Classical Prose · LT503

Essays & Memorials

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

32works

11dynasties

25authors

Zhou

1046–256 BCE1 works
  1. Reply to the King of ChuSong YuThe loftier the song, the fewer those who can sing along.

Qin

221–207 BCE1 works
  1. Memorial Against the Expulsion of Guest OfficialsLi SiYour minister hears of proposals to expel foreign talents, which I venture to deem mistaken. Mount Tai rejects no handful of earth, thus reaching its towering majesty; rivers and seas refuse no tiny rill, thus achieving their profound depths; a true king turns away no human being, thus illuminating his virtue.

Han

202 BCE – 220 CE5 works
  1. Faults of QinJia YiA single commoner rebelled and the imperial ancestral shrines collapsed, their dynastic line exterminated to become the laughingstock of the realm—why? Because benevolence and righteousness were not practiced, and the strategy of taking power differs from preserving it.
  2. Memorial on Security and StatecraftJia YiCarrying a torch, placing it beneath a mountain of dried firewood, and sleeping peacefully on top, claiming all is safe before flames burst out—how does our empire's present situation differ from this!
  3. Memorial on Elevating the Value of GrainChao CuoThe people are guided by their ruler, seeking profit like water rushing downhill without hesitation. Pearls, jade, gold, and silver cannot be eaten when starving nor worn when freezing; yet people value them because the ruler cherishes them.
  4. Reply to a Guest's ObjectionDongfang ShuoThat was one era, this is another—how could they be compared! Employed, one becomes a tiger; unemployed, one is deemed a mouse.
  5. Memorial Submitted from Prison to the Prince of LiangZou YangIn ancient times Jing Ke embraced Prince Dan's righteousness until a white halo pierced the sun, yet the Crown Prince doubted him. Sincere devotion touches heaven and earth, yet mundane mortals fail to perceive—how tragic indeed!

Three Kingdoms

220–2803 works
  1. First Memorial on the ExpeditionZhuge LiangI took up my charge amid military collapse, and received my mission in perilous danger.
  2. Treatise on Nurturing LifeJi KangThe art of nurturing life is like medical therapy: if well harmonized, the physical frame stays healthy and longevity naturally extends.
  3. Second Memorial on Dispatching the TroopsZhuge LiangI shall bend my body in devotion and exhaust my strength until death.

Jin

265–4201 works
  1. Memorial Expressing My FeelingsLi MiWithout my grandmother, I could not have survived to this day; without me, my grandmother cannot live out her remaining years.

Northern and Southern

420–5891 works
  1. Proclamation of Mount BeishanKong ZhiguiThe spirits of Mount Zhongshan and the guardians of the thatched hermitage proclaim this edict carved across mountain crags. Pray permit me to declare it to all gentlemen.

Tang

618–9076 works
  1. Manifesto on Behalf of Xu Jingye Denouncing Wu ZhaoLuo BinwangEre the mound of earth on imperial tomb is dry, where can the six-foot royal orphan turn for refuge? Look upon realm today and ask: whose domain is it after all!
  2. On TeachersHan YuA teacher is one who transmits the Dao, imparts knowledge, and resolves perplexities. Pupils need not be inferior to teachers, and teachers need not be superior to pupils; some hear the Dao earlier than others, and specialties differ in craft—that is all.
  3. Inquiry into the True WayHan YuUniversal love is called benevolence; acting with righteousness is called justice. Proceeding from these is called the Way; possessing completeness within oneself without depending on external things is called virtue.
  4. Inquiry into the Source of SlanderHan YuThe noble men of antiquity held themselves to heavy and exhaustive standards, while treating others with gentle lenience. The so-called gentlemen of today do the reverse: demanding perfection of others while pardoning themselves cheaply.
  5. Explanation on the Advancement of LearningHan YuMastery in scholarship thrives upon diligence and is ruined by frivolous play; moral conduct succeeds through independent contemplation and is destroyed by thoughtless conformity.
  6. On the Feudal SystemLiu ZongyuanFeudal enfeoffment was not the arbitrary invention of sages, but an inevitable historical force. The prefecture-county system has endured for two thousand years unalterable, aligning with universal justice under Heaven.

Song

960–12797 works
  1. On the Love of the LotusZhou DunyiI uniquely love the lotus for emerging from murky mud yet remaining unstained, bathed in clear ripples yet free from coquettish vanity; hollow within and straight without, neither clinging to vines nor branching astray; its fragrance growing purer the farther it spreads, standing erect in pristine purity, to be admired from afar and not treated with vulgar familiarity.
  2. On Political FactionsOuyang XiuVirtuous men form associations based on shared principles, while petty men band together for shared profit; this is natural truth. Rejecting the false cliques of petty men and employing the true friendships of gentlemen brings peace to the realm.
  3. Preface to the Biographies of the Actor-Courtiers in the History of the Five DynastiesOuyang XiuDiligence and hardship prosper a nation, while indolence and luxury ruin the person; this is the law of nature. Disasters ever accumulate from slight neglects, and wisdom and courage are trapped by obsessive indulgence.
  4. Treatise on the Six StatesSu XunThe fall of the Six States was not due to poor weapons or flawed tactics, but the folly of bribing Qin. Appeasing Qin with land is like putting out a fire with firewood: so long as fuel remains, the blaze will never cease.
  5. Mental Artistry of CommandSu XunIn the discipline of generalship, one must first master the mind. Even if Mount Tai collapses before your eyes, let your color not change; though a deer leaps beside you, let not your eyes blink. Only then can you master advantage and peril, and await the enemy.
  6. Treatise on the Marquis of LiuSu ShiThose celebrated as heroes throughout antiquity possessed qualities surpassing ordinary men. When an ordinary man is insulted, he draws his sword and fights; this cannot be called true courage. The truly brave in this world are not startled when sudden peril confronts them, nor angered when unprovoked insult is heaped upon them, for what they harbor is immense and their vision stretches far.
  7. Treatise on Jia YiSu ShiWorthy men of old all possessed transcendent talents; when their gifts found no place in the world, all mourned for them, unaware that they themselves failed to manage their position well. Master Jia harbored grand ambitions but narrow tolerance, abundant talent but insufficient insight. It is not having talent that is difficult, but applying oneself with wisdom.

Yuan

1271–13681 works
  1. Words of the Orange SellerLiu BowenGold and jade on the exterior, rotten rags within. Now you fail to discern the grand deceit of the realm, yet lecture on a damaged orange—is this not utter delusion?

Ming

1368–16441 works
  1. Discourse on Deep ForesightFang XiaoruContemplating 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.

Qing

1636–19125 works
  1. Inquiry into the SovereignHuang ZongxiIn antiquity the people of the realm were the masters, and the ruler was the guest; whatever the sovereign labored for his entire life was for the realm. Today, the ruler treats himself as master and the realm as guest... The greatest affliction under Heaven is none other than the autocratic monarch!
  2. Commentary on the Comprehensive Mirror: Qin Shi HuangWang FuzhiThe system of prefectures and counties has endured for two thousand years without alteration, bringing peace to past and present alike; this historical trend of momentum—how could it prevail were it not grounded in universal principle?
  3. On Borrowing Books for Student HuangYuan MeiBooks are rarely read unless borrowed! Have you not heard of book collectors? Stored away on lofty shelves in tied brocade cases, merely admired from afar. This is true not only of books, but of all things in the world.
  4. Record of the Sick Plum PavilionGong ZizhenPlums are deemed beautiful when twisted, for straight ones lack posture; beautiful when leaning, for upright ones lack dramatic vista; beautiful when sparse, for dense ones lack delicate form... I bought three hundred pots of crippled plums, freed them all, unloosed their cords, resolved to spend thirty years to restore their natural vitality.
  5. Ode to Young ChinaLiang QichaoTherefore today's responsibility lies not with others, but entirely upon our youth. If the youth are wise, the nation is wise; if the youth are prosperous, the nation is prosperous; if the youth are strong, the nation is strong... How magnificent is my Young China, ageless as Heaven! How glorious is China's youth, boundless as the realm!