Forest of Ideas

马总赤尔斯 · ChinaJul 2024

Rating 4.0

Word count: 54K words
Chapters: 8

Summary

Traditional Chinese thought has a long history and is highly original, inventive, and literary. Its early forms are distinctive, and the range of content is profound and extensive: religious theology, classical texts of traditional Chinese medicine, ancient military strategy, Confucian, Daoist, Buddhist, and Hundred Schools thought, feng shui and metaphysical studies, the Twenty-Four Histories, and local customs and geography. This "Essence of Classic Chinese Culture: Original Texts" series 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 ancient sages, readers cultivate their temperament and quietly absorb the classics of Chinese learning.

Editor's review

This series brings back into view foundational texts of traditional Chinese culture that today's readers often overlook. Religious theology, classical texts of traditional Chinese medicine, ancient military strategy, Confucian, Daoist, Buddhist, and Hundred Schools thought, the Twenty-Four Histories, and local customs and geography are presented side by side, forming a reading path that allows for cross-comparison. It does not try to make the ancients easy and entertaining through modern vernacular retellings; instead, it preserves the original books as far as possible, letting readers encounter the literary essence left by the sages directly. This editorial approach demands some patience from the reader, but it also offers a solid reading experience: read a passage of the original, pause to think about what it meant in its own context, then look back and see whether it still speaks to life today. It suits a permanent place on the family bookshelf and also works for filling in the traditional culture gap outside the classroom. There is no need to rush; one or two pages a day, jotting down questions as they arise, will be more rewarding than reading straight through.

Who it's for

A good fit for

General readers with a systematic interest in traditional Chinese culture who are willing to read original texts
Primary and secondary school Chinese teachers and designers of traditional culture courses, who can use it as reference for lesson preparation
Parents who want a set of introductory Chinese classics for their children at home
Self-learners who enjoy slow reading, note-taking, and repeated review

Not a good fit for

Beginning readers looking for easy vernacular explanations or entertaining stories
Exam candidates who need to master a complete body of knowledge in one field in a short time
Readers with little interest in classical Chinese and ancient thought who only want to skim quickly

Reading tips

Start with the category that interests you most; there is no need to read from beginning to end in order.
Keep a pen and a notebook, and mark unfamiliar words and questions as you read the original.
After each short section, write two or three sentences summarizing your understanding, then check them against the annotations for gaps.
If a passage is truly impenetrable, skip it for now; coming back later often brings new discoveries.

About the publisher

赤尔斯 China · Founded in 2022

Chiers is a publishing brand used by Beijing Chiers Culture Media Co., Ltd., established in 2022; publicly available information is limited. Judging from the 13 titles in its catalogue, its publishing focus centres on classical Chinese literature and traditional culture, covering ancient philosophy, historical works, huaben fiction and poetic texts. Representative titles include Ge Hong's Baopuzi, Ye Longli's History of the Khitan State, Qu You's New Tales Under the Lamplight, Hong Pian's Qingping Shantang Huaben, Zhang Zhidong's Shumu Dawen and Ma Zong's Yilin, alongside note-style fiction such as Yue Jun's Ershilu and social novels such as Jiang Guangci's Short Trousers. Its author resources consist mainly of the authors of public-domain classics, and its publishing character lies in reissuing ancient works and classic literature in e-book form, with attention to the systematic organisation of source texts and the popularisation of traditional cultural knowledge.

版权信息
意林
意林序
意林卷之一
意林卷之二
意林卷之三
意林卷之四
意林卷之五

FAQ

Is this series suitable for readers with no background to read directly?

Yes, but be prepared to read slowly. The series preserves the original texts rather than rewriting them in vernacular. Readers with no background can start with chapters they are familiar with or interested in, using annotations and reference books to work through them paragraph by paragraph, and need not understand everything at once.

Do I need to read the series in order from the first volume to the last?

No. The categories are relatively independent, and readers can skip around according to their interests and needs. It is advisable to focus on one category for a period of time, build your own framework of understanding, and then expand to other categories.

How is this series different from common vernacular introductions to Chinese classics?

It places more emphasis on preserving the original books and transmitting traditional thought and culture than on making the ancients easy and entertaining. Readers face edited original texts, which raises the threshold, but they can better appreciate the way ancient sages actually expressed themselves.

This site is an index: you start “Search all sources” in your browser, and the entries it lists all point to third-party sites; please judge their availability yourself.

About the author

马总 Author

Public information about the author Ma Zong is limited: nationality, dates of birth and death, and an English name are not clearly recorded. What can be confirmed is that two works by this author are held in the collection, with Yilin as the representative title. In terms of common categories, Ma Zong's works are classified under classic works and Eastern philosophy, suggesting that the writing deals with traditional texts, life philosophy, and reflective essays, and tends to convey ideas through short stories or notes, with an emphasis on readability and inspiration. The title Yilin itself carries the sense of gathering essential writings and extracting key ideas, echoing the Eastern philosophy category, and may be regarded as philosophical reading aimed at general readers. Because the available material is limited, the author's specific experiences, the full range of the writing, and the influence of the works cannot yet be described in detail; readers may turn to the books themselves to learn more about the author's intellectual interests and style of expression.