Prose · LT503

Essays & Memorials

Argumentative essays, imperial petitions, and socio-political treatises.

211works

11dynasties

83authors

Song

68 works

960–1279

  1. Essay on the Eunuchs from the History of the Five DynastiesOuyang XiuSince ancient times eunuchs have brought states to ruin, and the root of it runs deeper than the disasters caused by women.
  2. On Guan ZhongSu XunA state rises through one man and falls through one man.
  3. On Discerning the TreacherousSu XunA halo round the moon means wind; damp on the plinth stones means rain: everyone knows this.
  4. On Rewards and Punishments as the Height of Loyal GenerositySu Shi So one may go too far in humaneness, but not in righteousness.
  5. Treatise on Fan ZengSu Shi Things must first rot before worms grow in them; a man must first be suspicious before slander can get in.
  6. Treatise on Chao CuoSu Shi Those who achieved great things in ancient times had not only talent beyond their age but also a will that endured and could not be shaken.
  7. Memorial Asking to Edit Lu Zhi's Memorials for the ThroneSu Shi The medicine comes from the physician's hand, but the prescription comes from the ancients.
  8. Essay on the Six StatesSu ZheQin fought the lords for the realm not in Qi, Chu, Yan or Zhao, but on Han and Wei's borders.
  9. On Reading the Biography of Lord MengchangWang AnshiLord Mengchang was merely the chief of men who crowed like cocks and stole like dogs; how can he be said to have won scholars?
  10. On the Difficulty of Being a Ruler, Part OneOuyang XiuIt is hard to be a ruler, the saying goes; and nothing is harder than employing men.
  11. On the Difficulty of Being a Ruler, Part TwoOuyang XiuHard as it is to employ men, it is not as hard as listening to advice.
  12. On the Tang DynastyZeng GongHe had the aspiration, the capacity and the results of governing the realm.
  13. On the Book of ChangesSu XunThe Way of the sages gained trust through the rites and reverence through the Changes.
  14. On MusicSu XunWhere the rites do not reach, music reaches.
  15. On the Book of SongsSu XunThe Way of the sages is strict in the Rites and accommodating in the Songs.
  16. On the Book of DocumentsSu XunChanges in custom are the work of the sages.
  17. On Clear SightSu XunConcentrate on what you can reach, and your reach will be fine.
  18. On Remonstrance, Part OneSu XunIndirect and direct are one; what matters is the art of using them.
  19. On Remonstrance, Part TwoSu XunThey made reward the thousand pieces of gold and punishment the fierce tiger.
  20. Essays on Expediency: Sun WuSu XunOne who is sought and never exhausted is a rare talent of the world.
  21. Essays on Expediency: Emperor GaozuSu XunGaozu's wisdom was clear in great things and dim in small ones.
  22. Essays on Expediency: Xiang JiSu XunXiang Ji had the talent to take the realm but not the forethought; Cao Cao had the forethought but not the magnanimity; Liu Bei had the magnanimity but not the talent.
  23. Essays on Balance: Handling GeneralsSu XunHandling generals is hard, and handling talented generals is harder still.
  24. Essays on Balance: Enforcing the LawSu XunThe laws of old were simple; the laws of today are complex.
  25. Essays on Balance: The Land SystemSu XunWithout the well-field system, gain the benefits of the well fields.
  26. King Ping and the Move EastSu Shi Of all Zhou's mistakes, none was as wrong as the move east.
  27. Duke Yin of LuSu Shi The gentleman does what is right without weighing profit and harm.
  28. Fan Li and the Crow's BeakSu Shi When the flying birds are gone, the good bow is put away; when the cunning hare is dead, the hunting dog is cooked.
  29. Retainers and Knights of the Warring StatesSu Shi Turning a million tigers and wolves loose in the hills and leaving them hungry.
  30. The First Emperor and FusuSu Shi Whoever poisons the realm with law will see it turn back on himself and his heirs.
  31. Treatise on Yi YinSu Shi Because the whole realm could not move his heart, his talent stayed whole.
  32. Treatise on XunziSu Shi When the father kills for revenge, the son will turn robber.
  33. Treatise on Han FeiSu Shi Love makes us unable to bear some things; wariness makes us not dare others.
  34. Treatise on the First Emperor and the RitesSu Shi The rites that sit closest to human feeling are not the highest rites.
  35. Treatise on Great Ministers, Part OneSu Shi Setting the ruler right by duty without harming the state: that is a great minister.
  36. Treatise on Great Ministers, Part TwoSu Shi Press petty men and they band together; give them room and they fall apart.
  37. Treatise on the ShangSu ZheWhat is strong breaks easily; what is soft and yielding lasts.
  38. Treatise on the Three KingdomsSu ZheWhen the brave meets the brave, courage is no longer enough.
  39. Treatise on Emperor Wen of HanSu ZheEmperor Wen ruled by softness, and the hard and strong all bent before him.
  40. Treatise on the Tang Balance of PowerSu ZheWeight inside breeds trouble within; weight outside breeds trouble from without.
  41. Inquiry into FaultsWang AnshiHeaven and earth have faults yet keep covering and bearing: they return to the normal.
  42. Explaining RevengeWang AnshiIf revenge is not taken, that is Heaven's doing; not forgetting it is our own.
  43. On Reading the Hereditary House of ConfuciusWang AnshiAs a Hereditary House the Way of Confucius grows no greater; as a Biography, no smaller.
  44. On Reading the Biographies of the AssassinsWang AnshiWhat, then, of those who carry the Way and its virtue as they wait upon the world?
  45. Memorial Presented at Court When Passing the Capital on Transfer to CangzhouZeng GongSince the birth of the people, none has matched the glory of the great Song.
  46. Letter Remonstrating against War, Written for Zhang FangpingSu Shi I have heard that a love of war is like a love of lust.
  47. Memorandum on a Century of Peace under Our DynastyWang AnshiIf you know that Heaven's help cannot always be relied on and that human effort must not slacken at the end, then the time for great achievement is today.
  48. Memorial Offering AdmonitionsWang AnshiHeaven is sparing with a sage's gifts, and men rarely live in a sage's time.
  49. Policy Outline, Part OneSu Shi The realm's greatest danger is trouble that comes on without anyone knowing why.
  50. Policy Outline, Part FourSu Shi Break down the arguments of mediocre men and open the gate to merit and fame.
  51. Clearing Away ObstructionSu Shi Nothing in the realm, however small, can be done without money.
  52. Do Not Discourage the GoodSu Shi Whoever is cut off should not be employed; whoever is employed should not be cut off.
  53. Cutting Wasteful ExpenditureSu Shi Taking widely to fund spending is not as easy as spending frugally and taking sparingly.
  54. Building a Reserve of Able MenSu Shi The realm has never lacked talent; the trouble is that the ways of seeking it fall short.
  55. Making the Army Fit for WarSu Shi To have soldiers who cannot be sent to fight is called throwing away wealth.
  56. Leaders Who Go First in CourageSu Shi Courage needs one man to go first, and such men are best made by favour.
  57. Teaching the People War and DefenceSu Shi So even when the realm was at peace, they did not dare forget war.
  58. Decisive Policies on War, Middle EssaySu Shi In war one must always do what the enemy cannot.
  59. On the Ruler's Arts, Fifth Policy EssaySu ZheSo the realm too must be given a little release, to go along with its wishes.
  60. On the Ministers' Service, First Policy EssaySu ZheThe realm cannot bear a powerful minister for a day, nor lack a weighty one for a day.
  61. On Governing the People, First Policy EssaySu ZheThe Kingly Way begins in the people's pleasure in their work and ends in their mutual love.
  62. On Governing the People, Second Policy EssaySu ZheWhat I want is herding, yet woodcutting is what pays: that is no wonder.
  63. On Giving My Second Brother the Style Name WenfuSu XunNot seeking each other, meeting by chance: and pattern is born.
  64. On Naming My Two SonsSu XunZhe, my son, I know that you will come through.
  65. On Crops: Seeing Off Zhang HuSu Shi Read widely and choose sparingly; store up much and give out little.
  66. Letter to the Emperor from XuzhouSu Shi A king's use of men is like the great rivers: where the rivers run, the hundred streams flow to them.
  67. Memorandum on Six Arguments for the Joint Sacrifice at the Round AltarSu Shi A king serves Heaven as his father and Earth as his mother, and may not favour one.
  68. Precepts of the White Deer Grotto AcademyZhu XiBetween father and son, affection; between ruler and minister, duty; between husband and wife, distinction; between old and young, order; between friends, trust.

Ming

17 works

1368–1644

  1. Discourse on Deep ForesightFang XiaoruYet calamity always breaks out in what was neglected, and disorder always arises from matters thought unworthy of suspicion.
  2. Inquiry on the Great LearningWang ShourenThe great man is one who regards Heaven, Earth and the ten thousand things as one body. He sees the world as one family and the Middle Kingdom as one person.
  3. Memorial on Order and SecurityHai RuiSo the people of the realm have taken the name of Your Majesty's reign and interpreted it: 'Jiajing means every household is wiped clean and has nothing to use.'
  4. Memorial on Six MattersZhang JuzhengBut recently customs and human feelings have accumulated habits that breed abuses; there are signs of gradual decline and of the weight of accumulated habit becoming hard to reverse.
  5. Last Memorial (Though Stripped of Rank)Gao PanlongWhen a great minister is humiliated, the state is humiliated
  6. On Being Wise and Discerning to Preserve OneselfWang Genone who can love others will be loved by others in return; and when others love me, my self is preserved.
  7. Collected Works of Hai RuiHai Ruiits repair cannot be put off for a single day
  8. Collected Works of Zhang TaiyueZhang JuzhengI have entrusted everything to the great public good
  9. Collected Statutes of the Great MingLi Dongyang (comp.)The official compendium of Ming institutions, arranged by government office.
  10. Sima Jizhu on DivinationLiu BowenTo whom is the Way of Heaven close? Only to virtue. Whence do ghosts and spirits get their power? From people.
  11. On Yu RangFang XiaoruYu Rang's death was loyal indeed, but there was something disloyal in how he chose to die.
  12. On the Ruler Governing in PersonWang AoWhen high and low meet, their wills become one.
  13. On the Lord of Xinling Rescuing ZhaoTang ShunzhiWhat I condemn is the Lord of Xinling's heart.
  14. On Lin Xiangru Returning the Jade Intact to ZhaoWang ShizhenThat Lin Xiangru came through whole with the jade was Heaven's doing.
  15. On the Room Named Keeping to the PloughGui YouguangAll affairs under heaven now come down to names; only the farmer keeps the substance.
  16. On the Sobriquet Two StonesGui YouguangMusic is the voice of humaneness and the outflow of the living spirit.
  17. On the Style Name of Zhang XiongGui YouguangWho cannot keep to the female cannot be the world's ravine, nor be called a hero under heaven.

Qing

13 works

1636–1912

  1. Inquiry into the SovereignHuang ZongxiIn antiquity the world was the master and the ruler the guest; all that the ruler laboured at his whole life long was for the sake of the world.
  2. On Borrowing Books for Student HuangYuan MeiBooks are not read unless they are borrowed.
  3. Record of the Sick Plum PavilionGong Zizhena plum is beautiful when curved, for a straight one has no grace; beautiful when leaning, for an upright one has no charm
  4. Ode to Young ChinaLiang QichaoIf the youth are wise, the nation is wise; if the youth are rich, the nation is rich; if the youth are strong, the nation is strong.
  5. On Reading the Comprehensive MirrorWang FuzhiThe system of commanderies and counties has endured two thousand years and could not be undone.
  6. Second Memorial to the Qing Emperor (the Gongche Petition)Kang YouweiIn our humble view, abandoning the people of Taiwan is a small matter, but scattering the people of the realm is a great one; ceding land is a small matter, but losing the state is a great one
  7. The Book of Great UnityKang YouweiIt is called an age of peace, but in truth every household under heaven is filled with resentment.
  8. The Study of HumanenessTan SitongThe nets are layer upon layer, boundless as empty space.
  9. The Leader's Will (Sun Yat-sen's Political Testament)Sun ZhongshanThe revolution has not yet succeeded. All my comrades must continue to strive, following my Plans for National Reconstruction, Fundamentals of National Reconstruction, Three Principles of the People and the Manifesto of the First National Congress, to carry them through.
  10. Three Principles of the PeopleSun ZhongshanWe urgently need the deep meaning of the Three Principles of the People as material for propaganda.
  11. Proclamation Against the Cantonese BanditsZeng GuofanThis is not merely a crisis for our Great Qing but the strangest upheaval of the teaching of names since the creation of the world
  12. Record of Great Righteousness Resolving ConfusionYongzheng Emperoronly the virtuous may be ruler of the realm
  13. Edict Clarifying the Fundamental Policy of the StateGuangxu Emperorrooting themselves in the learning of the sages on moral principle, and also studying widely and in earnest those parts of Western learning that bear on current affairs