Classical Prose · LT505

Letters & Prefaces

Personal correspondence, anthology prefaces, and colophons.

33works

8dynasties

30authors

Han

202 BCE – 220 CE4 works
  1. Letter in Reply to Ren AnSima QianAll mortals must die; some deaths are heavier than Mount Tai, while others are lighter than a swan's down, according to how one directs one's purpose.
  2. Letter of FarewellZhuo WenjunSpring blooms compete in radiant color, outshining plain silk; the zither is still in the hall, yet new melodies displace old tunes! The Jin River flows torrentially; I bid you farewell forever!
  3. Letter in Reply to Sun HuizongYang YunTilling fields brings bitter toil; yet at festival seasons we boil mutton and roast lamb, pouring flagons of wine in celebration. My household is Qin, skilled at Qin songs; my wife is from Zhao, graceful at the zither. Servants dance, rolling sleeves and slapping thighs in roaring chorus. At such moments, we know nothing of imperial majesty!
  4. Letter Admonishing Nephews Yan and DunMa YuanI desire you all, upon hearing others' faults, to treat it as hearing your parents' names: ears may listen, but mouths must never utter them. Emulating Bogao imperfectly still yields a prudent gentleman—carving a swan that resembles a duck; emulating Jiliang imperfectly degrades into frivolous insolence—drawing a tiger that ends up looking like a dog.

Three Kingdoms

220–2804 works
  1. Letter Breaking Ties with Shan JuyuanJi KangTranscend formal doctrine to follow natural inclination; examine true desires and abide in universal equality.
  2. Letter to Wu Zhi · Remembering Past WanderingsCao Pi (Emperor Wen of Wei)Time glides swiftly by; four years have elapsed since our parting. In the plague of recent years, kin and friends withered away—Xu, Chen, Ying, and Liu perished all at once; can such agony even be spoken? In bygone days we roamed by day and feasted by night, passing wine cups and crafting rhapsodies—what unmatched joy!
  3. Letter to Yang DezuCao ZhiCao Zhi writes: Separated for a few days, yearning for you wearies my soul. Every person has strengths and shortcomings; scholars under heaven follow no rigid mold! Rhapsody writing may be a modest craft, insufficient to conquer boundless realms; yet joining eternity and transmitting renown upon bamboo and silk is what every noble mind aspires to.
  4. Letter of Admonition to My SonZhuge LiangWithout living simply, one cannot clarify one's aspirations; without stillness, one cannot reach far horizons.

Jin

265–4201 works
  1. Preface to the Orchid Pavilion GatheringWang XizhiLooking up to gaze upon the vastness of the universe, looking down to survey the richness of all living things, allowing the eyes to wander and the heart to roam.

Northern and Southern

420–5894 works
  1. Reply to Secretary XieTao HongjingThe splendor of mountains and rivers has been universally celebrated from antiquity. Lofty peaks pierce the clouds; crystal streams reveal their gravel beds. Rock cliffs on both shores shimmer in kaleidoscopic hues; verdant woods and emerald bamboo flourish through all four seasons.
  2. Letter to Zhu YuansiWu JunWind and mist have completely vanished; sky and mountains share the same crystalline azure. Drifting with the current, wandering freely east or west. Across the hundred leagues from Fuyang to Tonglu, the marvelous mountains and wondrous waters are peerless under Heaven.
  3. Letter to Attendant ShiWu JunMy native mountains harbor many wondrous peaks, where springs and rocks are pure and cool. The beauty of these ancestral hills cannot be exhausted by words.
  4. Letter to Chen BozhiQiu ChiIn the third month of late spring, grasses grow tall across Jiangnan, diverse blossoms cloak trees, and flocks of orioles flutter in chorus. Seeing the banners and drums of your ancestral homeland, reminiscing on your past days, mounting the parapet touching your bowstring—how could your heart not be torn with sorrow?

Tang

618–9074 works
  1. Postscript to the Biography of Censor ZhangHan YuDefending a single city, guarding the entire realm, shielding Jianghuai, and crushing rebel momentum. That the empire did not perish—whose achievement was it!
  2. Letter to Governor Han of JingzhouLi BaiLi Bai hears scholars across the empire gather saying: 'One need not be ennobled with ten thousand households, if only one can make the acquaintance of Governor Han of Jingzhou!' How could men's reverence reach such lofty heights? Li Bai is a commoner from Longxi wandering across Chu and Han. At fifteen I loved swordsmanship and visited lords; at thirty my writings were mature, presented to chancellors and ministers.
  3. Letter to Wei Zhongli on the Way of the TeacherLiu ZongyuanIn Shu dogs bark at the sun; in Yue dogs bark at snow. Qu Yuan wrote: 'Town dogs bark in packs, barking at whatever they find strange.' Since my exile, people across the realm have regarded me as an anomaly—how dare I presume to be a master to others!
  4. Preface to the Great Tang Records on the Western RegionsXuanzangTraveling alone through remote realms, crossing shifting sands and snow-bound passes across 138 kingdoms to illuminate the grand horizon of a golden age.

Song

960–12795 works
  1. Letter to Grand Commandant Han of the Bureau of Military AffairsSu ZheWriting is the outward form of internal spirit. Writing cannot be mastered merely by study, but spiritual vitality can be cultivated through experience. Mencius said: 'I excel at nourishing my vast, noble spirit.' Viewing his prose, vast and profound, filling Heaven and Earth, it matches the stature of his spirit.
  2. Reply to Remonstrance Official SimaWang AnshiI humbly maintain: Receiving orders from the sovereign, deliberating laws in court and delivering them to magistrates is not usurping office; reviving policies of ancient sage-kings to foster benefits and eradicate abuses is not stirring trouble; managing wealth for the empire is not extortion; refuting fallacies and challenging flatterers is not rejecting advice. As for widespread murmurs and complaints, I foresaw them from the start.
  3. Postscript on Wu Daozi's PaintingsSu ShiPoetry reaching Du Fu, prose reaching Han Yu, painting reaching Wu Daozi—the consummate creative achievements of the realm are fulfilled. Bringing forth fresh originality from within strict rules, entrusting subtle truth beyond bold abandon—such is the outward blossom of brilliance filled with cosmic spirit within.
  4. Letter to Remonstrator GaoOuyang XiuThe paths of noble gentlemen and petty sycophants are far apart indeed. You, Excellency Remonstrator, holding office as imperial remonstrator, saw Fan Zhongyan unjustly demoted and spoke not a single word to defend him, but instead joined in persecuting him—caring nothing for state justice while selfishly shielding your own skin! This is why my heart aches with bitter grief!
  5. Letter in Reply to Xie MinshiSu Shi (Su Dongpo)I have read your letters, poems, rhapsodies, and prose closely. Great literature is like drifting clouds and flowing water: having no fixed mold at the outset, moving where it ought to move and stopping where it cannot but stop, naturally structured with manifold dynamic grace.

Ming

1368–16446 works
  1. Preface Presenting to Student Ma of DongyangSong LianIn 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. Reply to Master LiuZong ChenAt 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.
  3. Preface to the Poetry of XiaoxiuYuan HongdaoExpressing 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.
  4. Preface to The Peony PavilionTang XianzuLove 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.
  5. Letter in Reply to Li YuanshanYuan HongdaoYuan 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!
  6. Preface to the Compendium of Materia MedicaLi ShizhenUsing major divisions as Outline and individual entries as Detail, I hope to make pharmacological knowledge shine clearly as the stars.

Qing

1636–19125 works
  1. Preface to the Record of Daily KnowledgeGu YanwuThe rise and fall of the realm is the responsibility of every common person. In preserving the moral and cultural universe under Heaven, even the humblest citizen shares an unyielding duty.
  2. Author's Preface to Strange Tales from a Chinese StudioPu SonglingDraped in creepers and orchids, Master Sanlü was stirred to compose elegies; conjuring ghosts and spirits, Master Changzhua wrote out of indignant grief. Amassing fur bits to form a cloak, I boldly continue records of the unseen realm; drinking wine with brush in hand, I create merely a book of solitary outrage. Such being my sanctuary, how tragic indeed!
  3. Fourth Letter Sent from the Fan County Magistracy to Brother MoZheng Xie (Zheng Banqiao)Reading ten thousand scrolls, writing excels the finest minds. Reading is for probing truth, not chasing wealth and glory. The foremost people between heaven and earth are hardworking farmers; among scholars, farmers, artisans, and merchants, scholars rank first—yet if scholars lack virtue, they cannot match honest farmers living by their own honest labor!
  4. Letter to Younger Brothers on Reading and AspirationZeng GuofanWhen scholars study, first they must have Aspiration (Zhi); second, Discernment (Shi); third, Perseverance (Heng). With aspiration, one refuses base mediocrity; with discernment, one recognizes learning is boundless and never grows complacent; with perseverance, there is nothing that cannot be achieved. None of these three can be lacking.
  5. Preface to the Suiyuan Food MenuYuan MeiThe essence of flavor lies in balancing the five tastes, and culinary subtlety lies in understanding the natural qualities of ingredients.