient military strategy, Confucianism, Daoism, Buddhism, and the Hundred Schools of Thought, feng shui and metaphysics, the Twenty-Four Histories, and local customs and gazetteers—all are profound and extensive. This series, "Essence of the Chinese Classics: Original Texts," preserves the appearance of the original books and focuses on preserving and transmitting traditional Chinese thought and culture. By reading the literary essence left by the ancient sages, readers cultivate their temperament and subtly come to appreciate the classics of Chinese learning.

Editor's review

This book is the Zhongyong (Doctrine of the Mean) in the series "Essence of the Chinese Classics: Original Texts." It preserves the appearance of the original book and focuses on preserving and transmitting traditional thought and culture. As an important Confucian classic, the Zhongyong is concise in wording yet concentrated in argument, discussing such themes as sincerity (cheng), centrality and harmony (zhonghe), self-cultivation, and the measure to be observed in conducting oneself. It is suited to repeated and immersive reading. The value of this edition lies in providing a reading base close to the original text, allowing readers to engage directly with the classic rather than with secondhand commentary. The barrier to entry lies in classical Chinese expression and abstract argument; a first reading may feel dry, but if one combines annotations, reads slowly section by section, and connects the text with everyday experience of self-cultivation, one can appreciate its density of thought. It is suitable as an advanced reader after an introduction to Chinese learning, and also as shared reading material on traditional culture for teachers and parents. A combination of recitation and excerpting is recommended; there is no need to try to read it all through in one go.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Advanced readers who have already encountered basic Chinese-learning texts such as the Analects
Teachers and parents in need of shared reading material on traditional culture
General adult readers interested in Confucian thought on self-cultivation
Self-learners willing to recite the classics and take reading notes

Not a good fit for

Primary school students with no experience reading classical Chinese
Readers hoping for vernacular stories or light explanatory commentary
Scholars seeking systematic philosophical research monographs

Reading tips

First read through the whole text, mark difficult passages, then work through them section by section with the help of annotations.
Recite a short section each day and write two or three reflections in connection with your own experience.
Read it alongside the Analects and the Daxue to understand the Confucian line of self-cultivation.
After finishing, try to restate the core concepts in your own words to test your understanding.

版权信息
中庸

FAQ

Is this edition suitable for beginners in Chinese learning?

It is better suited to readers who already have some grounding in classical Chinese. Complete beginners are advised to start with an introductory edition with vernacular translation and annotation, then return to this edition that preserves the appearance of the original book; otherwise they may be discouraged by the abstract argument and the barrier of classical Chinese.

What is the Zhongyong mainly about?

It revolves around sincerity, centrality and harmony, self-cultivation, and the measure to be observed in conducting oneself, emphasizing the balance between inner virtue and outward behavior. The wording is concise but the argument is concentrated, requiring repeated and immersive reading; it is not a text to be treated with fast reading.

Must one memorize the Zhongyong when reading it?

There is no need to insist on memorizing the whole text. You may choose core passages to recite until fluent, which helps you appreciate their rhythm and argument; for the rest, understanding should be the main goal, combined with excerpting and restating, which is more effective than mechanical memorization.

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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.