Through the Dynasties · LD14

Ming

Maritime expeditions and commercial restoration

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Classical Poetry

Orthodox classical Chinese poetry spanning archaic ballads to Tang regulated verse.4 works
  1. Chant of the LimeYu Qian · Regulated QuatrainsExtracted from deep mountains after a thousand hammer blows and chisels, roaring blazing fires are treated as nothing unusual. Unafraid even of having body shattered and bones ground to powder, resolved only to leave pure unblemished integrity to the mortal world.
  2. Poem Inscribed on Ink GrapesXu Wei · Regulated QuatrainsHalf a life of destitution has turned me into an old man, standing alone in my study whistling to the evening gale. The luminous pearls beneath my brush find nowhere to sell, casually tossed and scattered among wild tangled vines.
  3. West Lake Bamboo Branch LyricsLi Dongyang · Bamboo-Branch SongsOutside the gate peddling flowers, market clamor bustles; fully opened in the spring breeze is the very first blossom. Where willow boughs drape delicate as fine silk threads, two or three cottages dwell deep in the emerald waters.
  4. Song to Awaken the World · Red Dust and White WavesHanshan Deqing · Old-Style SongsRed dust and white waves both stretch boundless; patience and gentleness are the miraculous remedy. Adapt everywhere to unfolding conditions as years advance, spending one's lifetime content in duty. Never blind your own mind's field; never broadcast others' shortcomings. A century of riches cannot be guarded forever; wandering the six realms brings easy peril.

Ci Lyrics

Pinnacle of lyric verse and musical poetry spanning delicate grace and heroic grandeur.2 works
  1. The Surging Yangtze River Rolls EastYang Shen · Short LyricsThe surging Yangtze River rolls endlessly to the east, its billowing waves washing away all heroes of old. Right and wrong, triumph and defeat, turn to void in the blink of an eye. Green mountains remain unchanged as ever; how many crimson sunsets have they seen? White-haired fishermen and woodcutters on the river shoals are accustomed to watching autumn moons and spring breezes. Over a flagon of cloudy wine, we rejoice in reunion: how many deeds of past and present dissolve into cheerful laughter!
  2. Jinming Chi · Chanting the Winter WillowLiu Rushi · Long LyricsMelancholy winter tides, unfeeling twilight glow, by the bleak southern shoreline. The freezing blast bends frosted willow boughs; how fleeting is mortal life across boundless heaven and earth?

Sanqu & Drama

Sanqu lyric suites, Yuan Zaju poetic dramas, and Ming-Qing Kunqu masterworks.1 works
  1. The Peony Pavilion: Interrupted DreamTang Xianzu · Chuanqi DramaBehold how dazzling purples and brilliant crimsons bloom everywhere, yet all are abandoned thus to broken wells and crumbling walls! Fine seasons and splendid scenes—what can one do against cruel time? Joyous hearts and delightful events—in whose courtyard do they dwell? Morning flights, evening rolls, rosy clouds over jade pavilions; drizzling rain, fluttering breeze, painted barges across misty waves. Sheltered maidens behind brocade screens hold this radiant springtime far too cheap!

Classical Prose

Authoritative classical prose from Pre-Qin philosophers to Tang-Song prose masters.20 works
  1. Preface Presenting to Student Ma of DongyangSong Lian · Letters & PrefacesIn youth I was passionately devoted to learning. Born poor with no means to buy books, I borrowed from book collectors, copying texts by hand and returning them punctually. In bitter freezing cold when inkwells froze solid and fingers could not bend, I never slackened in my toil.
  2. Discourse on Deep ForesightFang Xiaoru · Essays & MemorialsContemplating victory over others is inferior to mastering oneself; guarding against external perils is inferior to preventing internal discord. The disasters of the realm never fail to arise from the most minute neglected origins before culminating in monumental collapse.
  3. Epitaph for a Dead TravelerWang Yangming · Epitaphs & ElegiesAlas, what profound grief! Who was this man? From whence did he journey?... You and I are the same: I know not whence you came, nor do you know why I halt here. We are both merely travelers wandering between Heaven and Earth!
  4. Instructions for Practical Living: Wildflowers in the CragsWang Yangming · Pre-Qin MastersBefore you look upon this flower, this flower and your heart return together to stillness. When you come to look upon this flower, its vibrant colors instantly illuminate. Thus you know this flower exists not outside your mind.
  5. Record of the Xiangji StudioGui Youguang · Informal EssaysIn the courtyard stands a loquat tree, planted by my late wife's hand in the year of her death; today it has grown tall and graceful, spreading like a lush canopy.
  6. Biographical Sketch of My Late MotherGui Youguang · Epitaphs & ElegiesMy late mother Lady Zhou was born on the eleventh day of the second month in the first year of Hongzhi... She was frugal and benevolent, disciplined in running the household, caring for all children alike.
  7. Reply to Master LiuZong Chen · Letters & PrefacesAt dusk the high official returns from court; the supplicant is ushered in, crawling on hands and knees beneath the stairs, looking up at the official who casually coughs and spits. The visitor beams in joy, as if receiving a supreme treasure.
  8. Record of a Tour to ManjingYuan Hongdao · Travel WritingOnly then did I realize that outside the suburbs spring had never been absent, though city dwellers were unaware of it. To not neglect duty through excursions, while wandering carefree among mountains, rocks, and trees—such is the joy of this humble official.
  9. Record of an Evening Tour on Six Bridges Awaiting the MoonYuan Hongdao · Travel WritingWest Lake is at its most splendid in spring and under the moon; in a single day, at morning mist and evening mountain haze. This year spring snow was heavy and plum blossoms were held back by cold, blooming together with apricot and peach in an extraordinary spectacle.
  10. Preface to the Poetry of XiaoxiuYuan Hongdao · Letters & PrefacesExpressing one's innate spirit and authentic sensibility, unconstrained by rigid stylistic molds; refusing to put brush to paper unless flowing straight from one's own heart. When emotion meets circumstance, a thousand words flow in an instant like waters rushing east, captivating the soul.
  11. Record of a Tour to the Peach Blossom SpringYuan Zhongdao · Travel WritingThe mountain landscape was extraordinary and sublime, with winding streams and dense groves. Stepping into the cavern, it suddenly opened into bright expanse, as if Master Tao's idyllic haven still dwelt in the mortal world.
  12. Discourse on the Summer InsectZhong Xing · Informal EssaysThe summer insect knows not of winter ice, not because ice does not exist, but because its season dictates so. Recognizing the finite bounds of circumstances, one learns never to constrain the breadth of the mind.
  13. Record of Wushigang RidgeTan Yuanchun · Travel WritingThe stones were jet black, ancient, rugged, and precipitous. Climbing to the summit and overlooking the great river, sails and masts appeared and vanished amid misty hazes as if wandering inside a painted scroll.
  14. Watching Snow at the Mid-Lake PavilionZhang Dai · Informal EssaysMist and frost coalesced into boundless haze; sky, clouds, hills, and waters were pure white above and below. Shadows on the lake were merely one line of long dike, one dot of Mid-Lake Pavilion, one blade of grass for my skiff, and two or three mustard seeds for the passengers aboard.
  15. West Lake on the Fifteenth of the Seventh MonthZhang Dai · Informal EssaysOn West Lake during the Mid-Seventh Month, there is nothing worth seeing except the crowds who come to look. Viewing these crowds, one classifies them into five types... When moonlight turned pale and the east showed white, the guests finally dispersed.
  16. Liu Jingting the StorytellerZhang Dai · Informal EssaysPockmarked Liu of Nanjing had dark swarthy skin, a face scarred with pockmarks, and an eccentric rough bearing—the so-called 'First Scholar of Storytelling.' Whenever he reached a dramatic climax, he struck the desk once: sudden silence broke into thunderous tumult, as if lightning split the room.
  17. Preface to The Peony PavilionTang Xianzu · Letters & PrefacesLove is of such nature that one knows not whence it arose, yet it deepens ever further. The living can die for it, and the dead can be revived through it. If the living cannot die for it and the dead cannot come back to life, it is not the supreme height of true love.
  18. Record of the White Swallows in the Mountain AbodeGui Youguang · Informal EssaysTwo white swallows, their pure plumage immaculate as jade, flew together and nested upon the rafters. In the quiet solitude of the mountains, finding companion in these rare birds was full of warm affection, like greeting cherished old friends.
  19. Letter in Reply to Li YuanshanYuan Hongdao · Letters & PrefacesYuan Hongdao writes: As for my character, I know myself best. In life I harbor no grand ambition, delighting only in roaming mountains and streams, reading books, and playing with brush and ink to satisfy my soul. How could worldly shackles ever bind me!
  20. Preface to the Compendium of Materia MedicaLi Shizhen · Letters & PrefacesUsing major divisions as Outline and individual entries as Detail, I hope to make pharmacological knowledge shine clearly as the stars.

Classical Fiction

Narrative masterworks from Six Dynasties strange tales to epic Ming-Qing novels.4 works
  1. Stories to Awaken the World · Du Shiniang Sinks the Jewel Box in AngerFeng Menglong · Vernacular StoriesTrapped in the bitter sea of brothels, I met you, hoping to grow old together. Little did I expect you would be seduced by slander, selling me for a thousand pieces of silver. I possessed a jewel casket worth ten thousand gold; now I plunge it into the river, never to leave a penny to a treacherous heart! Speaking thus, she leapt into the river and died.
  2. New Tales for the Trimmed Lamp · The Peony LanternQu You · Tang–Song TalesOn Lantern night a maid holding a double-headed peony lantern led the way, as the ghost maiden Fu Liqing wed Scholar Qiao. When the Taoist broke open the coffin, he found Qiao embracing a skeleton in eternal slumber—a legend celebrated across East Asia.
  3. Stories to Caution the World · Yu Boya Smashes the Zither for His SoulmateFeng Menglong · Vernacular StoriesShattering the jasper zither, phoenix tail grows cold; with Ziqi gone, for whom should I play? Smiling faces abound in spring breeze, yet finding a true soulmate is hard beyond hard. Boya smashed his zither before Ziqi's grave and severed its strings, never playing zither again for the rest of his life.
  4. Slapping the Table in Amazement · The Fortunate Merchant and the Dongting Red OrangesLing Mengchu · Vernacular StoriesThe unlucky merchant Wen Ruoxu spent a single silver tael on Dongting red oranges to sail overseas, selling them in the Kingdom of Jili for a thousand ounces of silver; on a deserted island he picked up a giant turtle shell, selling it to Persian merchants for fifty thousand taels—a miraculous reversal of fortune that amazed the world.

Fables & Lore

Philosophical fables, historical allusion narratives, and primordial mythology.2 works
  1. Seeking a Steed by Its PictureYang Shen · Satirical ParablesFollowing the book without regard for reality turns a toad into a thoroughbred.
  2. Making a Big Essay of a Small TopicAnonymous · Satirical ParablesTreating trivial matters as grave ones only adds needless burden.

Literary Criticism

Classical literary aesthetics, treatises on poetic craft, and critical commentaries.1 works
  1. On Reading the Fifth Book of Genius · Water Margin PrefaceJin Shengtan · Literary TheoryWater Margin portrays the characters of one hundred and eight heroes, truly creating one hundred and eight distinct personalities. Other novels describe a thousand people yet they are all the same; Water Margin depicts temperaments and appearances with zero repetition—truly a divine brush of celestial creation.

Sayings & Idioms

Living Chinese linguistic heritage comprising idioms, proverbs, aphorisms, and couplets.8 works
  1. Unity of Knowledge and ActionWang Yangming · IdiomsWang Yangming's teaching that knowing and doing are inseparable; true knowledge shows itself in action.
  2. Wielding Broad AxesWater Margin · IdiomsActing boldly and decisively, sweeping aside obstacles with great resolve.
  3. Tearing Down the Bridge After CrossingHistory of Yuan · IdiomsAbandoning those who helped you once you have got what you wanted.
  4. A Thousand Pieces All AlikeWang Shizhen · IdiomsMany works or things following one pattern; monotonous and lacking variety.
  5. A Sudden Surge of the HeartInvestiture of the Gods · IdiomsA sudden impulse or whim that springs to mind.
  6. Hanging Lanterns and FestoonsWater Margin · IdiomsLanterns hung and silk festoons tied; describes the lively, joyful decorations of a festival or celebration.
  7. Neither Servile nor ArrogantZhu Zhiyu · IdiomsNeither humble nor haughty; poised and appropriately dignified in manner.
  8. Clinging to the Last BreathMa Zhongxi · IdiomsBarely hanging on to life; struggling to survive a little longer.