Classical Prose · LT501

Pre-Qin Masters

Foundational philosophical treatises from the Hundred Schools of Thought.

30works

4dynasties

18authors

Zhou

1046–256 BCE27 works
  1. Zhuangzi: Free and Easy WanderingZhuangziIn the northern darkness there is a fish, named Kun. The Kun is so vast, none knows how many thousand leagues across; transforming into a bird, named Peng. Beating waters for three thousand leagues, it spirals upward on cyclones ninety thousand leagues high.
  2. Zhuangzi: Autumn FloodsZhuangziYou cannot speak of the ocean to a well frog, for it is confined by space; you cannot speak of ice to a summer insect, for it is bound by time; you cannot speak of the Dao to a narrow scholar, for he is shackled by doctrines.
  3. Zhuangzi: Cook Ding Carves the OxZhuangziWhat your servant loves is the Dao, which advances beyond mere craft. Inserting that which has no thickness into spaces with gaps, vast and spacious there is surely ample room for the blade to wander.
  4. Dao De Jing: Essential Chapters on DaoLaoziThe Dao that can be spoken is not the eternal Dao; the name that can be named is not the eternal Name. Highest good is like water. Water benefits all things yet contends not, settling in low places men despise, thus it nears the Dao.
  5. Analects: Four Disciples Sitting with ConfuciusConfuciusIn late spring, spring robes already made, with five or six young men and six or seven boys, to bathe in the Yi River, enjoy the breeze at the Rain Altar, and return home chanting verse. The Master sighed deeply and said: 'I am with Dian!'
  6. Mencius: Fish and Bear's PawMenciusLife is what I desire; Righteousness is also what I desire. If I cannot possess both, I choose Righteousness over Life.
  7. Mencius: Born in Adversity, Dying in EaseMenciusThus when Heaven is about to confer a great responsibility upon a person, it first exercises his mind with suffering, toils his sinews, starves his body, subjects him to poverty, and frustrates his endeavors, so as to toughen his will and augment his capabilities. Thus we know that life thrives in adversity and perishes in idle ease.
  8. Xunzi: An Encouragement to LearningXunziLearning must never cease. Indigo is extracted from the blue plant, yet is bluer than indigo; ice is made from water, yet is colder than water. If you carve and then give up, rotten wood will not break; if you carve without stopping, metal and stone can be engraved.
  9. Han Feizi: The Five VerminHan FeiWhen eras differ, circumstances differ; when circumstances differ, measures must change. Sages do not expect to practice antiquity, nor follow fixed rules, but analyze current realities to prepare accordingly. To watch the tree trunk waiting for a rabbit makes one the laughingstock of all under heaven.
  10. Sunzi's Art of War: Strategic AttackSun WuSubduing the enemy's army without fighting is the acme of skill. Thus supreme warfare strikes strategy; next strikes alliances; next strikes armies; lowest strikes walled cities. Know yourself and know your enemy, and in a hundred battles you will never be imperiled.
  11. Mozi: Universal LoveMoziRegard another's country as one's own country, regard another's family as one's own family, regard another's person as one's own person. When all under heaven love each other universally there is order; when they hate each other reciprocally there is chaos.
  12. Mozi: Against Offensive WarMoziNow when it comes to the greatest injustice of attacking another state, men know not to condemn it, but praise it and call it righteous. Can this be said to know the difference between righteousness and injustice?
  13. Xunzi: Discourse on NatureXunziNature operates with constant constancy: it exists not for Yao, nor perishes for Jie. Respond to it with sound governance and fortune ensues; respond with disorder and calamity results. Rather than exalting Heaven and longing for it, why not harness natural forces and master them!
  14. Mencius: He Who Has the Dao Finds Abundant SupportMenciusFavorable climate is not equal to geographical advantages; geographical advantages are not equal to human harmony. He who aligns with the Dao gains abundant support; he who abandons the Dao finds sparse support. At the extreme of sparse support, even kin rebel; at the summit of abundant support, all under heaven submit.
  15. Mencius: On the Affairs of Qi Huan and Jin WenMenciusTreat the elders of our own family with respect and extend it to elders of others; treat the young of our own family with kindness and extend it to the young of others: then the empire can be turned in the palm of your hand. Extending benevolence suffices to protect the Four Seas; failing to extend benevolence, you cannot protect your own wife and children.
  16. Dao De Jing: Essential Chapters on De (Virtue)LaoziGoverning a great state is like cooking a small delicate fish. A tree of great girth springs from a tiny sprout; a terrace nine stories high arises from a heap of earth; a journey of a thousand leagues begins with a single step. Great skill seems clumsy; great eloquence seems halting.
  17. Mencius · Gongsun Chou I (Excerpt)MenciusA man of Song, worried that his sprouts were not growing, pulled them up.
  18. Mencius · Jin Xin I (Excerpt)MenciusIt spreads through his four limbs, which understand without being told.
  19. Book of Rites · The Great Learning (Excerpt)AnonymousWishing to set their hearts right, they first made their intentions sincere; wishing to make their intentions sincere, they first extended their knowledge; and the extension of knowledge lies in investigating things.
  20. The Art of War · Attack by StratagemSun Wu (Sunzi)Know the enemy and know yourself, and in a hundred battles you will never be in peril.
  21. Mencius · Gaozi I (Excerpt)MenciusOne day of sun and ten days of cold, and nothing will ever live.
  22. Zhuangzi · On the Equality of Things (Excerpt)ZhuangziOnce Zhuang Zhou dreamed he was a butterfly, fluttering about happily as a butterfly.
  23. Book of Rites · The Doctrine of the Mean (Excerpt)ZisiBefore pleasure, anger, sorrow and joy arise, this is called the Mean; when they arise and all strike their proper measure, this is called harmony.
  24. Analects · Gongye Chang (Excerpt)Disciples of ConfuciusHe was quick and loved learning, and not ashamed to ask those beneath him; that is why he was called 'Wen'.
  25. Analects · Duke Ling of Wei (Excerpt)Disciples of ConfuciusIf anyone governed by doing nothing, it was surely Shun!
  26. Analects · Shu Er (Excerpt)Disciples of ConfuciusStoring things up silently, learning without tiring, teaching without weariness.
  27. Han Feizi · Collected Illustrations, Outer Left, Part One (Excerpt)Han FeiThe man of Zheng bought the casket and returned the pearl.

Han

202 BCE – 220 CE1 works
  1. Huainanzi · Surveying the Obscure (Excerpt)Liu AnThen Nüwa smelted stones of five colors to patch the azure sky.

Yuan

1271–13681 works
  1. Yu Li Zi: The Nine DifficultiesLiu BowenThe reason why rivers and seas can be kings of a hundred valleys is that they place themselves below them. Human strife arises from pride in conquest; contentious pride springs from self-righteousness. Self-righteousness blinds one to the virtues of others; contentious pride blinds one to one's own flaws.

Ming

1368–16441 works
  1. Instructions for Practical Living: Wildflowers in the CragsWang YangmingBefore 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.