Civilizational Canons · LC12

Commerce

Caravans traversing the Silk Road, banknotes pioneering trade: tracing how ancient trans-regional merchant syndicates engineered the world's earliest commercial credit and trust networks.

11works

5dynasties

7authors

Commerce gathers literary accounts of markets, merchants, exchange, currency, and commercial ethics. Jia Yi's Memorial on Elevating the Value of Grain considers staples and the state; Liu Zongyuan's Words of the Orange Seller turns a vendor into a moral parable; and a tale in Stories to Awaken the World follows a merchant's journey and fortune.

Zhou

5 works

1046–221 BCE

  1. The Spear and the ShieldHan Fei · Philosophers' FablesContradictory claims undo themselves; one boast can refute the other.
  2. Buying the Casket, Returning the PearlHan Fei · Philosophers' FablesJudging by the wrapping, you may throw away what truly has value.
  3. The Man of Zheng Buys ShoesHan Fei · Philosophers' FablesTrusting rules over reality makes you miss what is right in front of you.
  4. The Spear and the Shield ContradictHan Feizi · IdiomsA man boasts his spear pierces anything and his shield stops everything; self-contradiction in words or deeds.
  5. Buying the Casket, Returning the PearlHan Fei · IdiomsValuing outward packaging over real substance; making a foolish choice.