Selections from Classical Chinese: Historical Texts aims to instruct,
inform, and inspire students of Chinese by presenting selected
historical texts and their annotations. Taken from the seminal works
known as the Four Histories, the fourteen included texts offer insights
into the political, social, economic, and cultural aspects of China over
a long period of time. The comprehensive annotations provide full
pronunciation in pinyin, the grammatical function of individual words,
and a full explication of the texts.
One of the supplementary readings to Classical Chinese: A Basic
Reader, this volume includes eight selections from the Shi Ji and two
each from the Han Shu, the Hou Han Shu, and the San Guo Zhi. Each
unfolds a fascinating account of the historical events and figures that
represent certain salient values or distinctive cultural characteristics
of what has come to be the Chinese tradition.
The Shi Ji, a grand history by Sima Qian chronicling three thousand
years of Chinese history, is divided into five sections of 130 chapters.
Sima Qian is especially noted for his biographical style, and his work
is considered the first and only "universal history" of China. The Han
Shu, by Ban Gu, recounts the history of a single dynasty and is known
for its dynastic style in depicting history. Together, these two
histories represent paradigms of Chinese historiography. The Hou Han
Shu, by Fan Ye, and the San Guo Zhi, by Chen Shou, continue this
tradition of excellence. These four works are known collectively as the
Four Histories.
All texts are fully annotated to include a pinyin version marking the
pronunciation of each word, glosses of each word by grammatical function
and its meaning in the text, as well as detailed explication of each
word. The exercises at the end of each selection are intended to help
students apply newly gained knowledge, better appreciate Chinese
history, and stimulate interest in additional reading.
